The Woodland High School varsity football team is heading into a year of rebuilding and reloading, but with that comes ample opportunity for younger players.

While dealing with the loss of dozens of recently graduated players is routine for any high school football program, replacing 18 starters is a much different challenge.

“The kids have been working very hard this summer, but we have to face the facts about the numbers of returning players we have,” said Woodland High School head coach Javier Marin. “We have four returners from last year, so we will be very young from the get-go.”

Due to their great performance during the 2021 campaign, where they hosted and won a playoff game for the first time in over two decades, the Wolves’ 2022 season was considered a down year after going 3-7 overall and only 2-3 in the league.

The Wolves still had much to be proud of, including developing a bevy of young talent for this year’s team, an emphatic 38-14 win on a senior night, five first-team all-leaguers and two honorable mention recipients.

Senior wide receiver and outside linebacker Gavin Grisso is the lone returning award recipient from last year. He hopes to upgrade his status to all-league after honorable mention recognition as a junior.

“He is one of those players who never leaves the field,” Marin said. “He is the most experienced returner we have. He is aware of the demands required of him. He will be out on the field a lot, and he has what it takes to meet our demands.”

Helping Grisso manage the massive amount of snaps up for grabs and the leadership void will be senior defensive back and starting running back Ricky Rojas. Rojas looks set for another season of going all out as a full-time two-way player.

“Having him back with his experience of playing both ways will help the team,” Marin said. “When you go from junior varsity to varsity, the speed of the game can be intimidating. Having Rojas and Grisso on the field the whole game will help guide the new varsity players to get fully up to game speed.”

While snaps are up for grabs, so is a massive leadership role left by departing quarterback Carter Imbach, running back James Thompson, linemen Bryce Casas and defensive back Ethan Hines.

“They (Grisso and Rojas) will fill in where the team needs them the most, whether that be in the classroom, locker room, weight room or on campus,” Marin said. “When 18 seniors graduate, there are huge gaps to fill, and they will need to fill them to ensure we have a competitive team. They’ll provide the intangibles.”

Another senior set for a more significant role in 2023 is middle linebacker Brayden Farnham.

“He will have to clog the middle for us and make all the essential reads and will be vital in stopping the running game,” Marin Emphasized.

Edgar Sandoval returns to the program after taking his junior season but a fantastic junior varsity season in 2021 to anchor the offensive and defensive line.

In the skill positions, returning junior running backs Diego Bautista and Michael Diffenderffer, along with junior wide receivers Joseph Codotte and Joseph “Jo Jo” Quezada, will all be heavily relied upon to help carry the load on offense.

“I’ll tell you what, they all put in a lot of work in the offseason starting in March,” Marin said. “We will see if that’s paid off in our first game. They put in some work knowing they had no varsity experience and will look to offset it by putting in that extra work.”

Leading the charge will be rising sophomore quarterback Joe Abarca, which gives the Wolves one of the youngest offenses in the league.

“Joe has done nothing but put in the work this offseason,” Marin said. “He knows he has zero varsity starts, but he also knows the challenges ahead of him. Looking at his body langue during practice makes me think he is ready for the competition he is about to face. I expect him to get consistent over time and build that confidence.”

Helping nurture and improve the young upstart Wolves will be a new training staff. Mike Barrone is set to return to the program as the varsity offensive coordinator, while Jay Munoz has been promoted from the junior varsity level as the defensive coordinator.

Recent Woodland High School graduate Mikey Barrone is the team’s new offensive line coach, while sideline staple Manny Estrella returns as defensive line coach.

“They have all put in the work as coaches since we got together,” Marin said. “They know about our lack of experience, but we are all working hard in the spring and summer to prepare our kids for the upcoming season. I also think it’s very beneficial that they all have Woodland roots and have played here at Woodand High School. It’s a blessing to have them be a part of our program and staff.”

The Wolves kick off their 2023 schedule with back-to-back road games against Marysville on Friday, Aug. 18, and then a trip to Colfax to take on Colfax High School the following week.

“It is good to be on the road,” Marin said. “When you are on the road, you can asses the kid’s character and see how we deal with things. How do we respond to a very long road trip on game day? It’s a good test to find out who we are, especially against two teams that made the playoffs.”

They then return to Woodland for two straight home games, with their home opener against Rio Americano on Friday, Sept. 1, and a showdown with powerhouse Del Campo the following week on Sept. 8.

The Wolves will then travel to El Dorado for a non-league contest on Sept. 15 before an early bye week right before the start of GEL play.

Their league opener will be a much-anticipated home game against crosstown rivals Pioneer High School, set for Friday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m.

“It’s the third straight game opening up vs Pioneer,” Marin said. “It’s been a long history of playing them at the end of the year that is gone, but as of now, we aren’t looking at the schedule. We are focused on week one.”

Follwoing a road game against Dixon on Friday, Oct. 6, and a home game against GEL favorite Casa Roble on Friday, Oct. 13, the Wolves will hold their senior night against Rio Linda on Friday, Oct. 20.

They close out the season with a trip to Mesa Verde on Friday, Oct. 27.

“One of my goals for this season is to finish the year healthy and strong on a positive note,” Marin said. “We aim to ensure we compete in every game and play fundamentally sound.”