There’s a sense of urgency for Golden Valley High star Jaren Bell this season. The senior receiver knows this is it, one more chance to do something special on the football field in a Cougars uniform. “All my other years at this school have been amazing,” Bell said. There’s just something about that senior year that hits different, that makes you want to really put everything out there for the team, for the school, for my family and for me.”

 

Bell isn’t the only Cougars player hitting the field with a different mindset. Golden Valley head coach Rick Martinez and his coaching staff didn’t like what he was seeing in recent years. The program seemed to be lacking a level of commitment from players. Practices seemed to drag because an attention to detail and intensity was missing. Those flaws would show up in crucial moments during games on Friday nights.

 

Martinez and his coaches felt the program’s culture needed a reset. They have asked for more from their players and so far the players have responded. “Us as coaches, we've all been part of pretty good football programs, and we know what it takes,” Martinez said. “We kind of went back to the drawing board and kind of brought that up and said, this is what we’re going to do, and this is how we’re going to do it. We decided that if we end up with 25 players, we end up with 25 players, and eventually they’ll be 25 solid players.”

 

Martinez led Le Grand to four consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section championships as head coach from 2010 to 2013, including an appearance in a state championship bowl in 2011. He wanted to steer the culture within the GV program closer to what he saw during that run at Le Grand. He’s seen a difference already.

 

“Their mindset has changed, the way they practice, the way they prepare, the way they are teammates to each other, the way they are in the locker, they've changed everything,” Martinez said. “They’re responding to our expectations. It's a pretty good product for us now. Hopefully, that turns into wins.”

 

The Cougars have two of the top playmakers in the Central California Conference in Bell and senior running back Isaiah Welch and a third-year quarterback in Gabe Richards. Welch rushed for 1,002 yards and 14 touchdowns and added 323 yards receiving and three more scores. 

 

Bell led the Cougars with five touchdown catches this year and Martinez feels he’s poised for a big senior season. “He's coming on hard,” Martinez said. “He's matured a lot.”

 

Richards is a three-sport athlete who also wrestles and plays baseball. Richards threw for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns and also rushed for 515 yards and five scores. “I'm confident we could win this year if we keep pushing how we have in practice,” he said. “We just have to keep working. I mean, we've been working hard for these past few weeks, since we’ve had our pads on, and if we keep pushing like this, we could do something special.”

 

Other key returners include linebacker Carlos Aguirre, tight end/defensive end Camdin Patterson, tight end/linebacker Julian Solorio, receiver/defensive back Damian Soriano, running back/linebacker Michael Sias, receiver/defensive back Jordan Harris and running back/linebacker Martin Pulido.

 

“Our record is going to be better than any other record that we have had in the past,” Bell said. “That's one thing I can say for sure. Everybody is going to give it their all. They're going to put their heart out on the field. We’re going to give it our best.”

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org. 

 

Schedule

Aug. 28 vs Lathrop

Sept. 4 at Tokay

Sept. 11 vs Linden

Sept. 18 at Pitman

Sept. 25 vs Kimball

Oct. 9 at  El Capitan

Oct. 16 vs Merced

Oct. 23 at Buhach Colony

Oct. 30 vs Atwater

Nov. 6 at Los Banos