Page 9 - Sanger Herald 8-16-18 E-edition

SangerSports
SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018
Boxer has advanced quickly and intends go all the way
Editor’s note: This story is the fifth in a series about the young people who have joined the Sanger Boxing Club, which works out most days starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Sanger Youth Center, 818 L St.
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Johnathan Espinoza took up boxing earlier this year. “I just liked the
excitement of it,” he said. And what’s not to like with boxers like Manuel “Chaparrito” Cortes and Marc Castro who also have ties to the Sanger Boxing Club making names for themselves far beyond the confines of the rural community on the road to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Both fighters have gone from working out at the little boxing gym at the Sanger Youth Center to larger and larger audiences with Castro shooting for
the 2020 Olympics. Espinoza, 16, immersed
himself in the sport, intent on first making some physical changes and later working on skills that would boost his skills as a fighter. He said his goal is to become a contender.
He had a lot to do.
“I weighed 189 pounds when I started,” Espinoza
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Johnathan Espinoza gained confidence boxing and wants to take it into the ring.
bags for long durations, pummeling the surface with multiple combinations. The sound of his blows rose above the rest of the activity by other boxers.
“In the ring you get that confidence to show everything you’ve learned,” he said.
Betancourt was impressed, and impressing the coach did not appear all that easy.
“He’s focused,” Betancourt said. “When he (first) came, he punched lazy. But no more. As soon asIwalkin,Iseehim working hard.”
Still, Espinoza has much to learn. “His combinations are not good,” Betancourt said. “I told him to watch videos.”
As soon as he said this, the coach grinned. “No more (video) game playing,” he said. His advice included only watching boxing.
Espinoza said he registered as an amateur, a move that will allow him to get in the ring against other fighters. “I want to win all my amateur fights,” he said. And maybe make it to Golden Gloves tournaments and even the Olympics.
“So whatever happens there will determine everything else,” he said.
Espinoza said sometimes his mother gets concerned
about his decision to take up boxing, especially when he comes home after sparring sessions. “She asks me, ‘Does it hurt?’” he said.
But Espinoza is following in his father’s footsteps. Boxing runs in the family. “My dad, when he was growing up in Mexico City, he used to box. And not as an amateur,” he said. But, he added, that changed when his father cam to this country.
Espinoza is 5-foot-5. “Coach wants me to get to 130 pounds,” he said. To do that, he’s adopted a diet and prepares special meals that cater to the workout of a particular day. And he said he runs every day.
“Before I had to stop before completing a mile,” hesaid.“NowIcandoitin 6 minutes.
“I’m healthier. I feel good. Sometimes I wake upearlyandgofora2 mile run. And I feel good afterward and good about myself.”
That wasn’t necessarily the case before. “Now with boxing, I’m pumped all the time. Like ‘Let’s go to work.’”
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
said. “I weigh 150 now. Coach said I was too heavy.”
Coach Ernest Betancourt does not say that any more. “He lost a lot of weight,” Betancourt said. “(But) he came to lose weight. He practices everyday. He works hard. I tell him what
to do and he does it.” Espinoza is among the young boxers who train daily and belong to the
Sanger Boxing Club. The group works out at the youth center, east of the railroad tracks in an older part of Sanger.
And Espinoza wants to see how far he can go.
“I advanced rapidly,” he said. “I feel like I’ve done the right thing. You go from school to boxing. You stay out of trouble.”
And there are other dividends.
“It makes you feel good about yourself,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza characterized himself as “pretty quiet.” But boxing appeared to have added a little something to his personality. When he spoke about boxing, his tone reflected his enthusiasm in the subject. And his dedication was obvious. He battered the various heavy
Apaches tune up against Redwood
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Jake Boust grabbed another pass by his fingertips, completing a reception that in a regular season game would have resulted in pandemonium on the Sanger side of the field.
Earlier, Kosi Agina pulled down an interception.
Then Orlando Douglas showed again that he runs like a juggernaut.
And those gathered in the stands on the Sanger side of the Mineral King Bowl in Visalia on Aug. 10 learned that they might be hearing the nickname of running back Isaiah Becerril quite a bit in this upcoming season. The chants of “Hammer!” could be heard from Becerril’s teammates as he punched through Redwood High defenses during a preseason scrimmage.
