Cabrillo football team has some continuity heading into 2024 season

Familiarity can help a lot for an athletics team, and the Cabrillo football squad has some familiarity when it comes to those who were in the 2023 program and who will be there for the 2024 campaign.

Cabrillo has had three head coaches in the past five years, but its coach from 2023, David Fleming, is back for his second season at the helm.

Unlike last year when Fleming was hired about a month before his new team’s season, Fleming has had a full pre-season workout schedule with his current squad.

He also has a lot more players than he did last year at this time.

“We’d still like to have more, we have about 30,” said Fleming. “Last year at this time, we had about 15.”

“It’s night and day,” when it comes to his team’s situation now compared to what it was at this time last year, said Fleming.

“We’ve had 15-20 kids coming up from the JV squad, and that’s helped.”

Cabrillo has 11 players returning from the 2023 varsity team, including the bulk of its skills position players.

Senior wide receiver Jude Anderson is one of the returnees. Anderson was an All-Ocean League wide receiver last year and is also a starter at corner back. Anderson won the triple jump title at the 2024 Ocean League Track and Field Finals.

“It’s definitely helped having our coach back,” said Anderson. “We’re running a lot of the same stuff we did last year, so we’re familiar with it. It’s not like we’re learning a whole new playbook.”

Thomas Kiesling was the 2024 Times All-Area Baseball Team MVP. He will enter his fourth season with the Cabrillo football program, including his third year on the varsity, as a running back-linebacker.

Kiesling was an All-Ocean League First Team tight end for the Conquistadores football team last year.

“We’re definitely ahead of where we were last year at this time,” said Kiesling.

Juan Cruz is a returning third-year varsity player who is a starter at right tackle on offense and at tackle on defense for Cabrillo.

When it comes to the Cabrillo system, with Fleming returning, “It’s way easier,” said Cruz.

“We’ve improved a lot from last year.”

Fleming also likes his team’s schedule this year as compared to last year.

“Last year we opened against Santa Ynez, which was a mistake,” said Fleming. “We’re playing teams that are more our size this year.

“Not that the teams we will be playing this year are bad,” said Fleming. “We played a lot them last year, they’re good teams and I was very impressed with the way they were coached. They were very well-coached. But we’ll be playing teams that are more our size.”

Cabrillo’s lone win last year was against Carpinteria in a non-league game, but that win snapped a 15-game losing streak that had carried over from 2023.

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The Conquistadores will again be playing in the Ocean League, but some of the 2023 Ocean League teams Cabrillo faced have moved to the Sunset League, which is considered the middle tier in the Mountain, Sunset and Ocean League alignment Central Coast Athletic Association (CCAA) football teams will play in this year.

CCAA football teams competed in either the Mountain or Ocean League last year. Santa Ynez played in the Mountain League, the highest of the two leagues. The Pirates will play in the Sunset League this year.

Cabrillo’s league opponents this year will be Morro Bay, Nipomo, Santa Maria and Templeton.

Cabrillo will open its 2024 season at Selma Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. Like the Conquistadores, the Bears went 1-9 last year.

Here is a glance at the Cabrillo returnees, along with promising newcomers.

In addition to Anderson and Kiesling, Blake Gregory and Andre Briscoe also return for Cabrillo. Gregory, one of the top catchers in the area in baseball, was an All-League Second Team wide receiver last year. Briscoe, who will split his time between playing running back and wide receiver, was All-League Honorable Mention at running back in 2023.

Besides Cruz, offensive guard Cole Higgs, and offensive guard/defensive end Jamison Pendleton return for the Conqs.

The promising newbies Fleming listed are two-way lineman Cole Robinson, safety/wide receiver Andrew Wallace, running back/linebacker Connor Zarkavacski and quarterback/wide receiver/defensive back Gabe Barraza.

Matt Koff will be the Cabrillo kicker this year.

Fleming’s assistants for the 2024 season will be defensive coordinator Isaac Nuno, offensive line coach Jake Peterson, quarterbacks coach Max Brown, defensive backs coach Derek Aguilar, defensive backs coach Danno Jacobson and safeties coach Marcus Nash.