San Perlita Trojans’ new head coach Nate Garza came over from rivaling La Villa and the San Isidro Tigers garnered some state recognition early on after running through the district last year.
Under all of that, however, it’s the Santa Maria Cougars who have been the big cats of the district, boasting a perfect 10-0 district record so far.
You won’t find them sweating the lack of attention though.
“We don’t listen to all that, we treat every team the same and take every team seriously,” said senior guard Isaac Ortiz. “We don’t put any team on a pedestal, we just take care of business like we should. Our coach prepares us and knows what he’s doing; we just take every game one by one.”
After falling to both San Perlita and San Isidro, and settling a third-place district finish last season, the Cougars have been revitalized and are on their way to reclaiming the district crown.
It’s been a matter of teamwork and getting back to the defensive grind.
“The kids have been hungry and know that we have to take care of business and work hard. We have to do the little things like focus on our defense, communication and teamwork,” said Cougar head coach Albert Briones. “Our kids, despite not winning a title last year, have that championship blood and they’re not going to show quit.
“We have a sour taste in our mouth from last year where we knew we could win a district title, but we made mistakes where we shouldn’t have.”
Now, the Cougars are determined not to make those mistakes down the stretch heading into the playoffs.
To do that, players know they all need to be on the same page. They feel that this season’s team is on that same page and are all working toward the same goal of a playoff run to the regional tournament.
“Everyone on the team wants to work hard. They all want to succeed and share the same positive attitude,” said senior post Marco Carreon. “We want to go back to where we were before.”
MIRROR IMAGE
The Cougars have a good mix of sophomore role players and senior leadership.
It’s reminiscent of what their team makeup was during their 2014 run to the Region IV 1A tournament.
“This group wants to get back to regionals and implementing the younger guys is going to help us get there,” Briones said. “I want the younger guys to get that experience because you can’t substitute experience. We have a lot of good kids and it’s strength by numbers; I’ve never been this deep.”
This year’s seniors were the sophomore role players in 2014.
Now, they play the role of senior mentors, much like the ones they learned from.
“I see a lot of us in them,” Ortiz said. “The sophomores have that drive and they have a look in their eyes like they want to win. We all push each other and we go hard every practice to try and bring Cougar ball back.”