COD football looks to finish its best season since 2016 with bowl game victory
After winning five games in the last two seasons combined, this year's College of the Desert football squad turned heads and exceeded expectations. The Roadrunners finished with an 8-2 record and went 4-1 in American Mountain League play, which is the program's best season since 2016.
"I told the team this the other day, running dogs are hungrier," said COD head coach Jack Steptoe, who earned American Mountain League co-coach of the year honors. "We never became content with where we were. We always looked to improve. We were 4-1 in the beginning half of the season and 4-1 in the second half. They far exceeded my expectations."
The Roadrunners earned a postseason bowl bid and will travel to Santa Barbara (9-1, 5-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday for the SBCC Beach Bowl.
"It was so great to watch this team grow, especially after our losses," said Steptoe. "When we lost to Citrus for our first loss, we bounced back and won, and when we didn't even show up against Mt. San Jacinto we bounced back against Grossmont and Victor Valley in a big way. They showed a lot of tenacity.
"They realized what we did wrong, and we went to work hard on fixing up the details because it's all in the details," he said. "The heart and effort has been here all season, which made all the difference in the world. We had a lot of guys step up when they needed to. In years prior we had a lot of me guys instead of we guys, and this year everyone was all about the team."
A reason why the Roadrunners were so successful this season was because of how balanced they were on both sides. COD found offensive success through the air and on the ground this season, so unless teams could shut down both fronts, it was a difficult task to stop them.
Sophomore quarterback Cesar Vela, who played at Rancho Mirage High School, earned first team All-Mountain League honors for his play this season. He threw for 1,716 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also rushing for 529 yards and six touchdowns.
Vela credits the Roadrunner coaching staff and the players' mentality for the big turnaround this season.
"Our coaches stepped up and studied our opponents and made sure everyone else was studying them too," Vela said. "We were always learning something new and improving. It's just the players really, the players got to want it. The coaches coach and the players play at the end of the day. They have to want it just as much as the coaches do, and they proved that this year, and I'm glad I got to play with a team like this."
Another player who earned first team All-Conference honors was sophomore wide receiver Kevin Johnson, who played at Shadow Hills High. He earned All-Conference and All-State honors as a freshman and followed that season up with an even better one in 2022. He had 40 catches for 768 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the team in all categories but receptions.
A big part of the Roadrunners rushing attack was sophomore running back Arieon Capler, who led the team in rushing with 539 yards and six touchdowns. Capler also threw for two touchdowns. The former Palm Springs High School star was just as tough to tackle playing for the Roadrunners as he was playing for the Indians.
The third offensive player to earn All-Conference honors was Frankie Valentino, who played at Cathedral City High School.
The COD defense deserves just as much credit as the offense. The defense allowed more than 21 points three times this year and had five games where they allowed 14 points or less. The Roadrunners were a tough squad to pass the ball on, intercepting 13 passes and sacking the quarterback 36 times, and were stout in run defense allowing 102 rushing yards per game.
The Roadrunners had four first team All-Conference players on defense, including freshman linebackers Maurice Davis and Rae'Jon Lavender. Davis was a force in the run game, routinely disrupting plays in the backfield and delivering big hits. He finished the season with 46 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception. Lavender's mixture of size and speed gave offenses a tough time. He finished with 51 tackles, six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions.
Freshman defensive back Christopher Moore was a key part of the secondary. He routinely locked down opposing receivers and was a sure tackler for the Roadrunners. Moore finished the year with 27 tackles, a team-leading three interceptions and a team-leading 10 pass breakups.
The last player to earn first team All-Conference honors was freshman Dejon Packard as a kick returner, scoring two kick return touchdowns.
In total, COD had 13 players earn first team and second team All-Conference honors.
Although this is the team's first bowl game since 2016, Steptoe is emphasizing that at the end of the day it's another football game.
"We had a week off to heal up after a 10-game season, and now we're preparing for this game just like we would any other week," Steptoe said. "I told the guys that this is just another football game, yeah it's a bowl game but it's another football game. We still have to go out and be more physical then they are. If we do that like we have the last two games, we'll have success."
The team echoes what Steptoe has been preaching.
"We feel good. We have a big week this week, a big practice week," said Lavender. "We're focusing up and preparing just like we would any other week, we're locked in."
Added Davis: "It's gonna be a fun game man. It's a good team we're playing, and we both deserve to be in the game. It's just like any other week, let the most prepared and physically ready team win."
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: COD football looks to finish strong season with bowl game victory
