East Union developed depth in offseason

East Union has higher expectations after a 3-7 finish in 2015 with an experienced core of third-year varsity seniors returning.
Not coming back, however, are quarterback Jack Weaver’s three top targets from a year ago, including standout receiver Austin Miller and 6-foot-3, 215-pound tight end Baily Simons.
“You hear a lot of coaches say ‘next man up,’ and that’s how it was this summer with our 7-on-7 personnel,” East Union coach Willie Herrera said. “Every offense is looking for multiple weapons; you definitely don’t want just one guy. These (Valley Oak League) coaches are too smart. It definitely helps us having multiple choices.”
Several skill-position players shined over the summer, and though it will be tough to replicate what Miller and Simons brought to the pistol/wing offense the Lancers believe they have better depth. Herrera credits a passing league hosted by Tracy, which allowed all of his receivers to develop.
“The thing with the passing tournaments is that you get into that competitive mode, so you tend to keep your starters in,” Herrera said. “But in Tracy we were allowed to develop our 2s and 3s, and that really benefited us by the time we got to Clayton Valley and the (Modesto Junior College) tournament.”
East Union started out at UC Davis and went 2-2 but got showed improvement from there. The Lancers reached the quarterfinals of the Stagg tournament, beat every team they faced in a jamboree put together by Bay Area power Clayton Valley and took second to Lincoln of Stockton at MJC.
“UC Davis was at the beginning of the summer and we had barely practiced for a week,” Herrera said. “From there to how we ended up at MJC we showed tons of improvement. MJC was the benchmark 7-on-7 for us. We wanted to see what we have to work on and where our competitive level was. We’re missing some big parts of our offense from last year and it was nice to see some guys step up.”
Matthew Pilkay had the biggest summer for the Lancers. The starting QB for the sophomore squad last season, he has blossomed into a sure-handed target for Weaver. Herrera is also encouraged by what he saw out of slotback Jake Harries, who succumbed to injuries that limited his production as a junior.
Senior Ruben Gallegos is a pleasant surprise for the offense after playing mostly in the defensive backfield last year.
“We had a day in Clayton Valley when we had a couple of guys who didn’t show up because they had something going for basketball,” Herrera said. “Gallegos was pretty much the guy on this day. He lit it up and did fantastic.”
It wasn’t all 7-on-7s for East Union this summer. The Lancers broke away from the monotony of football workouts with a day at Eagal Lakes in Tracy. The team previously participated in the South Lake Tahoe Camp.
East Union has a new-look pre-league schedule this season starting with Week 1 opponent Ceres on Sept. 2. The Lancers also added Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff qualifier West of Tracy on Sept. 16, which is their home opener. They’ll take on Johansen in Modesto in Week 2.

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