Football Tour X

Salinas (5-6, 3-3)
 No team has a more brutal overall schedule than the Cowboys, who face two Central Coast Section divisional champions, a CCS finalist and 10 playoff teams.
 "I guess I'm the one to blame,'' said Salinas coach Steve Goodbody, whose squad will also play six road games this fall.
 Salinas lost its two leading rushers and its leading receiver to graduation. Then again, when you have a roster hovering around 75 players, there's talent hidden on the sidelines.
 Such as quarterback Zach McDermott, who threw for nearly 1,200 yards last year. A new offensive system will give the senior signal caller more opportunities to put the ball in the air.
 "The offense is a lot different than last year,'' McDermott said. "We still have a long ways to go to learn the entire playbook. We keep adding more and more to the offense each week.''
 Salinas won't abandon its ground game. Not with Rueben Cerda and Bruce Leighton back to fill the void of having lost nearly 1,700 rushing yards to graduation.
 Defensively, the Cowboys will be physical, deeper and quicker at numerous positions.
 Having been to the playoffs six straight years, Salinas has traditionally hit its stride in the second half of the season. That didn't happen last year, dropping four of its final five games.
 The combined 2013 record of the first four non-league teams Salinas faces this year is 44-5.

 Check The Herald's website for an interview with Salinas High coach Steve Goodbody.