Good Sports: Chowchilla HS football working with small numbers

CHOWCHILLA, Calif. (KFSN) -- For 23 years, Alex Pittz has been coaching high school football -- a number synonymous with his roster at Chowchilla High.

"We have 24 out here practicing," he said. "We didn't know it was going to be this thin."

The past two seasons have seen a tribe made up of less than 30 players -- something coach Pittz calls the "COVID hangover."

"When you take kids out of their element and kind of takeaway the social aspect of things, it makes it really easy for them to be antisocial," he said.

The team is not only small - it's young.

"It's hard to explain -- we only have six seniors," Pittz said.

It's a roster trend that's forced his incoming juniors to step up in the huddle.

"Davian Stephenson at wide receiver is a difference maker for us," Pittz said.

"We're all pretty tough, so it works out in the end," Stephenson said.

Stephenson works both sides of the ball at wide receiver and corner.

"Last year, I led the team in tackles," he said.

Alejandro Molina controls the line of scrimmage at offensive guard and middle linebacker.

"We have the smallest team on the field," he said. "We take people on."

Despite the small numbers, Pittz believes the in the tribe from top to bottom.

"I have the most supportive administration that I could possibly get," he said. "It's nothing that I feel like anybody could have done to change things."

What he hopes will change are the numbers moving forward, optimistic with a JV roster of 55 and a youth program in place to develop up-and-coming talent.

"I'm hoping for more people to come and hopefully, they stick with it," Molina said.

"We know what it takes to be successful and to win, so we weren't going to budge from that regardless of what the numbers look like," Pittz said.

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