Paloma football players ready to accept another challenge

Mason Carvalho caught 75 passes for 1,346 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre

First, Paloma Valley High School football coach Tom Tello must find a way to replace quarterback Chance Nolan, a three-year starter who did it all for the Wildcats.

Then they put him in a new league with not only Heritage, but Rancho Verde, which won a CIF Southern Section championship last fall. Placed in the new Raincross Conference and the four-team Ivy League, the Wildcats face a challenge for sure.

“It just adds a new dynamic,” said Tello as Paloma Valley prepared for its season opener Friday at Cajon.

Tello said it was not his message to ask the Wildcats to build upon last season’s 10-3 record, which included their closest ever loss to Heritage (41-38) and march to the CIF semifinals. He knows this is a different season and a different team makeup. To Tello, every season should be treated as its own separate challenge.

“Every year is a new year,” he said. “Once the seniors graduate, it’s this year’s team. We know we’re in a new tough league, but if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.”

To be sure, Nolan will be a tough act to follow at quarterback. Last season, he passed for 3,797 yards and 43 touchdowns. In his three-year varsity career, Nolan passed for 9,024 yards and 104 TDs.

“Chance was a special player,” Tello said about Nolan, who is headed to Middle Tennessee State on a scholarship. “You’re not going to replace Chance; you just have to play Paloma football. That’s what we’ll do.”

Tello said he is high on sophomore Blake Hauser, who was the freshman QB last season.

One big plus for the Wildcats is that the entire starting offensive line returns: Randy Ruple, Blake Poe, Luke Young, Keegan Groves and Larry McCafferty. The defensive line also returns two starters. Isaiah Lowden has had a good preseason, Tello said, and he’s also looking to middle linebacker Jacob Torres and safety JJ Peterson for defensive leadership.

No conversation about the Wildcats is complete without mention of senior Mason Carvalho, a versatile performer who caught 75 passes for 1,346 yards and 16 touchdowns a year ago.

“He’s just a football player,” Tello said about Carvalho. “He’s a great student, he’s at every practice, and he has a great attitude. We will try to get the ball in his hands as much as we can.”

Running back duties will be shared by Dereus Dortch and Cody Cerersaro.