The game itself meant little. The Apaches and Rangers got an opportunity to test themselves against real opponents without consequences. For instance, nobody on the opposing team reacted much when defensive line coach Nikko Motta nabbed a reception from a Redwood second string quarterback. No gain on that play, either.
It’s football season. Play begins at 7:30 p.m. for the game — this time scoring counts — against Reedley’s Pirates at Tom Flores Stadium on Friday.
Head coach Jorge Pena appeared to like what he saw against Redwood. “We ran around. We flew around. Good job,” he told his team after the final quarter in the non-scoring scrimmage.
“It’s hard to evaluate,” he said, explaining that the purpose of the evening was to showcase every player’s
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Damian Duarte ignores the rule of gravity in this attempt to break a tackle at the Mineral King Bowl in Visalia.
backs Agina, Douglas and senior Alex Saefong and defensive end Jamarie Jenkins.
“We’re trying to get all the jitters out,” said Damien Duarte, a senior who will be playing at running and defensive back. “We’re competing the way we’re supposed to. We’ve got some tics, some little messes, but nothing we can’t fix.”
Saefong showed it will take a lot to slow him down when he drove through the Rangers’ defense early on in the scrimmage.
Morgan Privett, a sophomore running back, punched through, breaking several tackles on one run. He moved up from the freshman team where he played last year. “The team’s coming together really well,” he said.
“We have a lot of great potential,” Douglas said. “And this is a really good team. Once we fix the mistakes, we should win a lot of games.”
On a more personal note, Douglas said, “I feel great. My biggest goal is not to get injured and not sit out games. Also a goal is to be a great team player and help the others where I can.”
Boust liked what he saw on the team. “We pretty much came together,” he said after the scrimmage. “We’ve gotten stronger (since early summer tournaments). The chemistry, basically. We have depth too, so we can sub in other players and get the same result.”
Mark Jones, a junior running back, showed he’s one to watch, running the ball into the end zone and looking a little like Apache standouts of the past. “We’re here to win,”
See Football, Page 2B
skill and determine how they will fit into the game- night mix once the season pits Sanger against Reedley, Hanford on Aug. 24, Clovis East on Aug. 31, Lemoore on Sept. 7 and Paso Robles on Sept. 21. Pena also said he worked through different groupings of players to see who worked well with whom.
“We try to get out of these things healthy,” he said.
Veteran play caller and Sanger Herald editor Dick Sheppard liked what he saw. “They dominated,” he said of his beloved Apaches.
Sure, Redwood played it’s first and second units. But from the level of play on the field, it appeared
the second unit got more field time. Making a determination was difficult. One highlight for Redwood was a run into the end zone late in the scrimmage by junior Joel Atkinson.
Sanger didn’t start out dominant. Passes weren’t completed, plays didn’t come together right away and the athletes looked somewhat unsure of themselves. Then after about 10 minutes with sweat dripping from faces, grass stains on practice uniforms and adrenaline activated, they played like a different team.
“Today we did good,” said defensive end and senior Aaron Salcido. “We all went to the ball and played full
speed. We’ve all got to think about next week, about Reedley. And we just need to get better. We could work on more pass rush and get to the ball more.”
Nick Papagni, the godfather of central San Joaquin Valley high school sports, listed the Apaches at No. 12 in the Central Section California Interscholastic Federation Division I standings. The defending Valley champion Central Grizzlies took the top spot behind the arm of senior Trent Tompkins, who threw 3,624 yards and 37 touchdowns last year.
Former Apache Jalen Cropper, who was spotted at the scrimmage, transferred to Papagni’s pick for No.
3, the Buchanan Bears of Clovis. “Jalen is exciting with the football, so look for the Bears to get JC the ball a lot,” he said on thepagmeter.com.
Of Sanger, Papagni said, “The Apaches will do well during the non- league schedule and might struggle during the CMAC (County Metro Athletic Conference) play. The Apaches will always play hard and they lost their playmaker, Jalen Cropper, to Buchanan with a transfer so they need to regroup and play good old Sanger football.”
Papagni singled out mentions for Isaac Salas leading the offensive line. He mentioned running