Palma football

Palma (10-4, 6-0)
 The cupboard never runs bare at Palma. At least not over the last 32 years when it comes to chasing league titles and making consecutive postseason appearances.
 Yet, how do you replace over 2,500 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns from Emilio Martinez?
 You don't.
 County records don't occur by accident.
 "It's not fair to put those kind of expectations on any kid coming up,'' Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo said.
 That being said, Carnazzo has brought up sophomore Anthony Villegas to fill the gap, much like he did three years ago when he brought Martinez up.
 "Villegas is going to be good,'' Carnazzo said.
 While 2,000 plus rushing seasons don't come around often, the Chieftains have had a running back top 1,000 yards nine straight years.
 "We have more depth at the position this year,'' Carnazzo said. "Hopefully we can get the same type of production from a trio of backs with less carries.''
 The Chieftains clearly have some size in the trenches with the return of  lineman Nick Georgatos and Santo DeFranco to open holes.
 While a potent ground game chews up the clock and keeps a defense rested, spreading the field with its passing game is a must if Palma wants to take that next step in the postseason.
 "No doubt,'' Carnazzo said. "I still think about both playoff losses, especially the CCS finals. "You have to be more balanced. We know that. Last year we had limitations.''
 Carnazzo got a nice surprise when 6-foot-2 quarterback Peter Powers transferred from Mitty. His older brother Jack, was the Herald's Defensive Player of the Year in 2012.
 Powers played sparingly last year for Mitty, mainly as a defensive back.
 "We feel we have two quarterbacks that will make us better this year,'' Carnazzo said.
 Which is important. Because it would be a waste not to use a talented receiving core that features Dominic Scattini, Andrew Rivera and sophomore burner Jon Jon Berring.
Scattini, an all-league shortstop in baseball for Palma, quietly caught 18 passes last season. Berring will line up all over the field to take advantage of his speed and create matchup problems.
 "With two quarterbacks sharing the reps, we're still building chemistry,'' Scattini said. "Come game time, we'll be ready.''
 Having either won or shared every Gabilan Division title since the league was formed, Palma is 29-1 during that stretch in league play, falling only to San Benito.
 For as dynamic as the Chieftains offense was last fall, the defense was special, holding six teams without a touchdown and two others to one.
 How Palma rebounds from the loss of five all-leaguers and nine starters on defense could dictate its path to another crown.
 Having Liam Short and his four interceptions will help shore up the secondary. But the front seven will have a makeover as graduation gutted the Chieftains.
 Then again, those that served in a backup role last fall could have started for a lot of teams, including DeFranco and Georgatos, and linebacker Zachary Taylor.
 "Different facets of the game have to step up this year,'' Scattini said.
 You don't rebuild when you're chasing championships for three plus decades. But occasionally, you have to reload. In a power league, nothing is handed to you, regardless of the uniform.
 "We lost 33 seniors,'' Carnazzo said. "Depth is a concern with a roster of 42 players, including five sophomores. Those first two games (St. Francis and Menlo-Atherton) will be trial by fire.''