Monterey High School Head Football Coach Scott Hughes Impressed With Team’s Practice

Monterey High School head football coach Scott Hughes has taken pleasure in the way his team has prepared over the offseason not just physically, but also mentally.

“I’m very excited for the upcoming season,” Hughes said. “Dating back to the first of the year when we first started (preparing) and really kicked off the 2019 football season, this group has been very dedicated not only to workouts, but also practice. Not only the physical side of practice, but the mental side of practice as well.”

Last season, the Wildcats started the season on a four-game losing streak before winning five of their last six games to make the playoffs. Hughes and his staff hope to avoid a slow start this season.

“This group is a little bit older, though that doesn’t guarantee success over anything else,” Hughes said. “They are a little more mature and they understand how the game is played.”

A season ago, Monterey returned two starters to the program. This year, the Wildcats return multiple players on each side of the ball.

“At the end of the day, you have to go out there and put a good product on the field,” Hughes said. “You just hope that we can take last year’s experience and the way those guys played and the amount of experience they gained and turn that into a bit of success this year.”

One of Monterey’s key returning players is four-year starter Kevin Borjas. Borjas measures in at 6’4”, and is expected to be a matchup headache on both sides of the ball, according to Hughes.

“(Borjas) is a guy that can do a whole lot of different things,” Hughes said. “He knows our offense in and out, and is a versatile weapon for us …  We feel like he’s a deep-ball threat, but is also a guy that can catch the ball short and go the distance.”

Hughes mentioned returning multi-position starters Jordan Key and Denver Smith as key contributors also. Michael Alred, Mason Bowman and Eli Saylors also earned high praise from Hughes as young players that are play multiple positions for the Wildcats.

As Hughes put it, the depth will be a strength of this team.

“Kevin Perez and Anthony Sobronas are guys that don’t get a lot of publicity even though they probably should,” Hughes said. “Rene Taran is another guy that is an unsung hero with his role in our program… A lot of times their roles are unnoticed by a lot of people, except those in our program or until you really break down the film.”