Kajiya Hollowayne, Juan Denny, and Damonce Williams are ready to show what an electric offense they have. They have been practicing some very complicated college-level packages that I can’t wait to see in action on the field in the coming weeks. Kajiya Hollowayne (Tigers Starting QB) is looking to increase his ranking amongst scouts as UCLA already offered him a full-ride athletic scholarship. He hasn’t signed with them nor does he seem close to making a decision yet, but this is an excellent opportunity for everybody on the San Jacinto Tiger Football team as scouts from all over the nation will be here this season to watch Kajiya play.

The Tigers Defense is looking solid and holding their own in practice against such an electric offense. Ryan Cogdill (Coach G’s defensive package) has done a great job at putting players in the right spot to be successful. His Defense is anchored by Kameron Rocha in the secondary who swaps between safety and defensive back, I’ve watched Kameron shut down his teammates all summer long in one on one drills, and play high-level zone defense when playing over the top. The great thing about Kameron is he isn’t scared to get in the box and lower the boom. He enjoys it. Nathan Ortiz who plays old fashioned smash mouth football as the middle linebacker, chaos seems to follow him everywhere he goes on the field. He is confident in his skill and is very intuitive as the Middle Linebacker. Lastly, the big man in the middle Sheldon Newton, Sheldon has no problems getting to the Quarterback; his only issue is he has been held in check all season being told not to hit the offense too hard. I can’t wait to see what happens when he isn’t playing against his team because he is big, fast, and strong. I envision Sheldon being a problem for many backfields this year when his restraints are lifted off. 

My last article of this year’s Hardknocks coverage will come in next week’s print as I cover San Jacinto’s first scrimmage against Valley View at 6:00 on August 10th. Until then you can check out more pictures of Hardknocks at Author Kyle Rae Headlee on Facebook, If your child is in a picture feel free to download them and keep them, all I ask is you follow the page. 

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The team went into full scrimmage mode, (without pads and tackling) but definitely, there was a “Us Vs. Them” mentality when the offense took the field against the defense. The big defensive tackle Sheldon Newton was coming through the offensive line with power and speed right at quarterback Kajiya Hollowayne (who was recently offered a full-ride athletic scholarship to UCLA) In this drill you aren’t allowed to touch your quarterback, but that didn’t stop Sheldon from engaging in friendly trash talk telling Kajiya, “I woulda smacked you, boy,.” Kajiya responded with a smile and an eye roll as to say, “Yeah, I’m sure about that.” The intensity only picked up from there. One of the wide receivers ran the wrong route resulting in a defensive interception. Kajiya wasn’t happy about that and took control of the scrimmage; he started making reads, getting out of the pocket when under pressure and moved his offense downfield. As good as Kajiya and his offense is, it’s the defense I was impressed with this week. Kajiya was always under pressure, and when his receivers caught the ball, they were instantly swallowed up by three or four defenders.

The team then transitioned to one on one drills, Wide Receivers vs. Defensive Backs. This is where kids who are trying out for the team make names for themselves and get attention from the coaching staff. Two players constantly lined up against each other and went head to head multiple times, the defensive player intercepted two balls and batted down a hand full, but that didn’t stop the wide receiver from getting in his reps. He regularly ran great routes, making strong cuts in and out of his route, and showed excellent hands. Catching balls that were a little high or a little low. The competition between the two of them was great, neither were angry when the other guy won the matchup, they simple smacked hands and ran back to the line to get more reps in.

These week’s practices were intense, but Coach Galliano and his staff are trying to make sure his team is ready for when they get pads on in the coming weeks. That’s when the physicality of the game reaches a new level, and you find out who is cut out for it and who isn’t. Until then, Coach Galliano and his staff are working hard to make sure every player knows the playbook and what they have to do in their position.

For more Images of SJHS Hardknocks follow Author Kyle Rae Headlee on facebook.

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Coach Galliano is excited for his program to get this type of exposure and they deserve it! Last season Coach Galliano lead his team to the CIF championship game and fell short of winning the whole thing. This year Coach Galliano knows what to expect and will make sure his Tigers are ready for war.

During the coverage of The Hemet & San Jacinto Hard Knocks there will be an extra story that coincides with it called “The Player Profile” here will be a short bio of one of the San Jacinto Tigers players so you can get to know them a little more and maybe root for them a little harder.

Right now The San Jacinto Tigers football team is having voluntary workouts a couple days a week, they aren’t allowed to touch the field as a team yet due to CIF restrictions, but they are allowed to come in and lift weights. Their program will officially start in July when all players are required to report to camp.

Coach Galliano will start his team off with practice in order to get used to the new personnel trying out and get his team to shake the rust off. The Tigers graduated quite a few seniors last season, but Galliano and his staff are confident that the young players will step up to the plate and show that they have the talent to make another deep run in the playoffs this upcoming season.

Due to certain CIF limitations put together to assure the health and wellness of the High School athlete, they can only wear full pads so many days during summer, full contact scrimmages are very limited, and hitting drills are seldom, at best. The CIF started implementing stricter rules a few years ago and are very stern in this regard.

That makes running a football program a lot harder than it was in the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s, certain drills are no longer allowed, so it’s not like most of us remember it, lining up for Oklahoma drills and Bull in the Ring everyday to add “toughness” just isn’t an option.

Follow The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle Facebook page for online updates of the San Jacinto Tigers summer football programs, also follow Kyle Headlee on Facebook for pictures of the players I take while at the practices. If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to email VcsportsKyle@gmail.com I’m always available.

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