Football Insider: Q&A with Coach Eric Patton

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One-on-one with Coach Eric Patton:

Question: What did you learn about your team in spring practice?
Eric Patton: The jury is still out in a lot of areas. We feel like we have a good nucleus of skill players and a strong quarterback (Duke Delancelotti). I think he’s going to be a strong player. We’ve got good receivers and good running backs. Were not going to be a team of superstars or real flashy players. But I think we’ll be pretty solid across the board. We really need to look at our offensive line. Obviously, no one has pads on in spring, so we don’t know what we’re going to look like.

(Linebacker) Dylan Reda is our top prospect on defense. Right now we have a good secondary. We have Josh Leff and Aaron Jones. He’s (Jones) a sophomore that started as a freshman on our varsity baseball team. He plays wide receiver and safety. We have a lot of seniors, but not many guys that played last year.

Q: What are some things you still need to do between now and fall?
EP: I think we still have to polish our passing game. We really need to get stronger and be well-conditioned. I think we are kind of small and undersized. You better be well-conditioned. People are going to come after you.

Q: What do you think about the South Coast League staying in the Pac-5 Division?
EP: It would have been fair for us to be in a different division. But if you look at it from a geographical standpoint, there’s really no place to put us. If you look at our first-round playoff game with Servite (San Clemente lost 54-43) we competed. But we’ve (the South Coast League) won one (playoff) game in the last two years. If you look at any conference there’s got to be somebody at that level and I guess it’s our turn to be at that level. But I don’t think it’s fair. We’ve played Edison every year and we’ve been beaten. And I don’t think it’s been close. We’ve lost to Edison five out of the last six years. I understand what the CIF is doing. There’s no place to put us. I’m not one to whine. We’ll line up and play.

But I think the CIF has an obligation to make the pairing as fair as possible. And it’s uncomfortable when you’re in there because geography says you have to be there. But we’ll play anybody and well have fun doing it. I think the lesson (from the playoffs) was our kids came to play and played hard. We just don’t have the size, strength and athleticism some of the other schools have.  We take a lot of pride we’re in the best conference in the CIF and we try to live up to that.

Q: It seems you and Mission Viejo have company now in Tesoro. What are your early impressions of your league?
EP: I think (Tesoro coach) Brian Barnes has really brought that program back. They have a proud tradition to begin with. I’m happy for Brian. Mission has a quarterback (Alan Bridgford) committed to Cal and a receiver (Alex Mascarenas) committed to another big school. When you have a combo like that you’re going to be tough to beat. Those are probably the two top teams. I think we’re going to be right there. We should be able to compete. We’re just a little weak on the offensive and defensive line.

Q: Can you talk about the decision to play La Habra?
EP: We’re not one of the powerhouses. We’re not worried about getting knocked off a high level. What do you have to lose? It’s a ballgame. We like playing some competitive people. We just had a chance to play La Habra and it worked out in our schedule. They play an excellent brand of football. We were looking to stay in Orange County, although this is as far as we could get.

Q: How do you feel about your new quarterback?
EP: Duke (Delancelotti) has a lot of potential. He’s a real good field general, if you can imagine having your first start against Servite in the playoffs. He runs the ball really well. He also throws the ball well on the run, so we're going to move him around. He’s not as much of a dropback quarterback as Brad Curtis was, but he can throw pretty good. He’s got a lot to learn.

Q: What are you looking for out of running back Ryan DeLeon this year?
EP: He’s an all-league running back. He runs that fly sweep about as well as anyone we’ve had here. We’re excited about what he can do. A lot will depend on his health. We think Ryan can have a 1,000-yard season. That’s well within the realm of possibility. Last year the fly was something we kind of dabbled in and probably didn’t press as much as we should have, but with Brad it was kind of a distraction to what Brad can do. With Ryan, I think he’s a guy that everyone’s going to have to respect next year.

Q: What do you think your team needs to get over the hump in the playoffs?
EP: It kind of goes back to what we we’re talking about being in the division. It’s hard for me to say what we need to do. We have a good positive program, a winning attitude, good coaches. The kids are prepared. It’s just a matter of who you have to play. You might play one of the other four league champions that are really good. Or even if you win the league, when you play the third-place team from the Trinity League, you might as well be playing a league champion.

Contact the writer: amaya@ocregister.com