CALIFORNIA, Mo. - It doesn't matter to head football coach Marty Albertson how many starters the California Pintos have coming back.
The goal is to win.
"We always have the same goals every year," Albertson said.
That goal is to win the conference, district and state titles. Heading into the 2015 season, the Pintos have won three consecutive conference and district titles, and have made back-to-back state semifinal game appearances.
California, which graduated 14 seniors from last year's squad, returns three defensive starters and one starter on offense.
Senior Landon Mouse will take over at quarterback, with sophomore Jacob Wolken and junior Dylan Kramel in the mix for the backup position.
"(Mouse has) been good," Albertson said. "He was the backup quarterback last year, so he already knew a lot of the plays and a lot of the techniques. He's a senior, so he's stepping up and being a good leader."
A.J. Kendrick, Josh Woodruff and Dylan Ratcliff are three seniors California will lean on at running back. Albertson added juniors Hayden Collier and Gunner Baquet and sophomores Liam Glenn and Cory Friedmeyer are options.
The Pintos will at least start the season in a split-back or single-back offense, running some veer plays. They had some success in the Jamboree, but with an all new offensive line, there were some mistakes, especially when running the veer.
"We had some good plays," Albertson said. "When we're running outside veer, we have a read guy. Some times we blocked the read guy when we should have been letting them go, and some times we let two guys go."
The offensive line was an area of concern for California heading into this season. Communication was the key word before and after the two scrimmages last Friday in the Jamboree.
"They've got to learn how to communicate up front, because guys don't get set where you draw it up on paper, you know, they move around a little bit," Albertson said. "They have to be able to communicate and change their blocking schemes on the line."
Sam Cummings and Ethan Hodges are pegged as go-to receivers, and some of the running backs could line up out wide, too. Mouse connected with Cummings for a 32-yard touchdown in the first scrimmage of the Jamboree.
"We've got some receivers that can hurt people," Albertson said.
Brandan Gump also had a nice catch at the tight end position last Friday.
First-year California defensive coordinator Jason Becker switched the defense from a four-man front to a three-man. Albertson raved about his large group of linebackers, with Kendrick and Gump returning after seeing significant action last season.
"We'll have four or five linebackers sometimes," he said. "We do have a lot of kids that are good linebackers. That's probably going to help us in the long run, but again, it's a learning process."
The biggest issue for the defense is the terminology. The plays and blitzes are called differently than the past four years when coach Geary Labuary led the group, but the Pintos have multiple playmakers who could ease that transition.
At linebacker, Wolken had a sack and forced a fumble in the Jamboree and defensive back Kyle Hofstetter intercepted a pass.
Mouse will be back at free safety, and Hunter Heimericks returns on the defensive line. Heimericks recovered a fumble last Friday. Woodruff and Baquet will hold down the cornerback positions.
Albertson mentioned three teams when asked how tough the Tri-County Conference will be this season. School of the Osage and Southern Boone are more experienced, and Blair Oaks will be another tough team for the Pintos.
"It's always a very competitive conference," Albertson said. "You look at those three right there, and they'll all be better than last year. That'll be tough with us in that mix."
Another conference foe, Eldon, returns 20 of its 22 starters from last year.
While expectations might be lower than past years for people outside the program, Albertson embraces it.
"I think being the underdog, and being all new, people don't expect us to be at the top of the conference again," he said. "Sometimes that's a good thing. If you're the underdog, sometimes you can jump up and bite some people."
The Pintos kick off the season at 7 p.m. today at Boonville. The Pirates return 15 of their 22 starters from last year's 2-9 team.
"They were young last year," Albertson said. "They're going to be a lot better than what they've been in the past."
Boonville returns the entire offensive line this season, as well as several skill position players.
"They've got a good tailback, who has speed, and they have a big fullback," Albertson said. "They're going to run at us to see if we can stop it.
"Their quarterback is a big kid. They've got a little speed on the outside, so they're going to try and throw on us, too. We have to be ready for everything."
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Tonight: California at Boonville - Updates on Twitter: @CDemocratSports or @PintosAthletics. Listen live online: pintosonline.com
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California Schedule
Here is the schedule for the California football team. All games start at 7 p.m. TBA -To Be Announced:
Aug. 21 at Boonville
Aug. 28 at Mexico
Sept. 4 Versailles
Sept. 11 at Eldon
Sept. 18 Hallsville
Sept. 25 Southern Boone
Oct. 2 at Blair Oaks
Oct. 9 at School of the Osage
Oct. 16 Warsaw
Oct. 23 District opener*
Oct. 30 District semifinal*
Nov. 6 District championship*
Nov. 14 Quarterfinals, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 21 Semifinals, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 State championship, at Edward Jones Dome, TBA
*Site TBD