photos by Charlie McDonald (charlie.mcdonald@surewestsports.com)
by Mike Finnerty (mike.finnerty@surewestsports.com)
On Thursday we announced our SureWest Sports boys and girls Fall Athletes of the Year, and today we announce our Fall Coaches of the Year in Casey Taylor of Del Oro and Mike Yates of Union Mine.
Casey Taylor - Del Oro football coach
Our SureWest Sports Fall Coach of the Year for boys athletics is Del Oro head football coach, Casey Taylor.
Coming off a section title win from a year ago, Taylor returned a talented group that was expected to compete for a Sierra Foothill League title, as well as a section title, and expectations were not only met, but exceeded despite the season ending loss to Helix in the Division II State Championship. As easy as it may sound to some, living up to expectations isn't always a given which is why Taylor is our top boys coach.
Along the way there were several big moments for this year's Golden Eagles squad, but oddly enough it was a 30-27 overtime loss to Southern California power Westlake High School (Westlake Village, CA) in the Battle at the Capital back in Week 1 that was certainly a big moment early on. Westlake came into the game as one of the State's very best teams, so the close loss actually put Del Oro on the map as a true State Bowl contender.
Del Oro (13-2, 5-0) captured the SFL title, no small accomplishment given that the SFL is considered by many to be one of the toughest leagues in the State. Included in that 5-0 league record was a 28-24 win over Granite Bay. The Grizzlies would eventually beat Pleasant Grove for the Division I section title.
Who could forget Del Oro's memorable last minute 35-31 come from behind win on the road against Nevada Union, and of course Del Oro's most important victory of all was a 21-7 win over Oakdale for the Division III section championship, a win that happened to be Taylor 100th as head coach.
Mike Yates - Union Mine girl's volleyball coach
On the girls side of prep athletics, there was not a more obvious choice for SureWest Sports' Girls Fall Coach of the Year than Union Mine head volleyball coach, Mike Yates.
The list of accomplishments for this year's Union Mine team were many, but a winning a Division IV State Championship was at the top of the list.
Taking on two-time defending Division IV State champion La Jolla Country Day, the Diamondbacks rose to the occasion with a 3-1 (25-18, 29-27, 19-25, 25-18) win. It was only the second State volleyball title for a Sacramento area team.
Prior to the State win, Union Mine beat Soquel of San Jose, 3-1, for the NorCal title, and before that the Diamondbacks captured their first ever section championship with a 3-1 victory over Bear River.
Heading into the season Union Mine was expected to be good, but for a team that had never won a section title they still needed to prove they could do it. Also, in a sport that is dominated by height, Union Mine was an undersized team with their tallest player being 5'11", and their second tallest at 5'9".
The team's star was senior outside hitter Mikayla Tucker, and she was good if not great all season long, but Yates reminded all who would listen that his Diamondbacks would not have succeeded in the way that did if it were not for the efforts of everyone on his team, including key contributions from senior players like Lea Howton, Jacqueline Swarbrick, and Maddy Berridge.
However, Union Mine would not be State champs if also wasn't for the coaching efforts of Mike Yates.