MONTEREY >> Both Alisal and Monterey high football teams ended their seasons last year with a loss to an eventual state champion.

Then again, rehashing last season is not on the agenda. It’s in the rear-view mirror as both Alisal and Monterey are chasing new visions.

“The program was chasing history last fall,” Alisal coach Francisco Estrada said. “This year, it’s not about chasing history, it’s about accomplishing it. We know we can play at an elite level.”

On the heels of a single-season school record for wins, the Trojans will open their season Friday when they visit Monterey at Monterey Peninsula College.

With the aid of a pair of upsets in the Central Coast Section playoffs last year, Alisal set a school record for wins with 11 before falling in the Division III finals to Palma, which went on to win the State Division 4A title.

Bumped to the Gabilan Division, the most competitive division in the Pacific Coast Athletic League, last season didn’t derail the Toreadores, who equaled their win total from the previous season with eight before succumbing to State Division 4AA champion Soquel in CCS Division II semifinals.

“Last year is long gone,” Monterey coach Alex Besaw said. “Even if we ended the year on a win, you don’t want to think about last year. We’re trying to find our identity for 2024.”

Estrada, who is in his first season as the Trojans head coach, has made it no secret that his long-term goal is for the program to land in the Gabilan Division.

“We want to see how we respond both physically and mentally,” said Estrada, a member of the Trojans’ first-ever league title team in 2003. “We have to be able to adapt and respond.”

Once members of the old Monterey Bay League in the 1980s, the two teams last played each other in 2013 with the Toreadores prevailing 47-14.

If a season opener wasn’t enough to create an adrenaline buzz, it’s also homecoming week for the Toreadores — the earliest on record.

“It’s a year that’s come on really quick,” Besaw said. “But fall break is a bigger distraction. I’m 0-2 on fall breaks. I have tried two different strategies. Neither worked.”

For the record, Besaw is 2-0 in homecoming games since taking over as the head coach in 2022. He’s 2-0 in season openers as well, outscoring two teams 83-0.

While both coaches exchanged film from their scrimmages last week, both know that each kept it simple and got a lot of players involved in game-type situations.

“Even with the exchanges, we know their packages were pretty basic,” Estrada said. “With all the personnel returning, I don’t think Monterey’s offense is going to change much.”

Estrada was talking about the Toreadores’ firepower on offense, starting with quarterback Preston White, who has thrown for nearly 5,000 yards in the past two seasons.

A linebacker as a freshman, the 6-foot-2 White has thrown 55 touchdowns in his last 25 varsity games for Monterey, leading them to a section final appearance in 2022 as a sophomore.

“The great thing with Preston is he came in with me two years ago and was quick to grab the schemes,” Besaw said. “All he’s doing is building off that. Our install period is evolving.”

White has a handful of targets on the outside, starting with Herald co-Offensive Player of the Year Kavon Collins and his school-record 69 catches and nearly 1,100 receiving yards.

While the Toreadores will line up four-receiver packages, the ground game helped catapult them into the postseason behind tailback Enobong Wirth and his more than 800 rushing yards.

“I’d like to think of my offense as a dynamic offense,” Besaw said. “I do not want to keep the same playbook. I’m always looking for new ways to add wrinkles and be more deceptive and break tendencies.”

While Alisal lost over 2,000 yards in rushing offense, the return of Kiki Jacinto and Jayden Durate gives the Trojans two of the more explosive running backs in the county.

Both were on display at last week’s scrimmage against Alvarez when each broke free for long touchdown runs. Last fall Durate turned 34 carries into 508 rushing yards — 15.1 yards a carry.

“From what I saw, I didn’t see a need to go back to last year’s film,” Besaw said. “Alisal has a completely different identity. It looks like a whole new offense in how they want to get after it and attack defenses.”

During a school record seven-game winning streak last season, defense set the tone for Alisal, which held six opponents under 20 points, allowing just 6.8 points in the first half during its run.

“What we learned last week as coaches is this group has a lot of fight,” Estrada said. “There are conversations about our depth chart. We have a lot of guys that are ready to compete.”

Experience is what Besaw will draw upon as 18 seniors have been a part of the program since their sophomore seasons.

“A little maturity comes with that in terms of what game day procedures are like and pregame warmups are like,” Besaw said. “But there will always be some uncertainties.”

As explosive as Monterey’s offense was last season, the defense created its own identity with the return of all-county linebacker Soakai Funaki and defensive tackle Elijah Fisher.

Funaki, who will also be used as a running back, recorded 130 tackles last year and a team-high 10 sacks. Flanking him will be Ahmon Willis.

“Ahmon had a great off season,” Besaw said. “He’s very strong with good instincts. He made some big plays in the scrimmage. So did our defensive end Jayden Brown.”

Watching Alisal in person at the scrimmage only reinforced what Besaw already felt he knew about the personnel.

“Alisal is a tough bunch of kids,” Besaw said. “They are physical. They have good size up front. They have explosive plays in their running game. They like to run counter and zone.”

The emergence of Hector Politron at quarterback has opened up the Trojans attack.

“He gives us a pocket presence,” Estrada said. “He was throwing darts in the scrimmage. We feel we have the speed to match up with their skill guys.”

Estrada understands that with a new offense, there is a growing element that comes with creating a new identity.

“We’ve gone away from the veer and triple option,” Estrada said. “Considering it’s year one, there’s a learning curve. Years in the system is always a benefit.”