Football: Lockie Ready to Lead Reloaded Monte Vista

It'd be easy to make the assumption that this year's football team is Jeff Lockie and everybody else. After all, the Oregon-bound quarterback is a star and there isn't much experience around him.

Digging a little deeper would not only prove that assumption wrong, but show the Mustangs have the potential to take step forward.

Sure, it still starts with Lockie — he's a game-changer — but there is much more than that. He'll be protected by one of the biggest offensive lines coach Craig Bergman has had in his 15 years at Monte Vista and have a talented corps of receivers to throw to. 

"I really like the line we have," Bergman said. "It's a nice mixture of young guys and guys who played on the team last year. Once they gel, they'll be really good."

Andrew Stanton (6-5, 235), Ryan Neil (6-6, 275), Nick Turcotte (6-3, 250) and Oliver Uhland (6-5, 230) are imposing figures who'll lead a completely revamped offensive line.

"We got some big size that I'm excited about and a lot of good players that didn't play much last year," Lockie said.

There's no replacing departed WR Bryce McGovern, who Bergman called "," but it'll fall on Dan Scritchfield to step into his role — a job Lockie is confident he'll be successful in.

"He knows everything you need to know about the position," Lockie said.

Third-year varsity player Troy Johnson will see time at running back and receiver, while Shane Ertz will have an increased role at receiver.

Scritchfield, Johnson and Ertz would have likely been key players on several teams if they weren't behind McGovern and U.C. Davis' Dane Turner.

The Mustangs open the season tonight at home against Castro Valley at 7:30, but have two challenging non-league games against Serra-San Mateo and Pittsburg before East Bay Athletic League play begins on Sept. 30. 

With De La Salle still being mentioned with the nation's best, the Mustangs have their sights on second-place.

"Everybody else is battling for second and there's a lot of parity as usual," Bergman said. "San Ramon and Cal will be good, Matty (Sweeney) always has Foothill ready to go and Tim Silva does a good job at Granada."

When Lockie committed to Oregon, he joined San Ramon's Zack Kline (Cal) and De La Salle's Bart Houston (Wisconsin) as future Division-I quarterbacks from the league. 

"Oregon was always the school I wanted to go to," said Lockie, who maintains a 4.0 gpa. "I went to their camp for a day in June and kept in contact with them. (QB coach) Mark Helfrich had a final conversation with coach Chip Kelly and they offered."

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2011 Varsity Schedule

Look for a San Ramon Valley preview tomororow