Rick Candaele still has the fire to coach football.
The veteran coach, who is Carpinteria High’s defensive coordinator, brought that fire to the first Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon of the 2015-2016 school year.
“This is one of the great traditions anywhere,” Candaele said of the press luncheon. “I was here 25 years ago and it looks like it’s going strong.”
The first press luncheon marked the beginning of Cara Gamberdella’s two-year term as Round Table president. Before conducting the program, Gamberdella announced Montecito Bank & Trust as a new sponsor for the luncheons, joining Union Bank.
Candaele, who’s coaching experience includes stints at Claremont Mudd Scripps and UCSB as well as various high school programs, expressed his joy of working with the Carpinteria football team.
“We couldn’t be having more fun at Carpinteria,” he said. “We won our scrimmage … our intrasquad scrimmage, 17-0, so we’re looking pretty good.”
Candaele introduced seniors Pancho Sanchez, Jimmy Graves and Tim Jimenez and noted they were elected team captains by their teammates.
As for the season, “We’re hoping to finish really strong but, like most coaches, we like to start out well and we like to do really well in the middle and then we like to finish it. I think we all have the same goals,” he said.
On his coaching longevity, “I’m still proud to be in this profession,” he said. “I hope it lasts another … a little while, at least.”
Dos Pueblos: Coach Nate Mendoza praised his coaching staff for keeping the team together after the Chargers gave up 31 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and suffered a 38-24 loss at Pacifica in last Friday’s season opener.
“I felt we did a good job coaching-wise of keeping the team together,” he said. “It’s one of those games where emotions fly really high, especially when you give up a lead like that at the end of the game. We felt we kept the locker room together, kept the leaders together, and the kids are really motivated to come out strong at home this Friday.”
The Chargers play Cabrillo in their home opener at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
Mendoza introduced sophomore Nate Beveridge, who played the first football game of his life last Friday. Beveridge is 6-5, 250. “He started at D-tackle and did an outstanding job,” Mendoza said. “It was great to see. We’re extremely excited with what we got with him. The future looks bright for us with Nate.”
Mendoza also lauded the hard work and dedication of reserve player Sam Drew. “He was elected by the team to walk out with the captains last Friday. Through his dedication throughout practice and outstanding effort, he’s going to find himself getting some playing time this week,” said Mendoza.
Santa Barbara: Coach JT Stone introduced his senior captains: offensive lineman Andy Lopez, linebackers Carter Soto and Junior Garcia, quarterback Brent Peus and wide receiver Mason Bigelow.
On the 64-8 blowout win at Hueneme, Stone said: “Our guys were a bit further along than them. It was good for our kids to compete.”
He went on to say that the opener is behind them and the focus is on Santa Maria.
“Game 1 is gone; we do not discuss it anymore. Our effort is now getting ready for Santa Maria.”
San Marcos: The Royals will be looking to bounce back from their 62-14 season-opening loss at West Ranch
“I think it’s disappointing when you put the planning, preparation and time in and the results are vastly unexpected,” coach Anthony Linebaugh said. “It’s an early fork in the road, so I’m really looking for our demeanor in practice.”
The Royals play at Rio Mesa on Friday.
Coach Linebaugh introduced linebacker Charles “Chuck” Acuna, saying he’s worked three years to earn a starting spot. He’s also helped his teammates in algebra.
Anthony “Ant Ram” Ramirez is one of the leaders on the offensive line. “He’s someone you want in your program,” Linebaugh said.
Laguna Blanca: Coach Shane Lopes said his squad “is by far, collectively, the hardest working team I’ve coached at Laguna Blanca.”
Defensive end Isaac Baron had a monster game in the Owls’ 64-0 win over Sherman Oaks CES last Thursday. He recorded 14 tackles and had five sacks. Lopes said Baron is also the school’s only competitive wrestler.
Lopes lauded the composure, character and courage of senior quarterback Chandler Aubrey.
The Owls will play under the lights on Friday in Los Angeles against Animo Robinson. The teams met last year and Laguna pulled out a wild 48-46 win. Most of the players on both sides played in that game, Lopes noted.
“This offseason has pretty much been like a long halftime,” he said. “We’re going to pick up where we left off. It’s going to be a test to see what we’re all about.”
Bishop Diego: The Cardinals face another challenge on the road when they travel to Santa Fe Christian in Solana Beach on Saturday. SFC is a San Diego Section small schools power.
The Cardinals are coming off a tough 14-9 win over Righetti in a battle of CIF-SS Division 3 teams.
“It was a good challenge to go up against a team that had a large roster, large kids, and was a physical opponent,” coach Tom Crawford said. “We didn’t play very well. We’ve got to improve in all areas of the game. The one thing we demonstrated was resiliency, sticking with it and scoring twice in fourth quarter to pull out the win.”
