Wildcats follow Nolan's lead into their biggest game yet

Chance Nolan's mobility and passing accuracy as a quarterback are big factors in Paloma Valley's success. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre

When asked about quarterback Chance Nolan, Paloma Valley High School football coach Tom Tello replied, “He’s a huge part of what we do.”

What an understatement.

Heading into Friday’s Menifee Bowl game for the Sunbelt League championship, all the Wildcats’ senior QB has done is pass for 2,396 yards and 29 touchdowns; lead the team in rushing with 66 carries for 471 yards and 2 touchdowns; and lead the Wildcats to an 8-1 record.

Paloma Valley hasn’t lost since its season opener, 44-34 to a very good Cajon team. As a team adapting to a new head coach continued to improve over the course of the season, Nolan got just that much better. As he prepares to lead his team against an 8-1 Heritage squad in a battle of teams undefeated in league, Nolan has compiled the following statistics as a 3-year starter:

-- 7,623 yards passing
-- 90 passing touchdowns
-- 24-7 overall record

So what’s left to accomplish? Well, a couple things: Lead Paloma Valley to its first win over Heritage ever, then advance deep into the CIF playoffs.

Nolan hasn’t forgotten the pain of last season’s finish, which came in the form of a 35-13 loss to Heritage in the Menifee Bowl -- the Wildcats’ first loss of the season – followed by a 45-35 loss to ML King in the first round of the playoffs.

"That was tough to swallow," Nolan said after practice on Tuesday. "It took me a long time to get over that. Everything that could go wrong in two weeks went wrong. So our motivation this whole season is that we’re making another run at the playoffs. But it starts with this week, obviously."

No one at Paloma Valley is looking past the Heritage game toward the guaranteed playoff berth and the possibility of a strong postseason. The Wildcats know that a victory over the Patriots would help sharpen their execution, which has been difficult to keep at top levels during a league season in which they have beaten outmanned opposition by scores of 48-10, 57-6, 42-21 and 35-12.

And it all starts with Nolan, who has committed to Middle Tennessee State on the basis of a stellar three-year career. His experience and composure was a big reason Tello felt so good about leaving his defensive coordinator's job at Heritage to come across town and become head coach at Paloma Valley.

"To have a three-year starting quarterback playing for me my first year here was huge," Tello said. "And as good a player as he is, he’s a great kid, too."

In addition to making Tello’s transition easier with his impressive resume at quarterback, Nolan was a steadying influence for the players when Bert Esposito was suddenly replaced as head coach last May in the middle of spring practice.

"We all bought into Coach Tello right when he came in," Nolan said. "I took the team aside and said, ‘We all gotta fight for this guy. This is our senior year; we have to make a run at it.'

"He came in and helped us a lot with some defensive changes. It was a clean transition for us. On offense, there wasn’t that big of an adjustment. We did our same 7 on 7 preparation, we have the same calls. Plus we had our offensive coordinator (Juan Merida) back from last year."

As the players quickly adapted to a new head coach, they grew together as a team and were able to stay focused despite the lack of competition during the first four league games, Nolan said.

"We did it by practicing hard and getting better," he said. "We know what’s coming and we’ve been preparing for that. The coaches have instilled that in us. Coach Tello is big on that. Every week we’re playing for ourselves. We’re not playing for the other team. We’re trying to get better for Heritage and the playoffs so we can make a run this year.

"It’s been a total team effort. Our starting center’s a sophomore. We have like four young guys playing, and they’ve grown so much. I’ve seen them become play makers. Our mentality even at practice is we’re always ready to go. Last year, sometimes, we’d come out here and it wasn’t as rah rah. This year we’ve got that spunk, you know?"

One of Nolan’s strengths is his ability to scramble for yardage on the run if the pass isn’t there. As Tello says, "He just kind of tucks the ball in and takes off. He does whatever it takes." It’s a talent that should serve him well in college.

"A lot of it is just me making the most of things," Nolan said. "Sometimes the defensive players have good coverage on our receivers. I find the lanes and get what I can. I got a little faster than last year, too. I worked on that a lot, lifting weights and working on my legs."

Will it all be enough to beat Heritage Friday night? Only time will tell. But no one can say Nolan and his teammates aren’t up for the challenge.