Football: Leadership Key to Amador Valley Success

After a summer in the weight room, football coach Rick Sira thinks his team is ready to rejoin the East Bay Athletic League's contenders. 

"I think our kids did a great job in the weight room through the summer," he said. "We have a lot of pretty good football players."

Quarterback Kyle Moreno and running backs Carter Ridgeway and Nick Griffen return from last year's 4-6 team which was eliminated from playoff contention by . With those three guys as a starting point, Sira said there is a solid foundation.

"(Moreno) is a very hard worker," Sira said. "He's committed and we have a lot of confidence in him as a player and a leader. I thought he did very well at times last year as a sophomore."

He recently had an appendectomy, but should be at full strength by the time EBAL play begins. 

The teams best player? It could be OL/LB Robert Lewis.

"Right now he's one of our best all around players," Sira said. "He's just a very athletic, good sized (6-4, 225) guy who plays hard."

The Dons will continue to employee their spread offense, but things are looking different on the opposite side of the ball where they'll primarily work out of a 3-5 defensive set. 

"The five linebackers, that's going good," Sira said. "It's a new scheme which requires to responsibility changes, but ultimately we have that going in the right direction."

What has Sira most excited is the leadership he's seen from his team.

"We've got a lot of good leaders on this team," he said. "They have those intangibles that you have to have to be a good team."

The Dons open the season tonight at Freedom-Oakley at 7 p.m., and will play Concord and Washington-Fremont at home to round out the non-league schedule.

"What we want to do in non-league is give us some different looks and things that'll challenge us and prepare us for league," Sira said. "We've had some great games with Freedom in a couple series with them."

Once EBAL play begins, Sira expects what he expects every year: Tough games every week.

"It's going to be like it aways is in the EBAL, a battle all the way through," he said. "Since De La Salle joined, everyone has battled for the second spot and those two, three, four spots are always close. I really think its going to happen again."

The Dons finished tied with San Ramon Valley for fifth in the league last year, but in the ninth week of the year. After losing to Foothill in the season finale, Amador was home for the playoffs. On the other hand, San Ramon got in on the strength of its 5-5 record and made a run to the semifinals. 

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2011 Varsity Schedule