Liberty High graduate Kyle Trego, a true freshman, had a dream debut with the Diablo Valley College football team.
The safety had an interception, fumble recovery and two blocked kicks in a 45-14 rout of Feather River last week. Not a bad showing for him and the team after a 4½ hour bus ride to Quincy.
"Kyle Trego played a phenomenal game," DVC coach Mike Darr said. "I've had a lot of All-State safeties over the years. I've never had a player have that kind of a debut."
The young Vikings (1-0) will look to keep the momentum going in their home opener against East Bay rival Chabot (1-0) Friday night at Viking Stadium. Both teams are ranked in the state's top seven by the JC Athletic Bureau's weekly poll of coaches.
Overall, Darr couldn't have scripted the season-opener much better, especially considering he has just three returning starters.
Drew Anderson, in his college debut, fired five touchdown passes and had no interceptions; slot man CJ Cornwell had three touchdown catches; the defensive line was dominant; D'Amora Cooper had a 72-yard run; and Brandon Brown was 6 for 6 on extra points and nailed a 39-yard field goal.
Moreover, a young secondary, with no returning starters, passed its aerial test with flying colors. Feather River completed 30 of 53 passing attempts and was picked off three times. Freshmen Marcus de la Pena and Devin Bracy also had interceptions.
"What was great was we had a lot of young guys who were starting their first college football game," Darr said. "We had two returners on offense, Marcus (Armstrong-Brown) and CJ. On defense, we had two players who started last year, Marc Anthony (Hor) and Chris Mulumba, who started for Chabot. ... You're always young at this level, but we are really young at this level. What I was most impressed with was being able to get off the bus and play the way that we did, execute the way that we did. That was rewarding."
Big football wins notwithstanding, Trego says his goal is to get a scholarship somewhere, hopefully in California, but he's willing to go out of state.
Why did he pick DVC?
"I heard about their recruiting and how they get their guys out quick," he said. "I know scouts come through here all the time. I think it's the best JC in California."
After playing with basically the same guys for nine-plus years in Pop Warner, Trego is adjusting to being mostly separated from his old buddies this season. Another former Liberty player, true freshman Dylan Gilfoy, a 6-foot-5 edge rusher, had a sack against Feather River and is showing great promise.
The Vikings' welcoming nature has made Trego's transition "pretty smooth," he said. "Everyone's brought me in and treated me like family."
CHABOT REPORT: The Gladiators raised some eyebrows with a 30-9 season-opening win over Butte, as sophomore quarterback Jose Ferreira completed 19 of 20 passes for 151 yards and ran for 109 yards on 15 carries. The Vikings will counter with quarterback, Drew Anderson, who completed his fifth touchdown pass against Feather River on a 32-yard strike to Nick West early in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Ali Shojaee rounded out the DVC scoring with a 20-yard completion to Cornwell, making it 45-0.
