Football Preview: Colfax counting on toughness and leadership

Colfax football has always been defined by its grit and physicality, and this season is no different. The Falcons know they may not be the biggest team on the field each season, but they will not be outworked by their opponents in the weight room or on the field. "They just grow them differently up here. A lot of these families had their parents go to school here," said Colfax coach Jason Stowers. "These kids still cut wood and dig ditches. They embrace hard work and physicality, it's just part of the culture of Colfax and it defines our community." Colfax is looking to rebound from an uncharacteristic 4–6 campaign that saw the Falcons miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade. The record, however, doesn't tell the full story. Seven of those games were decided by a single possession, with Colfax coming up short in five of them. While those narrow losses stung, Stowers believes the experience has toughened his squad and given them a clearer understanding of what it takes to prevail in close contests. "It's been our emphasis all year in the weight room that if you do little things right, it adds up in a game," said Stowers. "We're trying to take that same mentality with everything that we do at practice and things that we do off the field and how we approach life in the game. If we do those little things right, we will come out on top." Stowers expects a big turnaround this season, saying the expectation every year at Colfax is to compete for a league championship and this year is no different. He knows that the Falcons may not be the biggest team in the league, but that hasn't stopped them before. Stowers says where Colfax has the edge is that it can wear teams down throughout the game and the season. "It's going to be like every other year, where we're going to be undersized. We're not always very big, but it's going to come down to playing hard, physical football and getting teams into the fourth quarter," said Stowers. "Hopefully that Colfax mentality wears out a lot of these teams to end the game." Senior Josiah Rubidoux will be a big piece to that equation this season for Colfax. Standing at 6-foot-3, he is a versatile player that ran for over 600 yards last season and hauled in over 200 receiving yards. This season, Rubidoux is expected to play a bigger role in the passing game and Stowers believes that he will be the decisive factor in how this season will go for Colfax. "He is a potential college level talent," said Stowers of Rubidoux. "We don't get a lot of 6-3, 205-pound athletes that can run like him and who have his athleticism around here. We have high hopes for what he can produce and he's going to be a big piece of what we do this season." Rubidoux has worked on becoming a leader both on and off the field as well, saying that he has spent his offseason making sure to take no days off to lead by example for his teammates. He knows that opponents may be down on Colfax this season after missing the playoffs, but he wants to rewrite the narrative around the team his senior year. "We're ready to prove people wrong," said Rubidoux. "This group feels different. We feel stronger, better, faster." Stowers says there has been an ongoing quarterback battle all offseason between Kelly Calvert and Adam Amatangelo and that both signal callers have been working hard to pull ahead. He said that if it continues the way it has all offseason, there is a world where he could platoon both quarterbacks this year. "Joe Montana had a great line when he said that what made him such a great quarterback was Steve Young because every day he had to compete. We feel the same way with Adam and Kelly," said Stowers. "We look at that competition as a positive and we want to just let things play out. There's a good possibility that we might play both if they keep progressing the way they are." Stowers said he expects the offensive line units and the defense to be strong this year as well, and he believes that they will be the ones that set the tone for the season early. With a tough nonleague slate against Colusa, East Nicolaus and Argonaut, the Falcons will be ready to compete in the PVL.