Hart quarterback Jacob Paisano is heading into his senior season 20 pounds heavier but with no perceived drop-off in speed or athletic ability.
“I feel even faster this year,” Paisano said. “I put on weight, but I still feel faster than I was last year.”
Spring football has been falling into place rather easily for the Hawks, who are getting their first full offseason under second-year head coach Jake Goossen-Brown. The weight training, which is also run by Goosen-Brown, has created a noticeable physical difference in the team and the installs are happening much quicker.
“We started a lot earlier,” Hart receiver Vince Charles said. “It was kind of slow (last season), trying to learn everything. We came back and already knew everything off the bat, and it was really easy to reinstall and get rolling real quick, knowing all the concepts.”
Hart took part in St. Bonaventure’s spring football showcase Wednesday, where Paisano was able to show off calm confidence in 7-on-7 competition against the Seraphs as well as St. Joseph and Sierra Canyon.
In addition to Charles, he found targets in Cesar Trujillo and Josh Wagner. Other receivers, like Matix Frithsmith, missed the showcase because of a conflicting CIF Southern Section baseball playoff game.
“He’s a great quarterback,” Wagner said. “We clicked immediately. Even just working with him right now, I can already tell he’s gonna go super far.”
Paisano displayed lateral movement and executed multiple types of plays from screens to deep passes. He’ll be taking snaps from Andrew Webster, who moved from right guard to center this spring.
The Hawks have been competing in 7-on-7 events every other Sunday this spring to work on the passing game. However, the rushing attack won’t be ignored.
“We’ll do what works,” Goossen-Brown said. “Last year, we had games where we threw for 400 yards, and then we had games where we rushed for 350 yards. We can do whatever is necessary to win the game.”
Sierra Canyon QBs continue to compete
Laird Finkel, Chase Everett and Demarco Hernandez all took repetitions at quarterback for Sierra Canyon at St. Bonaventure’s showcase. There is no current timetable to select a starter.
“Right now, we’re just trying to establish our team identity and get as many guys opportunities to show us what they’re made of,” Sierra Canyon head coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “And when it comes to the quarterback position, we’re doing that and letting guys compete for the job.”
The Trailblazers’ offense is expected to be balanced between the run and the pass in the coming season and can play to the strengths of whoever is at quarterback.
“I think a good coach adapts to his player strengths as opposed to trying to fit a square peg in a round hole,” Ellinghouse said. “Our playbook’s big enough that we’ll develop our scheme around what those guys do.”
Everett got into eight games as a backup for Wyatt Becker last season and will be entering his second season with the Trailblazers in his upcoming senior year. He trained for the 200 and 400 meters as part of the track team this spring and is building up his connections with receivers.
“I’m really focused on trying to do as much as I can pre-snap to make my post-snap process easier so I can get the ball to my guys as fast as I can,” Everett said. “We’ve got athletes and a lot of times we’re trying to get the ball out of our hands quick. We’re not trying to sit back there and take too long.”
Hernandez is going into his junior season and has been at Sierra Canyon since his freshman year. He fired off short and long passes Wednesday in a 7-on-7 period against Hart and engineered a five-play touchdown drive.
“I learn every day because we have some dudes on our team,” Hernandez said. “SC, they helped me build that mental aspect of the game, and just really taught me what it is to compete.”
Ellinghouse also added that De’Markus Barnes, a two-way player at running back and linebacker, had a productive offseason. His versatility allows him to run the ball or line up at slot receiver and, on the other side of the ball, defend both the run and the pass.
“He’s physical,” Ellinghouse said. “I’m a big fan of some of the strides that he’s made in this offseason. And I think that people are going to be shocked at how good he does this year.”