Napa High football preview: Grizzlies looking to get wins, send senior class out the right way in 2025

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By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)

kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

Oftentimes, when a new season begins, each team sets goals. Wracking up some wins is one of the many things the senior-heavy Napa High football team will look to do. 

This is what Napa High will look to do this fall after going 0-10 last season and 0-6 in the Redwood Empire Valley Division. 

The senior group has taken on more of a leadership of the team. This has also helped them round into form this summer. 

“I think it is really important, because we’ve been playing all four years,” Napa High senior Rocco Capponi added. “So our chemistry is one of the best, and I think it just makes practice a whole bunch easier.” 

However, one of the reasons this could be a good season is the talent they have coming back, especially on the offensive side of the ball. They will be led by returning tight end Matthew Hutchinson and quarterback/wide receiver Capponi. 

Capponni should be under center at the start of the season. As a multi-sport athlete, he can do a lot of things on the gridiron. But if he’s not under center, you can also find him lined up out wide as a receiver. 

“I really emphasized my mechanics and emphasized my work ethic and really evolved in that department,” Capponi explained of how he’s coming into the season after seeing tons of reps as a junior. 

As for Hutchinson, he is expected to have a major impact on both sides of the ball. But more specifically, on the offensive side, he can be used as a chain-moving weapon when needed. 

If they also wanted to run the ball, bruising running back Josue Victorino is back as well. As the season went on last year, he continued to take on more of a role in the offense. 

“About 15 pounds, that’s what I’ve seen,” Napa High head coach Chris Harris said of his running back’s growth in the offseason. “So his role is going to be very similar. But yeah, he’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s faster, and we’re excited to watch him play.” 

Others returning after being around last season are Marcos Martinez, Colton Ellis, Jonah Faughn, and Karson Feigel. 

With all these returners back, it has made things a lot easier when it came to reviewing base sets, since they already had a base set. 

“I feel like there’s been a lot more organization and just a lot more football IQ,” Hutchinson said. “From my past few years here, everyone just understands the game better, and they want it more if that makes sense.”

The Grizzlies are coming into the season off a productive offseason program

This is the primary reason for the increased optimism this season. From the moment the season ended last year, this group has been working hard in the weight room. 

“It was good to watch them just get back to work after the season that we had and go fight it,” Harris said of the work in the weight room and how the team has taken that on. “ So I’m really happy with the work they put in, the time that they put in.” 

The weight room also gave them a whole new mindset and some more confidence. After all, this is where they built all their momentum to take into the fall. 

“We just went in there thinking, ‘let’s prove everyone wrong,’” Hutchinson explained. “We know what we are. We don’t want this to happen again. We love this game.” 

They have also been participating in 7-on-7 competitions with St. Helena, Justin-Siena, and Sonoma Valley during the summer. This helped them with timing on plays. But more importantly, it was just a good thing to see someone outside of your uniform. 

Schedule remains pretty much the same

This season, there aren’t many changes to the schedule. It also means they’re going to be facing a lot of teams with which they have some familiarity from a scheme standpoint. Also new this season is a bit more home cooking, as they have 6 home games on the slate to go along with a pair of road trips. 

The season will begin on August 29th when the Grizzlies host St. Patrick-St. Vincent at 7 pm. Napa nearly beat S. Patrick-St. Vincent last season in the opener but fell short in a 35-28 loss. 

Following that, the Grizzlies will go on the road for two straight weeks. They’ll head over to Sebastopol to face Analy on September 5th. On September 12th, they’ll visit Hercules, who is the only new opponent this season.

“It’s pretty nice with a consistent schedule, because we get to go against teams that we’ve already faced and already know what they’re gonna be running,” Capponni pointed out about the schedule being pretty much the same. 

After the two-week road trip, Napa will return home for its first Redwood Empire Conference Valley Division game against Casa Grande on September 26th. 

To begin October, Napa will be the home team in Big Game 54 (LIV) against Vintage. This is a rivalry that is important to have on the schedule, even though both teams are in separate football-only leagues. This will be the second season of the annual rivalry being in the non-league slate of the season. 

“Whether I like it or not, Big Game means it all for me,” Hutchinson explained. “I know with my mom and all those guys up there, that’s all eyes gone on me for that game, and it means a lot to me.” 

After the rivalry game, the Grizzlies will hit the road for their final two road games of the season. On October 10th, they’ll visit Petaluma, and then on October 18th, it’s a trip to Larkspur to face Redwood. 

The season will conclude with three straight home games, two of which feature Napa County opponents. On October 24th, Napa will host American Canyon, and then on Halloween Night, they’ll host Justin-Siena. The season ends on November 7th with a home game against Tamalpias. 

A few coaching staff changes this season

Coming into the season, there will be a few changes to the coaching staff. But the biggest changes have come at the varsity level. 

The biggest one of those changes is the promotion of Rusty Becker to defensive coordinator after helping on the defensive side of the ball the last few seasons. 

“He has some of the most football experience in the valley, with him playing Division 1 football at Cal and a ton of energy, and having him out there yelling at the top of his lungs, giving it his all, it just means a lot to the players,” Hutchinson said of Becker’s promotion to defensive coordinator. “You know, it’s a guy you want to go out and you want to die for, basically.” 

But there are also plenty of younger alumni coaches back on the staff. Class of 2017 graduates Axel Chowell and Brock Swanson are on the staff to help out, and so is class of 2018 graduate Brandon Herter. Chowell had been on the staff the last few years but took a year off last year before returning this season.

“The young coaches have added a lot of energy because they’re younger,” Capponi explained of the new coaches and what they’ve brought. “Brock, especially, he’s been fun to be coached by, and he’s just all around great person.” 

Napa High also has 4 new coaches on the JV staff. So there are plenty of new coaches this season.