CALABASAS DOESN'T WANT REPEAT OF '97; COYOTES CONFIDENT OF STRONG FINISH.Byline: Jim Inghram Daily News Staff Writer Last year, on its way to a 6-4 record, Calabasas started off 5-0. Then it lost three in a row and four of its last five. A season that started with loads of promise degenerated quickly. Move ahead to 1998 - Calabasas is 5-0-1 overall and 1-0 in the Frontier League The Frontier League, based in Troy, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States and Western Pennsylvania. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. . Will the same thing happen to this group of Coyotes? Not a chance. Not this year. A senior-laden group has started fast and intends to finish that way. ``It's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have been a little of everything this year,'' said quarterback Dallas Dallas, city (1990 pop. 1,006,877), seat of Dallas co., N Tex., on the Trinity River near the junction of its three forks; inc. 1871. The second largest Texas city, after Houston, and the eighth largest U.S. Enoch Enoch (ē`nək), in the Bible. 1 Son for whom Cain named the city he built. 2 Father of Methuselah. It was said of him that he walked with God—a phrase used also of Noah—and also that like Elijah he was about the Coyotes' success. ``We have more awareness of what's happening this year. I think it's because a lot of us are seniors and we've we've Contraction of we have. we've have been together four years.'' Enoch said as a junior the sense or urgency wasn't there, but as seniors the team knows it's a now-or-never situation. ``There is a lot of seniors on this team,'' Enoch said, ``but the juniors have really stepped it up, too.'' A perfect example is on the team's offensive line. That's where seniors Jason Nemit, Richard Klein Richard Klein can refer to:
n the capability to cohere or stick together to form a mass. unit that has afforded Enoch, who has passed for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns, ample protection and opened holes for Drew Coppola. The three seniors are captains and they made the decision last summer to get better. ``We worked together every day in the summer,'' Opas said. ``Running, lifting weights. We don't have the size of other teams, but we have more strength and speed.'' Said Nemit: ``We're stronger, faster and more experienced. We didn't slack off slack 1 adj. slack·er, slack·est 1. Moving slowly; sluggish: a slack pace. 2. and it's starting to pay off.'' Many on the line do double-duty on defense. In years past, it was a necessity, but this time it isn't. ``Last year I remember injuries killed us,'' Opas said. It helped explain the team's late-season slide. ``This year we have great backups. We have depth,'' Opas said. ``Last year we didn't have that.'' In addition to the higher concentration level and being physically stronger, coach Larry Edwards noted the team's consistency and ability to avoid mistakes as other factors for the undefeated record. ``We've only had 11 penalties in six games and zero in the last two,'' Edwards said. ``The team chemistry is there, too. Sometimes you don't have that and this year we do. These guys count on each other and trust each other.'' Defense is the final determinant determinant, a polynomial expression that is inherent in the entries of a square matrix. The size n of the square matrix, as determined from the number of entries in any row or column, is called the order of the determinant. in the team's success. ``I know we haven't been outscored in the second half,'' Opas said. ``Our defense has been solid all season.'' Said Edwards: ``We've given up a couple of big plays, but other than those the defense has been a strong point.'' The defense has allowed an average of 14 points a game. Exclude the Channel Islands game, which ended in 27-27 tie, and it's down to 10. ``Even against CI,'' Edwards said. ``our defense didn't play bad. We held them to an average of 2 yards per play, but they broke two plays of 60-plus yards and one of 40 and those killed us.'' The defense is rated sixth among the region's Southern Section schools, allowing 217.5 yards a game. ``Our defense has been getting it done,'' Enoch said. ``They have played everyone very tough and very physical. I think a lot of the credit has to go to the lines, because they have been doing a great job on both sides of the ball.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) ``We've only had 11 penalties in six games and zero in the last two. The team chemistry is there, too. Sometimes you don't have that and this year we do. These guys count on each other and trust each other.'' - Larry Edwards on his Calabasas Coyotes (2) ENOCH |
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