Senior Eli Hale, pictured, will compete with sophomore Brent Peus for snaps at quarterback this season.
Santa Barbara High coach Doug Caines will be looking to build off last year?s Channel League championship season with several new players.
?(There are) plenty of new faces as we graduated a large, talented senior class,? Caines told Presidio Sports.
The Dons will complete their early summer workouts on July 12 and take their three-week dead period for the rest of the month. They?ll begin official practices for the upcoming season on Aug. 5.
In evaluating the team off the spring and early summer practices, Caines said, ?Our strength is our conditioning, football IQ and our gumption.?
As the Dons head into their break, the starting quarterback position for the season opener at St. Joseph on Aug. 30 remains up in the air.
?There is still a two-headed dragon at quarterback with Eli Hale and Brent Peus,? said Caines.
Hale took over for Shawn Ramos in the big win over Dos Pueblos last season and started in the CIF playoff game against Cathedral. Peus was the starting QB on the JV team last year and saw action with the varsity in the playoff game, throwing a 47-yard touchdown pass.
Santa Barbara?s offense will get a big boost with the return of running back Cheroke Cunningham from a knee injury he suffered early last season.
?Cunningham is back to full strength and ability,? said Caines.
There was some sad news in the Santa Barbara football family this month. Michael Jimenez, a football and baseball standout for the Dons in the early 1980s and an avid supporter of the school’s athletic program, passed way on July 3 after a long battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. His son, Jason, was a star player on last season’s league championship football team.
Vacation?s over, Royals hard at work: With the first scheduled game at the end of August? http://t.co/odBIveRfs4
— Presidio Sports (@PresidioSports) July 10, 2013
