The Mavericks open the 2009 football season Friday night against a relatively unknown team in the Salinas Cowboys.

The Mavericks come into the game ranked 7th in the state of Calfornia, and 37th in the nation by Maxpreps, their highest pre-season state and national rankings ever for La Costa Canyon football.

Here is what I could find about Salinas...

Mascot: Cowboys
Coach: Steve Goodbody
Colors: Purple, Gold
League: Tri-County
Section: Central Coast Section (CA)
2008 Record: 7-5 (3-3)
State Rank (CA): 380

Returning Players:

Offensive Starters: 8

Defensive Starters: 5

2008 JV Record: 9-1

Starting Quarterback Returning: no

Top Running Back Returning: yes

Top Receiver Returning: yes

Top OL Returning: yes

Top Defender Returning: no

Analysis: In the film I've seen from the 2008 season, the Cowboys run a pretty standard pro offense, running many bellies, sweeps, tosses, and waggles (all-in-all pretty vanilla). If they come out with a similar offensive scheme this year, expect the Maverick defense to be prepared. This is nothing the La Costa coaching staff haven't seen before. The Cowboys return their top runningbacks, and their JV team went an impressive 9-1 in 2008.

2008 Game Film















Prediction: With 8 returning offensive starters, the Mavericks will attack with the rushing game and run all over this Salinas team. Expect few passing yards (sorry Stills), and expect Seth Hanson, Weston Manor, and Erik Nelson to have big rushing nights, combining for at least 350 yards and 4 touchdowns. The La Costa Canyon offense line is huge and experienced, led by veterans Aaron Wofford and Corey Lamb. La Costa's biggest question mark will be their quarterback play and defensive leadership.

La Costa 42, Salinas 14