Crawford introduced two players who were instrumental in the win, linebackers Matt Shotwell and Ashton Borgeson. Shotwell, a senior had 15 tackles and Borgeson had 12.
The Bishop coach also acknowledged long-time assistant coach Steve Robles. “He’s one of the unsung heroes who does a great job working with young men,” said Crawford.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
UCSB: Coach Paul Stumpf praised the work of director of athletics John McCutcheon.
“Publicly, I’d like to say the chancellor got this one right,” Stumpf said of the hiring of McCutcheon last March. “The selection committee got this one right because there has been a change in the culture in the athletics department at UC Santa Barbara. We’re excited about the future of athletics.”
Stumpf also recognized player Angelisa Cortez. The senior spent time in the Dominican Republic volunteering her time in an orphanage. “It has massively changed her life,” he said. “Her heart is in the right place.”
The Gauchos have a big weekend, hosting Texas on Friday and Sacramento State on Sunday.
Westmont: Chantel Cappuccilli made her first appearance as the head coach of the Warriors. She served as an assistant the previous two years.
The Warriors are 2-1, with the lone loss coming against the No. 2 team in the NAIA.
“We’re working through the kinks and bringing the younger players up to speed,” Cappuccilli said.
MEN’S SOCCER
UCSB: Associate head coach Greg Wilson acknowledge team captains and defenders Duncan Backus and Ismaila Jome. Backus has worked his way from a walk-on to captain.
“He’s a great representation of our athletic department and soccer program,” Wilson said.
Jome is one of the top student athletes on campus.
The Gauchos are coming an impressive performance in a 1-0 over 8th-ranked Stanford.
“The Stanford win showed we have a lot of potential this year,” Wilson said. “It showed we could go a long way with this group.”
Wesmont: After a tough three weeks of training, the Warriors won their season opener, 1-0, against Roosevelt, Ill.
“I think it’s probably the most I’ve ever thrown at a team in 25 years of college coaching in terms of training and the level of competition we played in our exhibition season,” Wolf said. “Throw a little bit of heat in there and it was a real challenging three weeks. I think we came through it well.”
Now the Warriors go on the road to play the third-, fifth- and 29th-ranked teams in the NAIA.
“I have no idea who made the schedule but I’m on the lookout for that guy,” Wolf said, tongue firmly in cheek. “He needs to be investigated and chastised upon being found.
“I like the group,” he added. “I’m excited to take on a schedule we haven’t take on in a long time.”
WATER POLO
San Marcos: Athletic director Abe Jahadhmy introduced three starting seniors: Brendan Ring, Jack Palmer and George Kuesis. Ring is a second-year varsity player, Palmer is in his third as the goalie and Kuesis is a four-year varsity player and three-year starter who has earned all-league honors in water polo and swimming.
Jahadhmy noted that Palmer is also the CEO for the Kids Helping Kids program, which raised more than $300,000 last year.
Carpinteria: Coach Matt Organista said his team is more experienced this season. He introduced returning hole sets Forrest Van Stein and Eric Thornburg. He also noted the team will be bolstered by talented freshman twins.
SBCC Women: Coach Chuckie Roth gave Organista a shout out for winning the Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon for the second straight year. “You’re an amazing athlete,” he said. “You are my idol.”
The Vaqueros return one player from last year’s WSC championship team, Maddie Brooks. Roth said Brooks is the type of athlete he tries to model his program around.
Roth also introduced freshman Addison Seale from La Jolla. She qualified for the CIF State Swim Meet last spring.
Roth has 16 athletes and two red shirts in the program this season. Last season, he started with seven players.
UCSB Men: Assistant coach Ryan McMillan said the Gauchos have been training 8-10 hours a day since Aug. 21. They open the season this weekend at the UC San Diego Tournament. McMillan introduced senior goalie Chris Whitelegge and senior hole set Nick Jordan.
NOTES
The San Marcos boys golf team was recognized for winning a CIF division title and qualifying for the SCGA-CIF Championships in the spring.
“The team set some pretty high goals and it was amazing to watch them work and dedicate themselves to fulfill those goals,” said coach Aaron Solis.
The team members were all present: Andrew Rice, Hayden Schoenfelder, Bryce Quezada, Bennett Reichard, Sam Tokni, Sam Metzger, Chris Wong and Niels Andersen (now at SBCC).
Providence athletic director Steve Stokes said Dave Goss is the school’s new volleyball coach. Goss played at San Marcos and Stanford.
“We revamped our entire coaching staff and it’s really brought new life into our volleyball program,” said Stokes.
There will be no press luncheon next Monday due to the Labor Day holiday
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