September 5, 2019

COS Football vs. Feather River Game Notes

COS runs on to the field. (Photo by Norma Foster)

GAME NOTES . . .

College of the Sequoias vs. Feather River College

Saturday, September 7, 2019—Mineral King Bowl

LAST YEAR: Both teams finished 2-8. Feather River ended the season with a 6-game losing streak while the Giants lost their last three games.

SERIES: COS leads 4-3. The first game was in 2008. This is the sixth consecutive year the schools have played. Feather River has won the last two meetings, 37-10 two years ago in Visalia and 41-6 last year in Quincy.

RANKINGS: In the JC Athletic Bureau pre-season state poll, neither team is ranked.

COACHES: COS head coach in Joe D'Agostino, is now in his second season as head coach and sixth on the Giant staff. D'Agostino, a native of San Diego, has coached at the community college level the past 17 seasons, including stints at Reedley, West Hills and Merced Colleges. He was hired full-time at the college in January 2014. He was a Giant assistant coach for four seasons before assuming the head coach's role in November 2017. New COS assistant coaches this season are Raven Keene (defensive coordinator), Jeremy Gomez (receivers), Thomas Green (defensive backs), Ivan Espiritu (offensive line), Ardie Burton (offensive line) and Raven Keene Jr. (running backs). Feather River coach Nick Goulet is now in his third season, with a record of 3-17. Goulet came to the Golden Eagles after 10 years as the offensive coordinator at Chabot College. Goulet played at Chabot and went on to play at Mayville State University in North Dakota, where he earned his bachelor's degree in two subjects. His master's came from St. Mary's. Two of Goulet's assistants also came from Chabot.

GOLDEN EAGLES: Feather River has a veteran offensive unit with 9 returning starters, including four linemen.

Returning quarterback Jalen Dummett threw for 1165 yards and 7 TDs last year, and also rushed for 580 yards and 11 TDs. Dummett, who rushed for over 100 yards three times in 2018, passed for 145 and rushed for 74 vs. COS last year. Running backs Jaiden Jones (327 yards, 4 TDs) and Josh Malnoske (352 yards) split time in the backfield. Also returning are receivers DeQuincy Mitchell (24 catches for 220 yards) and Jimmy Allan (14 for 127). Four starting linemen return, including Donald Harris, Brady Odom, Christian Ealey and Dorsey Thom. The top freshman thus far has been receiver Skyler Morris. Feather River has an inexperienced defense but does have returning starters in linebacker Jeno Bins and back Nainoa Soto. The top freshman prospects on defense are linebacker Eric Schmitz, defensive end Eric Puente, lineman Cameron Crossley and backs Jovan McConico, Tristan Catan, and Ray Sekona.

GIANTS: Defense figures to be the strong suit of this year's COS team.Three returning all-conference players—lineman Corleone Peters, linebacker Mitch Maggini and back Bobby Peele—headline the returnees, along with DB Rook Landers, all-conference two seasons ago. Other returning starters are lineman Noah Wright and back Jupri Hughes. Transfer lineman Jamari Rouse figures to be a starter, and sophomores Jeremiah Russell and Judah Ruckman (linebackers) and Israel Garcia (back) figure to see lots of action. Two of the best newcomers include Bakersfield College transfer Issah Carr (LB) and Marcos Moran (LB). On offense, there are three returning starters. QB Gus Villareal started the last six games of 2017 and sat out last year. All-conference running back Davonte Green returns (702 yards, 5 touchdowns) along with all-conference lineman Henry Wong. The receiver corps was bolstered by Bryson Allen, who transferred from Sacramento State. Other newcomers who figure to play a lot include receiver Josh Williams, running back Devon Jones, center Miguel Madrigal (6-2, 325) and tackle Nick Smith.

NOTES : This is the first of five home games for Sequoias. The last four will be night games, three of them at 7 p.m. and the final game against Sacramento, at 5 pm…although last year's 2-8 COS record equaled the previous year, one of the wins was a conference victory over San Joaquin Delta 34-9.…six Sequoias opponents are ranked in the first Athletic Bureau poll. They include Modesto, 10^th in the state and 6^th in Northern California; Fresno, 11^th and 7^th; Siskiyous, 17^th and 9^th; Santa Rosa, 22^nd and 10^th; Chabot, 29^th and 13^th; and Sacramento, 32^nd and 15^th…next week the Giants play a 6 p.m. game at Chabot, and will play at Siskiyous on Sept. 21, before returning home Sept. 28 to host Santa Rosa…Green's best game last season was 194 yards against Delta, the most by a COS back since 2012. He followed that up with 142 against West Hills…Peele tied for the conference lead in interceptions last year with 5.