Napa High football preview: Grizzlies looking to take another step forward in win column in 2026

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

Kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

They always say that gradual growth is a sign that things are starting to look better and go the way you wanted.  

After a season full of steps in the right direction, Napa High will aim for a winning record in 2026. 

Last season, the Grizzlies finished with a 3-7 overall record and a 1-5 mark in Redwood Empire Conference Valley play. 

While they did graduate some key players from their roster, they also return plenty of playmaking ability this season. 

One big addition to get back is TE/DL Matt Hutchinson, who missed his whole junior season of sports with a knee injury. They are happy to have him back and ready to contribute again. 

However, he has recovered and is ready to be an integral part of the offense, especially in short-yardage passing situations. 

“It’s the most rewarding thing that I’ve experienced as a person,” Hutchinson said of his rehab. “Coming off the success I had as a sophomore with all the hard work in the off-season to fight back from a 0-10 season just to tear my ACL  in the second snap of a scrimmage, not even a game, was straight up gut-wrenching. But I rehabbed hard after surgery with my physical therapist Eric Ewig, and I’m ready to go for the first game just as strong physically and even stronger mentally, which is great.”

On top of that, they are spoiled at the TE position by having Jonah Faughn also there. 

“Even though he’s the starting tight end this and I’m not, I’ve been good friends with him the past 2 years and never truly gotten to play with him in a game,” Hutchinson explained. “So it’s going to be fun playing smash mouth football with him right on my left.”

Also on the offensive side of the ball, they return explosive running back Eryk Gualberto. He can catch the ball from the backfield as well as run between the tackles as needed. 

“Eryk has grown so much since he came to Napa,” Ruiz-Chavez said. I mean, he’s gotten so much stronger, bigger. He’s really focused on the game, really learned the game. He’s got so much better. Berto and I have always been closest (since) we were little kids, so I’ve known him for a while. He’s always been like that. So I mean, it’s just nothing. I don’t expect anything else from him. He’s a hard worker. He gets it done, and he’s always going to shine.” 

The offseason also helped him get more acclimated to Napa’s system after coming in during the middle of last season. 

But they will also have a new quarterback under center this season. Jeter Ruiz-Chavez got a lot of game reps last season and is back as only a junior. 

“I think it’s really fun. I mean, Jack is only a sophomore, and he’s doing really well as a sophomore,” Ruiz-Chavez said of the battle for QB. “He has a lot of expectations here. I came in as a sophomore too, got moved to varsity, so I think it’s kind of the same situation. But I mean, he’s really showing his talents, and I think he could really be something. I mean, it’s not really a battle. I mean, that’s really my friend. I mean, we’re really close, so it’s always fun just competing with a younger guy.”

However, the quarterback job is far from settled. Sophomore Jack Bottari has been battling with Ruiz-Chavez for the role. 

“Yeah, it’s been good,” Harris explained of the battle for QB. “They’re just getting after it every day. They both bring a lot of great leadership energy, and they have different skill sets. But they both command the huddle well, so it’s fun to watch this go, and we’ll be excited to see this week play out as we get pads and go through the rest of the week.”

Others returning for Napa are Alan Alfaro, Jayden Myatt, Fabricio Palafox, and Adam Chowell. But the main thing is that this is a senior-heavy group. 

“Oh, it’s definitely nice,” Harris said of the group of seniors that return. “When you get four years with the same kids. So we have expectations for this group. But yeah, it’s been nice to see it through.”

A vastly different schedule in 2026

The Grizzlies have a new schedule this season with some different opponents. 

They begin the season on August 28th with a trip to Piedmont. 

Then, Napa will play its first game at Memorial Stadium on September 4 when they host Pioneer-Woodland. 

On September 11th, they will renew one of the North Bay’s oldest rivalries as they visit Vallejo. For years, the two used to lock horns on the gridiron and will finally do so again. 

After that, they’ll return home to host Hercules on September 18th. 

Finally, the non-league slate will end with Big Game LV (55). This will be a Vintage home game on September 25th. 

The bye will then take place at the halfway point of the season. This will be a nice chance to refresh before getting into Redwood Empire Conference – Bay play. 

“Having a bye before we start league, I think, is always nice, and it happened to work out that way this year,” Harris added. “You don’t want to have a bye too early ever, and you don’t want to have it in the middle of the league either. So since the league’s only five games, it’s nice to have it right in the middle.” 

The Grizzlies were bumped down a division as part of realignment following last season. 

“It’s good. Watching varsity my freshman year and playing it my sophomore year, there was a big gap between us and our league competition,” Hutchinson pointed out. “It seemed like last year that gap closed a good amount, and it would have been even more this year if we were still in that league. So being in this league now should have a positive effect on our record.”

REC-Bay play will begin on October 9th when Napa heads to Sonoma Valley. 

On October 16th, Napa will host Santa Rosa. This will be their last time at home for a few weeks. 

It’s then back-to-back road games for the Grizzlies as they play San Rafael on October 23rd and Analy in Sebastopol on October 30th. 

The regular season comes to an end on November 6th when they host Tamalpais in what will be Senior Night. 

A few tweaks to the coaching staff 

It wouldn’t be a new season without a few notable additions to the coaching staff. 

The Grizzlies have added four new coaches to the varsity staff. The biggest of them is Steve Vargas. He will take over as the defensive coordinator. 

“Anybody that has that much experience, he has a plan on exactly what he’s doing, how to teach it, how to coach it,” Harris said of Vargas. “We’re all learning. The kids are learning, and it’s been a blessing.” 

Vargas was supposed to be Napa’s defensive coordinator back in 2016. But things fell apart, and he ended up heading to St. Helena that year. 

Vargas isn’t the only one to come over from Justin-Siena. He is joined by Albert Washington and Brendan Shanks. 

“I think just all the coaches coming just really boosted our energy,” Ruiz-Chavez explained. “I mean, just getting some new faces in here, some new voices, just to teach us what they learn, what they have, their knowledge. So I think Coach Washington’s a great coach. He’s one of our best coaches we’ve ever had. So I mean, just learning from him every day, even though I don’t play line, just seeing what the linemen do, seeing what our linemen are being taught, our blocking. So I think it’s just great having them.”