Even Mr. Miyagi couldn’t have helped Armijo in 2010
Even the instruction of Mr. Miyagi from “The Karate Kid” probably wouldn’t have been any help to the 2010 edition of the Armijo Indian football squad.
The late character actor and 1949 Armijo High graduate Pat Morita (of “Wax on, wax off” fame) tutored Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) to overcome great odds and excel at his chosen sport in the 1984 coming-of-age film classic.
Morita, who is rumored to have played tennis and basketball at AHS, would have cringed as his alma mater simply got waxed during its 0-10 campaign a year ago.
But new coach Aaron Toliver believes times have changed — and wherever Mr. Miyagi will be watching from Friday at 7:30 p.m., Toliver is pretty sure Morita can open his eyes when Armijo takes the field against visiting Davis High.
“Our strength will be the play of our offensive line,” the former Indian linebacker said recently. “Most of our offensive line are returners and have continued to gel throughout the offseason.”
Linemen Andrew Fuimano and Toeta Elise join tight end Justin McCaleb and guard Andre Johnson as veterans up front.
While nobody in the Indian camp believes the school will experience a quick gridiron turnaround, Toliver noneless thinks his team has little to do with the cast that chalked up 16 straight losses.
“There is pressure coaching my alma mater, however, there is also an added sense of pride to coach for the Purple and Gold,” Toliver says. “I’ve never really labored over the pressure, but have been fueled by the sense of pride.”
At first blush, it seems that Armijo’s opening-night match up is no tall order. After all, the Blue Devils struggled through 2010 as well. However, Davis did smoke the Indians, 31-6, before losing nine straight. Also, DHS clearly is a deeper team featuring veteran football players — not just athletes hoping to fill a thin roster.
While it’s too early to get excited, in recent scrimmages, there have been flashes of brilliance from the Davis offense. Sophomore tailback Winfred Roberson has had a hot hand and earned Friday’s starting assignment.
Second-year coach Steve Smyte says his Devils will again be paced by quarterback Shayne Reagan. But this year Reagan has help. Lots of help.
“Our offensive line is good and deep,” promises Smyte, hoping that his signal caller won’t have to run for his life anymore. Despite little protection during tha 1-9 nightmare, Reagan threw for more than 1,500 yards, 18 scores and a school-record five TDs against Elk Grove.
— Paul Farmer of The Daily Republic and Enterprise staff writer Bruce Gallaudet contributed to this article.
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=77551
Posted by Enterprise staff
on Sep 1 2011.
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