Coach Mason Hughes' defense key to success at Central Valley Christian High School
Mason Hughes began his coaching career as an offensive-minded coach at Central Valley Christian.
Early in his tenure, his high school football teams didn’t do well because his playcalling on offense wasn’t very good.
With his teams struggling in those early years, Hughes gave up the playcalling duties on offense and moved to the defensive side of the ball.
That’s when the Cavaliers’ success became more consistent.
Hughes officially doubled as CVC’s head coach and defensive coordinator starting with the 2014 season.
That move sparked the Cavaliers to the Central Section Division IV title game that year, and they never looked back.
About a decade later, Hughes’ defense is still keeping teams out of the end zone.
Undefeated CVC (11-0) is the only remaining Tulare County program still playing football this week. The top-ranked Cavaliers host No. 4 Hanford (9-3) in a 2022 Central Section Division II semifinal playoff game on Friday night. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
This is the first football meeting ever between the two schools.
The high-scoring Bullpups are averaging 47.8 points per game behind a tempo attack.
CVC is one of the top defensive teams in the Central Section this season. The Cavaliers roll into Friday’s semifinal showdown surrendering just 10.5 points per game.
“This is going to be two teams trying their best to get the other group to do as many things as possible,” Hughes said. “And for the other, as little as possible. I think that’s going to be the case on both ends the whole time.”
A winning formula
Hughes is one of the few head coaches in Tulare County who specializes in defense.
That has made defense a priority for his CVC program.
Since Hughes took over the defensive play-calling duties in 2014, the Cavaliers have allowed an average of 18.1 points per game and have won nearly 72% of their games.
CVC has also played in 25 playoff contests during that stretch and has appeared in a Central Section championship game five times (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021). The Cavaliers won the Central Section Division IV title in 2018 and captured the Central Section Division III crown last season.
Since 2014 (excluding the abbreviated COVID-19 season, where CVC played in only three games during the 2020-21 school year), the Cavaliers are averaging about 10 wins per season, or 9.6 to be exact.
The defense has played a part in that success.
Before Hughes started calling the defense, CVC had only one winning season in Hughes’ first four years at the helm from 2009-13.
This season’s defense may be Hughes’ best unit yet.
The Cavaliers have allowed only 18 touchdowns in 11 games this season.
What’s behind the success of CVC’s defense over the years?
“It starts with, I want the best 11 players on the field,” Hughes said. “If that means I have to change a little bit. If I have to be maybe a little bit smaller to be faster, I will change. If I have to be bigger or whatever, I want the best 11 dudes on the field. If that means a kid has to change positions, we will move him over.”
A veteran defense
CVC is anchored by a senior class that has experience playing at a high level.
Defensively, the Cavaliers are led this season by defensive ends Jaeden Moore, Zach Zwart, nose tackle Arthur Schaap, linebackers Caleb Callison, Blake Gambini and Andrew Morehead, and defensive backs Adam Gutierrez and Cooper Noland.
“We’re always hard-working,” Schaap said. “Everyone is always on their game. Always willing to take on the blocks, and if that means someone else gets the tackle, so be it. That’s what it takes. It’s been extremely fun. I love playing on defense.”
Callison leads the team with 65 tackles followed by Moore with 57 stops. Gutierrez has tallied 52 tackles and Schaap has 51. Moore has also been credited with a team-high nine sacks.
“We have a lot of seniors on defense, so it’s a very dialed-in defensive unit,” Hughes said. “They can do things that younger kids can’t just because they have so much experience. It’s been fun to watch them. It’s been good to see them grow. It’s a strong unit. The dudes who play on defense, they lift a lot of weights. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
That type of experience has afforded Hughes the luxury to basically call any play in his defensive playbook.
That can be an exotic blitz package or a disguise in coverage or even a zone scheme mixed with man coverage.
“We want to be able to show as much stuff as possible,” Hughes said. “In order to do that, we have to teach it right. I still believe there’s stuff that we’re doing, on a Friday night in this entire Valley, you’re not going to see it. It’s not like I’m tooting my own horn but we can do stuff because our kids can absorb it. Our coaching staff has figured out a way to teach complicated stuff to our kids.”
CVC has racked up 25 sacks this season and registered 17 takeaways (seven interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries).
How have the Cavaliers been able to win consistently on defense?
“I think we’re willing to risk the big play with pressure,” Hughes said. “I think that’s the big thing. We find ways to pressure the quarterback with all kinds of different looks. We can make it look like five dudes are rushing but only two are. We can make it look like seven dudes are rushing but only four are. We can make it look like seven guys are rushing but only one is. I think that’s the biggest thing we do, and then we cover our butts on the back end with coverage.”
Biggest test of the season
Hanford will pose as the biggest test for CVC so far this season.
Under head coach Cannon Sanchez, the Bullpups are regarded as one of the best offensive teams in the Central Section.
Why?
It’s because Sanchez’s no-huddle, up-tempo offense keeps teams on their heels.
The Bullpups run a play about every 15 seconds.
That type of speed has allowed the Bullpups to strike fast and often.
Hanford has scored 80 offensive touchdowns (54 rushing, 26 passing) this season.
The Bullpups dropped a school-record 84 points in a playoff win over Ridgeview.
“That’s the fastest tempo in the Valley,” Hughes said. “There’s no doubt. They might be one of the fastest in the country. It is fast. We’ve played fast, tempo teams. We played Marin. Kingsburg, at times, has been tempo. It’s nothing like that. From whistle to snap again, it’s 15 seconds pretty consistently. That’s incredible.”
Times-Delta prediction: CVC 34, Hanford 27
Calpreps.com projection: CVC 35, Hanford 31
Times-Delta overall season predictions record: 42-10
How to attend
Top-ranked Central Valley Christian (11-0) hosts No. 4 Hanford (9-3) in a 2022 Central Section Division II semifinal high school football playoff game on Friday night at Cavalier Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Central Valley Christian football team lead by elite defense
