Young Eagles open season
Must replace 19 starters; visit Shasta on Sept. 5
Scott Strain
Issue date: 9/4/08 Last update: 9/5/08 at 10:35 PM PST
Section: Sports
In the 1960s, The Association recorded a song entitled "Enter The Young."
That well could describe the 2008 Laney College football team.
The Eagles, coming off a 10-1 campaign in 2007 that was capped off with their third straight bowl victory, must replace 19 starters from that team. That is the price a team pays for graduating 27 sophomores to four-year schools.
"Last year we were sophomore-centered," Laney head coach Jay Uchiumi said. "This year we are freshmen-centered."
The first change will be at quarterback, where grayshirt freshman Jeff Murphy (Alameda High School) will take over for two-time all-conference QB Matt Dardenne. Murphy threw for 1,869 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior at Alameda.
"Jeff has a firm grasp of the system here," Uchiumi said. "He has been around a year. He has a good presence in the huddle. He is more mobile than Dardenne was, as all our QBs are this year. His size (6-foot, 175 pounds) should not be a problem."
The running game is solid with sophomores Cameron Brown (Oakland HS) and Troy Evans (Hayward) as the top returners. Brown had a breakout game in the Graffiti Bowl, scoring three touchdowns in the 42-24 victory. Evans, who was hurt halfway through the season, had an 8.8-yard average on 21 carries.
Top returning receivers are Andrew Allen (Skyline) and Terrell Woodall (Clayton Valley). Both finished with 15 catches and two touchdowns, but Allen had a 71-yarder and averaged 20.8 yards per catch.
The area with the most experience is the offensive line, which should be good news for Murphy, Brown, et al. Dondre White (San Lorenzo), Darius Morales (Bishop O'Dowd) and Jason Mendieta (Newark Memorial) have the bulk of experience on the O-line.
Defensively, Laney will use a 3-4 alignment, despite having lost a fine group of linebackers to graduation. LJ Hughes (Deer Valley), Charles Gatlin (Oakland Tech) and Louis Baltazar (Rirodan-SF) have the most experience at this position.
That well could describe the 2008 Laney College football team.
The Eagles, coming off a 10-1 campaign in 2007 that was capped off with their third straight bowl victory, must replace 19 starters from that team. That is the price a team pays for graduating 27 sophomores to four-year schools.
"Last year we were sophomore-centered," Laney head coach Jay Uchiumi said. "This year we are freshmen-centered."
The first change will be at quarterback, where grayshirt freshman Jeff Murphy (Alameda High School) will take over for two-time all-conference QB Matt Dardenne. Murphy threw for 1,869 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior at Alameda.
"Jeff has a firm grasp of the system here," Uchiumi said. "He has been around a year. He has a good presence in the huddle. He is more mobile than Dardenne was, as all our QBs are this year. His size (6-foot, 175 pounds) should not be a problem."
The running game is solid with sophomores Cameron Brown (Oakland HS) and Troy Evans (Hayward) as the top returners. Brown had a breakout game in the Graffiti Bowl, scoring three touchdowns in the 42-24 victory. Evans, who was hurt halfway through the season, had an 8.8-yard average on 21 carries.
Top returning receivers are Andrew Allen (Skyline) and Terrell Woodall (Clayton Valley). Both finished with 15 catches and two touchdowns, but Allen had a 71-yarder and averaged 20.8 yards per catch.
The area with the most experience is the offensive line, which should be good news for Murphy, Brown, et al. Dondre White (San Lorenzo), Darius Morales (Bishop O'Dowd) and Jason Mendieta (Newark Memorial) have the bulk of experience on the O-line.
Defensively, Laney will use a 3-4 alignment, despite having lost a fine group of linebackers to graduation. LJ Hughes (Deer Valley), Charles Gatlin (Oakland Tech) and Louis Baltazar (Rirodan-SF) have the most experience at this position.
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