Grizzlies prepare for Denair showdown

After going 9-1 this season, the Mariposa County High School varsity football team is headed to the playoffs.

For the first time since 2014, the Grizzlies are Southern League champs.

“They’re pretty pumped about it,” said coach Chase Pometta.

“We’ve brought up some JV guys to practice which has been great.”

In Pometta’s third season leading the program, the past couple of seasons have been full of adjustments building to this moment.

“It’s been very organized and a lot more serious since he (Pometta) got here,” said Rusty Bull.

“It can be a little scary at first but once you get in the groove everything just rolls so smoothly.”

Bull, Connor Filgas, Laten Butler and Mason Sinclair are captains this year and have experienced the before and after of having Pometta at the head of the program.

They all agree things have been a lot more serious.

“Things are just really put together,” Butler said.

“Especially in the weight room.”

The higher level of discipline has made all the difference.

“We’ve all become a lot more disciplined and locked in,” Sinclair said.

“Everything we do off the field translates to what we do on the field,” Filgas explained.

Football has become a year-round progression of advancement.

“It all started preseason and it goes throughout the year,” Bull said.

“A lot of people did track and everyone has gotten faster. All the sports I do revolve around how I can get better for football.”

This season has been full of memorable moments right from the start.

“The game against YHS felt like the make or break of our season,” Sinclair said.

The Grizzlies played Yosemite High School during their first game of the season and won 42-40 for their first win of the year.

The other moment many players have been talking about is when the Grizzlies defeated Denair during Alumni Night/homecoming.

“It didn’t feel real,” said Bull.

“I remember telling myself in disbelief ‘we just beat Denair.’”

The team will face Denair again during the first round of playoffs where they hope to advance.

“We know how they play now and even though we won there are things we’ve done wrong,” said Filgas.

“There are things we can focus on and build off of.”

The group utilizes film to see where they can improve.

“We have film now so we can better prepare on how they play against us,” Bull said.

“We can work on things we need to improve on.”

Many of the players on the varsity team have been playing together since they were young.

“We’ve all been playing together since we were little kids and the chemistry is just there,” said Sinclair.

“It’s been incredible. This is the first time we’ve been to playoffs.”

Even since they were young and playing for the Mariposa Bears youth football league, many of the players have not experienced many wins.

“Since the Bears none of us have ever really had a winning season,” continued Bull.

“To be able to do it together, it’s been pretty special.”

The team is preparing for playoffs in the same ways they have prepared for game day all season.

“We’re just sharpening up what we do, that’s what got us here,” Pometta said.

“Believing in what we do, believing in our coaching and trusting each other. This is a really big deal for these kids.”

The Grizzlies will host the Coyotes from Denair on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Gold Bowl for round one of the CIF Saq-Joaquin Section Playoffs.

Game time is 7 p.m.