After a run of seven consecutive years as one of the top two teams in the Mojave River League, Apple Valley was in an unfamiliar spot once the 2023 season ended.
A pair of losses to Oak Hills and Hesperia meant the Sun Devils ended the season in third place in the MRL standings for the first time since 2016.
When it mattered the most in the playoffs, the Sun Devils were able to enact revenge on Hesperia with a 35-32 victory in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs.
Despite that, first-year head coach Robert Meras is quick to remind his squad that they were a third-place team last season.
“Last year our team did not meet our expectations of what we've had for however many years now and I let them know that it was one of the worst teams I've ever coached in 20-something years,” Meras said. “You're a third-place team. Nobody is scared of you.”
A new, but familiar, face at head coach
While Meras is entering his first year as head coach, he’s been with the program for over two decades.
The long-time offensive coordinator replaces Kyle Godfrey, who went 30-12 over four seasons as head coach.
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The only real change Meras is instituting as head coach is the organization of the team's practices. Outside of that, it is business as usual for Apple Valley, including Meras still calling plays on offense.
“It's pretty much the way we've always ran it and not much is changing,” Meras said.
The biggest transfer in the MRL
Three-year starting varsity quarterback — and 2022 Daily Press Offensive Player of the Year — Jacob Higgs transferred from Sultana to Apple Valley and spent the summer competing for the starting quarterback job with returning senior Aryav Biswas, who backed up Noah Celie last season.
Apple Valley’s coaching staff and roster certainly put Higgs through the wringer, testing his leadership after he spent three seasons on enemy sidelines.
The southpaw quarterback has not backed down from the challenge.
“I think it has been a really smooth transition just because I came here to put in work and win. That is all this school does from the coaches to the players,” Higgs said. “The culture and the mindset of how we go about practice and the weight room, it’s what I came here to do.”
Higgs admitted he has not won many games as a starting quarterback — Sultana had a 13-18 record in his three years — and that is all he is looking to accomplish in his transition to Apple Valley.
“I want to win football games. If I’m handing the ball off, and we are winning, that’s it. I’m hungry to just win,” Higgs said.
This mindset from Higgs has certainly helped him earn the trust of his teammates.
“I’m really excited,” said offensive tackle Jonah Leaupepetele. “This whole offseason I’ve been able to build a relationship between both (Higgs and Biswas). To have that lineman and quarterback relationship it’s like your actual brother, you don’t want him to get hurt at all. Being able to protect him is everything in the game.”
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Dominating the trenches
Another aspect that makes things exciting for Higgs is having a shot at playing behind a towering offensive line.
Meras called this year’s offensive line one of the biggest in school history and credits the weight-room practices Godfrey put into place several years ago when he was named head coach.
“The potential is huge for them but at the end of the day, we have to strap up, we have to perform. Our league is not easy,” Meras said.
Leaupepetele, who has multiple NCAA Division I offers under his belt, has assumed the leadership role on the seasoned offensive line.
Leaupepetele knows how important his unit’s success is for the rest of the team.
“This year, and last year, I’ve tried to look for the leadership part while trying to dominate my own game to be that example of dominating so other guys can dominate as well,” Leaupepetele said. “We have a really good offensive line and this program is expecting a lot from us.”
The road ahead
Much like last season, Apple Valley has stacked its schedule with early challenges to prepare both for MRL action and a playoff run. The Sun Devils open the season on the road at Orange Vista, which CalPreps.com ranks as the 77th-best team in California. Apple Valley’s first home game is the following week against Chaparral, whick ranks 29th in California.
After hosting Tempe, Arizona’s Corona Del Sol and a Bell Game matchup against Victor Valley, Apple Valley completes its preseason with a home game against 33rd-ranked Upland.
But at the end of the day, the Sun Devils’ biggest game of the season will be in Week 7 at home against three-time defending MRL Champion Oak Hills.
“The Oak Hills game is always going to be a very physical, big game,” Meras said. “Everyone asks me what I think about the Oak Hills game and I tell them Oak Hills is the best team up here right now. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that.”
If Apple Valley can beat Oak Hills for the first time since 2020-21 and can flip the outcome against Hesperia, then a leap from being a third-place team to being MRL Champions is certainly in the cards.
Apple Valley High School's 2024 football schedule
- Thurs. Aug. 22 — Apple Valley at Orange Vista, 7:30 p.m.
- Fri. Aug. 30 — Chaparral at Apple Valley, 7 p.m.
- Fri. Sept. 6 — Corona del Sol at Apple Valley, 7 p.m.
- Fri. Sept. 13 — Apple Valley at Victor Valley, 7 p.m.
- Thurs. Sept. 19 — Upland at Apple Valley, 7 p.m.
- Fri. Oct. 4 — Apple Valley at Sultana, 7 p.m.
- Fri. Oct. 11 — Hesperia at Apple Valley, 7 p.m.
- Fri. Oct. 18 — Oak Hills at Apple Valley, 7 p.m.
- Fri. Oct. 25 — Burroughs at Apple Valley, 7 p.m.
- Fri. Nov. 1 — Apple Valley at Serrano, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: High Desert Football Preview: Apple Valley aims to bounce back from third-place finish
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