Jim Winkler was more than just a casual observer when he was checking out the results of the 35th annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game this past summer.
It’s not that Winkler was cheering for either side in the battle of the North and South. He simply had a vested interest in a couple of players — one from each side.
Kyle Cool of Branham was a quarterback on the South team in the summer classic, and Chris LaBouff of Los Gatos was a running back for the North. And both are now playing for Winkler in his first year as the head coach at West Valley College.
The two 2008 high school stars are now donning West Valley blue and orange jerseys as they team up with comeback all-conference lineman David Sim (Yerba Buena) and the rest of the Vikings for the current season.
Sim, a big 5-foot-10, 290-pound sophomore offensive lineman, was selected to the all-Coast Conference squad last fall and will lead the Vikings into the current campaign.
Cool and LaBouff, fresh off of their summer engagement in the high school all-star game, join Sim in the college ranks and top a long list of local players competing for the Vikings this fall that includes wide receivers Nick Sarabia (Pioneer), Aaron Miller (Los Gatos) and Pierre Woods (Pioneer); linebackers Peter Kosulin (Monta Vista), Jesse Tinsley (Los Gatos), Cameron Mitsumori (Lincoln), Mike Cobb (Pioneer), Joseph Fernandez (Lynbrook), Christian Pansoy (Branham) and Matt Mlakar (Del Mar); running backs Derek Mejia (Del Mar), Jay Perez (Leland) and Casey Price (Del Mar); defensive back Michael Edwards (Leigh); offensive linemen Scott Marvin (Cupertino) and Josh Witsch (Branham); defensive linemen Ricky Barragan (Westmont), Perett Fiaavae (Prospect) and Harrison Runyon (Lynbrook); and tight end Brandon Carter (Branham).
The Vikes were to kick off their`09 schedule on Sept. 5 against Chabot at their new home field at Saratoga High School. West Valley hits the road for a pair of 1 p.m. games on Sept. 12 at Yuba College in Marysville and on Sept. 19 at Solano in Vallejo before returning to Saratoga High to host the College of San Mateo on Sept. 26, 5:30 p.m.
Sim is the only returner among the eight Vikings named to the all-conference squad last fall.
Quarterback Doug Webster (Leigh), wide receiver Tyler Dimich (Milpitas), offensive lineman Erik Findley (Branham), defensive backs Ginikachi Ibe (Del Mar) and Jordan Gilstrap (Mountain View), linebacker Andrew Reyes (Wilcox) and all-purpose player Josh Uribe (Santa Teresa) each completed their sophomore seasons last fall.
Vikings moving on to play at four-year schools include Webster, Kansas Wesleyan University; Dimich, UCLA; Ibe and Rattanak Muor (Silver Creek), McPherson College; Findley and Jeff Andrews, University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas; Kurtis Szerlip (Santa Teresa), Southwest Minnesota State; and Jason Catalano (Branham), Menlo College.
Winkler will field a freshman-heavy squad as he begins his first season as the West Valley head coach. The Vikings have just 23 sophomores on their 75-player roster.
Dons are young It’s a similar story down the road at De Anza College in Cupertino where veteran head coach Dan Atencio greets a squad overloaded with freshmen. Of the 81 Dons on the 2009 roster, only 26 are sophomores.
Two of them, though, are returning all-conference players. Strong safety A.J. Alvarez (Valley Christian) and linebacker Russell Jenkins (Scotts Valley) were among the Dons named to the all-Coast Conference squad in 2008.
Defensive lineman Will Evans (Westmont), linebacker Rene Stephan (Los Gatos), running back Lawrence Taylor (Overfelt) and offensive linemen Nate Torres (Willow Glen), Peter Vitorovic (Servia) and Shawn Holmes (Weston Ranch) were other Dons on the all-conference list last fall.
Alvarez and Jenkins are the lone returners from that all-league list as the Dons prepare to open the 2009 season. De Anza was to visit the College of San Mateo on Sept. 5 and will play its home opener on Sept. 12, 1 p.m., against Merced.
Heading up the list of incoming freshmen for the Dons are a host of players who took part in the summer all-star game in July at Spartan Stadium. Unlike Winkler, who could catch a glimpse of just two of his new players, Atencio got the chance to see 13.
Quarterback Ryan Stillwell (Leigh), wide receiver Shane Miller (Prospect), strong safety Jordan Richardson (Del Mar), running backs Ben Sussman (The King’s Academy) and Ryan Valentine (Leigh) and defensive end Tyler Pao (Leigh) all played for the North squad, and wide receiver Dominique Williams (Andrew Hill), running back Anthony Olivares (Valley Christian), linebacker Daniel Montesano (Pioneer), defensive ends Bruce Leupepe (Oak Grove) and Gerard Everette (Oak Grove) and offensive linemen Mike Capristo (Hill) and Austin Lowe (Valley Christian) played for the South.
The freshman all-stars top a list of local players on the De Anza club that includes Kendall Hendon (Prospect), Victor Aguirre (Pioneer), Bill Buxton (Del Mar), Steven Sanders (Leigh), Marques Hill (Willow Glen), Dayne McGee (Saratoga), Jerry Barnes (Pioneer), Alex Lumidao (Homestead), Logan Howard (Pioneer), Eric Zetterquist (Willow Glen), Nick Nguyen (Homestead), J.J. Kizine (Homestead), Thomas Tupou (Leland), Steven Castillo (Gunderson), Logan Lijon (Del Mar), Kevin Castillo (Gunderson), Jacob Timoteo (Gunderson), Nate Taye (Prospect) and Samir Sabac (Del Mar).