Alemany shows it’s growing

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In my quick and soggy postgame interview with Alemany Coach Dean Herrington, you could tell he was a little disappointed, but you could also see a hint of quiet satisfaction in his face.

Sure, his boys just suffered a 28-21 loss to No. 10 Crespi, but his main goal was to see his team stay in contention for a win -- and they were until the final horn blast.

‘We’re tired of moral victories,’ Herrington said. ‘We need to start beating people. We want everyone to know Alemany can play with the best of them.’

The Warriors certainly proved that, keeping things interesting against a Crespi team that’s seen success against some of the strongest teams in Southern California.

Alemany opened the game by recovering consecutive onside kicks, scoring a TD on its first possession to take a 7-6 halftime lead. However, the defense was not up to the task of stopping Bryan Bennett and the Crespi offense in the second half.

‘We tried to throw everything we had at them, but it just wasn’t enough in the end,’ Herrington said. ‘The effort was certainly there, but we need to cut down on the mistakes if we’re going to win games like this.’

Still, Alemany proved that it isn’t a pushover anymore. Herrington has brought with him the winning attitude he inherited from Hart as a longtime assistant coach under his brother, Mike, and he’s definitely turning the program around.

I don’t think the Warriors will be a legitimate contender for the Mission League title, but they’re definitely making progress. And who knows? Maybe they’ll pull off an upset before the year is out.
After all, they almost beat Crespi.

- Austin Knoblauch