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Off to a 2-1 start in Pacific Coast League play, with one win on the field and one forfeit, the Anzar High eight-man football team is sporting, for them, an unusually large roster despite the loss of a former player who was killed last summer.
Fielding a 19-man roster—nearly unheard of for the small school’s program- the team is balancing an influx of freshman and sophomore players while still feeling the weight of losing one of their own, Mason Gomes, who was killed when he rode a motorcycle into a parked trailer in Hollister last July.
“It had a big impact,” said Gomes’ twin brother, senior Landon Gomes. “Especially for last year’s players, because they thought of him as their own brother, too. I’m pointing this season towards him, and I will push myself to my limits for him.”
Coach Rudy Abeyta said the entire school was in shock after Mason’s death, which became a rallying point for the team.
“They got together,” he said, “and they spent as much time as they could with Landon and the family to show their support. Landon did lose his twin brother, but he found out he has other brothers he could lean on.”
Last season began with a forfeit and two strong wins, including the only shutout in Anzar football history, a 28-0 score against Roseland University Prep. The team then lost a close game to Crystal Springs Uplands and two of the next three, finishing fifth in the league.
“I think at the beginning we were too confident,” Anzar senior Xavier Contreras said. “We started off hot, and then we got smacked around. Some of these guys are young, so they’re not used to the part where you gotta get used to the loss, which kind of derailed us a little bit.”
Heavy recruiting filled the ranks, and the Hawks started off strong, scoring a 25-0 shutout on Sept. 10 against San Jose’s Harker School. For Contreras, the league game was sweet revenge.
“It was a beauty,” he said. “I loved it. As we came into that game, we were told a couple of things they had said against us. We took that to heart, and we proved we could hang with them. I ended the game with three touchdowns and a passing touchdown, too.”
Anzar’s second league game was a forfeit against Pinewood, a team the Hawks frequently beat, which lacked enough players to take the field.
For senior Miles Anderson, not being able to play against Pinewood coach Greg Brazil, who formerly coached the Hawks, was a great disappointment.
“That was a bummer,” he said. “That was one of my No. 1 goals this season: playing my old coach and showing him what I can do.”
The next game, a Sept. 25 matchup against Kings Christian School, started promisingly but fell apart in the second half, ending 56-20. The Hawks scored all their points in the first half, with exhaustion setting in during the second.
“Players started getting injured,” Abeyta said, “and I started having to put in backups. For our younger recruits, this was their first chance getting real game experience, and it was a shell-shock moment for them.”
An Oct. 2 league away game against Crystal Springs Uplands similarly ended in a 66-6 defeat, with illness again playing a hand. Many key players, including seniors Miles Anderson and Cruz Zepeda , missed the game.
“I know we would have won this game if we had all of our players,” Abeyta said. “I lost my starting center and my second string center that morning, both out sick. Xavier, my quarterback for the game, had a bad knee, so he couldn’t run.”
The upcoming Oct. 10 non-league game at Emery High School is a bit of an uncertainty, according to Abeyta, though he is optimistic about the team’s chances.
“Emery hasn’t had a football team in four or five years,” he said, “it’s their first year ever playing eight-man football. We’re expecting to go out there and run our game plan. So once we get to a comfortable pace, I’m going to start playing all my backups and giving them some real time.”
Contreras said it’s tough to anticipate how to play against an unknown team, but they are going to come prepared.
“I think we just have to stick to our game plan,” he said, “and really do what we’re good at, which is playing defense. You can’t always rely on having film on them or knowing what they’re going to do. So you just have to come out and play ball.”
(Note: After this article was published, the Hawks defeated Emery 34-26.)
Abeyta said he believes his team can win their remaining league games against Trinity and Hillbrook, targeting a second-place league finish.
“My tenet is to gain enlightenment from every encounter,” he said. “In everything we do, I want to make sure we learn something, good or bad, and we just feed on that and get better. And I have to say, this season more than last, I’ve seen them improve every game.”
2026 – 2027 Anzar Varsity Football Roster
#1 Xavier Contreras – 12th Grade (Captain)
#2 Henry Murphy – 11th Grade
#7 Cruz Zepeda – 12th Grade (Captain)
#9 Francisco Vasquez – 11th Grade
#11 Fabrizio Sanchez – 11th Grade
#18 Clyde Moran – 11th Grade
#20 Mikey Rozin – 11th Grade
#24 Landon Gomes – 12th Grade (Captain)
#32 Victor Tinoco – 9th Grade
#50 Andres Saucedo – 11th Grade
#54 Dario Cayetano – 12th Gradea
#56 Miles Anderson – 12th Grade (Captain)
#60 David Vasquez – 9th Grade
#68 Isaiah Leon – 11th Grade
#75 Manuel Garcia – 9th Grade
#88 Hunter Graham – 12th Grade
#92 Pedro Avendano – 12th Grade
#98 Robert Vasquez – 10th Grade
#99 Andres Torres – 9th Grade
Team Manager Diego Patrick (Senior)
Upcoming Hawks games
10/09: Emery High School, 6:30 p.m. (away)
10/16: Alpaugh High School, 7 p.m. (away)
10/22: Hillbrook High School, 4 p.m. (league, home)
10/31: Trinity Christian School, 1 p.m. (league, away)
Abeyta is also organizing a Mason Gomes Memorial Senior All-Star Game at Anzar High School, tentatively set for Nov. 7.
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