With Streblow now in charge, Justin-Siena looks to finish the job with section title
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Don Lex (LucyDuckImages.com)
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Last season was a magical one for Justin-Siena on the football field. The record of 7-6 overall with a 3-3 Vine Valley Athletic League mark may not show it, but the Braves came up a few inches short of winning the CIF North Coast Section Division 6 championship last season.
However, as they look to get a step further than they did in 2021, there will also be some changes that will take some getting used to.
The biggest and most obvious difference is the change of head coach leading the program. In April, it was announced that Brandon LaRocco would step down after being the head man for six seasons from 2016 to 2021. In that time, he had a record of 29-33 with four trips to the playoffs.
Luckily, there will be minimal change to the program this year as long-time offensive coordinator Tyler Streblow was named the school’s newest head coach in May.
“I am incredibly honored and blessed to be named the next Head Football Coach at Justin-Siena High School,” Streblow said in a May press release. “I look forward to carrying on the tradition and legacy that has been passed down from all the former coaches. I am so grateful for Coach LaRocco and all he has done for me as a mentor and friend. He will be missed, but we are incredibly happy for him and his future plans. I want to thank Justin-Siena for giving me the opportunity to lead such a storied program. This is truly a dream come true! I am excited for the future and being able to work with such amazing coaches and student-athletes.”
Because the changes at the top of the program happened at such a late time, they weren’t able to get in any spring practices. That meant that they had some catching up to do once the summer began.
It also helps that the Braves have some pieces returning from last year’s group to get things off to a good start. Leading the group of returning players in Brandon Guducci. Also returning is Holden Beers to start under center. Other returning players include Joesiyah Maddalone, Emrys Davies, Trevor L’Esperence, Luke Giusto, Jackson Smith, Andrew Bartololucci-Engelbert, and Ryan Teresi.
“It seems like we have a really tight-knit group of guys,” Guducci pointed out. “We have a good, strong group of seniors coming back that are really tight and close together so we’re ready for anything that comes. We also have some good young guys, some sophomores that are coming up some good juniors that are going to support us this year. So we’re looking good.”
It’s also no secret that this year that Justin-Siena will have to replace a lot of offensive production in different ways after losing a large chunk of their offense in 2021 to graduation.
It also helps that it has been busy this summer for the Braves. They went to the De La Salle 7-on-7 tournament, which they do every year. The one difference is that they weren’t able to get in any local 7-on-7 games as they have in years past.
“I think I liked how we competed,” Streblow said. “I think we basically had a week of summer practice before we got there and as it is, everywhere we go, we’re the smallest team, we’re the smallest school. The best teams in Northern California go to that tournament every year. It’s a great place. We gave some really high-level competition. I just love how we compete.”
Very minor schedule adjustments in 2022
This season, the schedule will look a lot like it has in the past for the Braves.
The main difference is this season Justin-Siena will open up the season with a local rival. That local rival is St. Helena, which will mark the return of the Vine Bowl. The game will take place in St. Helena on August 26th. The last time these two local small schools met on the gridiron was in 2001. In that game, Justin-Siena won 47-0. This local matchup will also be a battle of two runners-up in the CIF NCS last season. St. Helena lost a 54-32 game to St. Vincent de Paul and Justin-Siena lost 28-26 against Salesian-Richmond.
“It’s funny because the last time we played them, I was a sophomore here,” Streblow said of the game in St. Helena to begin the season. “So that was the last time we played St. Helena. Ian McMillan was my JV coach when he was here. Coach Vargus was my varsity defensive coordinator and I coached with him for five years. My uncle Steve Shifflett who coached here is up there. So I think for the kids, it’s something we’re gonna have to probably talk to them about because none of them were born last time we played St. Helena.”
Following that, the Braves’ first home game will come against Fortuna on September 2nd.
Justin-Siena will face another new opponent on September 9th when they head to Concord to face Ygnacio Valley. Ygnacio Valley replaces Saint Mary’s of Berkely who the Braves played in their home-opener last season and in the first round of the CIF North Coast Section Divison 6 playoffs. The reason the teams won’t meet up again this season is due to a miscommunication
The non-league portion of the schedule will conclude on September 16th when they host Bear River of Grass Valley.
League play begins the next week when the Braves visit Petaluma on September 23rd.
They’ll host Sonoma Valley on September 30th.
For the next two weeks, the Braves will be the visitors, but they won’t have to go too far. They will make only their third and fourth visits to Napa Memorial Stadium when they visit Napa on October 7th and Vintage on October 14th.
“I think these are two really important games,” Streblow pointed out. “For us, those are two of the bigger schools in the league. It’s important for us to show who were. They are really good teams. They’re both well-coached. We need to have the mindset to not be intimidated when going in there. They’re really good teams, we respect them, and they’re both great teams. It’s fun for us to be able to get over to Memorial and play in the big stadium.”
The bye week will come on October 21st. It will undoubtedly come as a time to heal up at the end of the season.
The Braves will host American Canyon on October 28th.
To end the season, Justin-Siena will host Casa Grande-Petaluma on November 5th.
Changes to the coaching staff
There are always changes to a coaching staff every year. It’s no different this season.
At the varsity level, Johnny Pelfini will coach the linebackers and running backs. Spencer Joske will serve as the defensive coordinator after getting promoted from the JV head coaching job last season. He previously served as the varsity defensive line coach from 2016-19.
The JV staff is brand new this season. Leading the way at the JV level will be Bernie O’Hara with Dave Shipp back to be the defensive coordinator.
