BY GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — After stumbling to a 2-8 season in 2011, Mission High came back the following year and ripped off nine straight wins.
Faced with the prospect of rebounding from another 2-8 mark just two years later, coach Mario Pena believes the current crop of Eagles can make a similar recovery.
“We’ve done it before, and I expect for us to turn it around this year,” Pena said.
Looking at the two rebuilding projects, Pena sees a common denominator: leadership. He expects that the 2015 team, like the 2012 group, will be able to ride a strong senior class to a resurgent season and a playoff berth.
“We have to be accountable to each other,” senior offensive lineman Christian Navejar said. “We have to show up. We have to hold each other responsible for what we’re supposed to do.”
Last year, the Eagles faced a slew of injuries as they transitioned from 5A to 6A, but Pena said the biggest missing keys were leadership and character. Those factors, Pena said, were the reasons the team struggled in tight contests, losing five times by single-digit margins.
“Those close games, when you have good team character, you’re going to win,” Pena said. “Those are the things that we needed to do a lot of mental training.”
Pena believes the current leadership group — with captains Navejar, Marc Garcia, David Flores and Josh Flores — can change that.
He said the seniors stepped up to the plate early on, calling meetings without the coaches being there and encouraging the other players to stick around after practice for extra work.
“I feel like we don’t have the respect from the public that I feel we should,” Josh Flores said. “We’re working hard to earn that.”
The Eagles know the turnaround talk is meaningless until they prove it on the field. A defense that finished ranked third in the district returns just three starters, and an offense that ranked next to last brings back eight pieces but faces the challenge of transitioning to a new, up-tempo attack.
“We can’t wait — just watch,” David Flores said. “They’re predicting us to be something small, but we’re going to be something good. We’re just the underdogs.”
PICKING UP THE PACE
The Eagles will still be running a spread offense this season, but they plan to be picking up the pace substantially. The shift has required Mission High to put a greater emphasis on conditioning during the early stages of practice.
“Any time you try to pick it up, you have to be in better shape,” Pena said. “We’re in the foundation stage right now.”
Who will be under center in the new offense is still up in the air. Returning varsity player William Arias is competing with two newcomers for the job.
Josh Flores, who should be one of the go-to players at wideout, sees the change as an improvement, with more complicated routes and more motion.
“It took some time to learn, because he put a lot of information at us at once,” Flores said. “But, in time, we picked it up.”
IN THE TRENCHES
Pena thinks a line that returns all five starters will be the key to the Eagles’ offense, adding that the group is one of the biggest he’s coached in his seven years at Mission.
Navejar has established himself as one of the unit’s leaders at tackle.
“I’m thinking we’re going to carry the team on our back on the offensive side of the ball,” Navejar said. “The biggest difference is there’s much more chemistry. We know each other. We know each other’s flaws. And we’ve gotten much stronger from sophomore year.”
CALLING CARD
With 19 seasons as a head coach in Valley, Pena has developed a reputation on defense. His teams are going to be multiple, and they’re going to blitz aggressively.
The Eagles have been an undersized group since moving up to 6A last season, but the players live by the adage: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
With only three returning starters, Mission heads into the season looking for an almost entirely new group of dogs.
“The new guys are coming along great,” defensive back Marc Garcia said. “We’re looking like a good defensive team, with chemistry. We’ll just see how it goes toward the season.”
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MISSION HIGH’S PROGNOSIS
The Eagles are looking for a bounce back to mirror their resurgent 2012. But with a new offense and a ton of turnover on defense, 2015 could be another rough season.
Projected 2015 Record: 4-6
TENURE
Coach: Mario Pena
Year at School: Seventh
Record at Mission High: 32-30
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