WATSONVILLE — David Reese grabs his outside linebacker by the shoulder pad and tugs him a few feet to the side and into position.

“What’s your responsibility?” Monte Vista Christian’s new coach barks, to no one in particular.

“Underneath,” the player offers.

“What?”

“Underneath,” he says a second time, slightly more assuredly.

“Yes! Underneath. And if he comes in here, you’re going to dismember him!” he announces, with a distinctly Southern twang.

The coach goes on, singling out most every defensive player, and has him recite his proper position in the cover-two defense. Star quarterback Clark Eckert is spinning a football on his finger on the sideline.

During the roughly 20-minute demonstration, the offense runs exactly two plays. One is intercepted. The other results in a short, completed pass, and is highlighted by Reese sprinting to the spot of the reception to remind the tackler, in no uncertain terms, that he is to either dislodge the ball from the receiver, or dislodge the receiver’s head from his body.

Times have changed at Monte Vista Christian.

The Mustangs, known in the recent past as an accomplished passing team that could put up big scoring numbers but had trouble keeping opponents out of their end zone, are getting back to basics.

“The couple things people told me this team needed to work on the most were tackling and special teams,” Reese, who moved from Texas to California this July to take the MVC position, said. “And those are things I take a lot of pride in.”

Perhaps the most intriguing team in the Monterey Bay League, Monte Vista Christian missed the playoffs by one game last year. They beat each of the three other Watsonville teams — St. Francis, Watsonville and Pajaro Valley — to claim the very unofficial, and equally undeniable, city championship — but lost to the Monterey Bay League’s three playoff-bound teams — Seaside, Monterey and North County. Three players from the 2007 MVC roster are playing at NCAA schools now, but the Mustangs still have Eckert, the proud owner of over 2,000 passing yards in a single season, and certainly one of the top two or three returning gunslingers in the section.

Eckert is one of 20 seniors on the Mustangs’ roster to begin the season, meaning that most of last year’s team remains intact. Reese, though, may be the most important change to the team.

The former coach at Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas, has won five 4-A state championships, and three of his old players are currently in the NFL, including former Cal running back Justin Forsett. His deep knowledge of football alone could be enough to break the sometimes-wild Mustangs.

While MVC was one of the most talented teams in the county in 2007, it was also one of the most inconsistent. In successive weeks, the Mustangs put up 35 and 41 points in wins over Pajaro Valley and Watsonville. That was preceded, though, by consecutive losses to Monterey and Seaside in which the Mustangs put up zero and three points, respectively.

“Winning is a habit. And it’s a thin line,” Reese said, listing off a long line of sports phrases. “If the other team scores with five minutes left, a loser says, ‘Oh, well, we played ’em close.’ A winner says, ‘Hey, we still got five minutes.’”

Eckert, a quiet sort of fellow, said he appreciates his new coach’s fire.

“He’s a motivator, really,” Eckert said. “He just keeps putting it in our head that we’re going to be in the playoffs. It’s like, it’s not even a question now.”

While the focus at early-season practices may have shifted toward the most basic elements of the game — “head up,” “butt down,” “drive through the ball-carrier!” — Reese insists the team won’t be a predictable, bread-and-butter running team.

“We’ll kind of pick and choose,” Reese said of his preference between running the ball and airing it out. “We’ll do both. I’d like to be balanced; be, like, 50-50. We’ve got to take what they give us — we’re not going to be stubborn about it.”

The Mustangs still have Alonzo Caves operating their offense as he did a year ago, so much of the playbook on that side of the ball should stay the same. What Reese is interested in right now, though, is improving the other areas of the team.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time on (defense and special teams),” Reese said. “Just think — if we’re equal to other teams on offense and defense, it’d be a shame to get beat on special teams.

“But it’s an in-progress deal,” he said. “We’re a long way from where we want to be.”

The team has a lot going for it, though. In addition to a strong-armed and capable quarterback, MVC also features one of the biggest — and best — offensive lines in the county. Seth Mazerik, at 6-foot-2 and 275 pounds, is the anchor of the unit.

“This is definitely the biggest line we’ve had so far,” Mazerik said. “In the past we’ve had sort of a mismatch of big and little guys; but, yeah, this is one of the biggest.”

Despite losing a talented corps of receivers to graduation, the Mustangs seem to have enough talent to compete for a playoff spot. Making the leap, though, from city champs to league champs, will require that the team beat — or at least stay close to — the MBL’s top two dogs.

“I really don’t know much about the other teams,” Reese said. “To be honest, I don’t even know who all the teams are. But what I do know is that what we have to do is take care of our team. We haven’t done anything yet.”



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(Published on Aug. 23, 2008)

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Photos by I.A. Stewart/Register-Pajaronian

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