By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
CERRITOS DONS
9-6 overall last season, 3-0 in the 605 League, first place, defeated Yucca Valley High 19-13 in overtime in the CIF-Southern Section Division 12 championship game, lost to Wasco High 7-6 in the CIF Division 6AA State championship game.
24-27 overall last five seasons
Head coach: Demel Franklin (second season, 9-6)
Lost 15 seniors out of 47 players from 2023 opening day roster
Last time missed the playoffs: 2019
2024 schedule
Aug. 23 @ Buena Park (6-6 overall last season)
Aug. 30 Gahr (7-4)
Sept. 6 @ Portola (4-6)
Sept. 13 @ Valley Christian (3-7)
Sept. 20 @ West Torrance (1-9)
Sept. 27 Westminster (9-4)
Oct. 4 BYE
Oct. 11 Don Lugo (5-7)
Oct. 17 Pioneer (2-8)
Oct. 24 @ John Glenn (6-4)
Oct. 31 Artesia (9-6)
The plan for Demel Franklin to be the head coach for Cerritos High was supposed to happen a few years ago. Along with the late offensive lineman coach Webster Peters, the two had dreamt up a plan to revitalize the Cerritos football program and bring home a CIF-Southern Section divisional champion.
Peters passed away nearly three years ago and in his first season as head coach for the Dons, Franklin did what the Cerritos community had been seeking. The only downside to last season was a 7-6 loss to Wasco in the Division 6AA state championship game. Fast forward nine months later and the buzz has worn off as the focus is on the 2024 campaign.
“I would definitely say that’s in the past and we’re moving forward,” said Franklin. “But the sting and the burn is still there. For these kids that had to witness that loss to Wasco by one point, we’ll never forget it. By the coaching staff, by the parents…the fire is still there. But for this team, it’s a brand new team with brand new challenges, and we’re looking forward to being better than we were.
“These kids will tell you I’m extremely hard on them,” he later said. “The parents will tell you…we don’t talk about what happened. We talk about what’s going to happen. So, there’s not going to be any hangover. I can assure you of that. We’ll go out on the field, and I’ll make sure to reiterate that.”
Franklin said it was a surprise that Cerritos won the Division 12 title game, but it’s how he and Peters wanted it to happen. The nine wins tied for the most in school history, last set in 2001 when the Dons lost once in Suburban League play and in the second round of the playoffs. But since the formation of the 605 League in 2020, Cerritos has been the team to beat, and the Dons have gone 22-19 since then. In contrast, the program won 21 games from 2006-2019.
“It’s not the players we have, it’s what we’re doing for our players,” said Franklin. “They believe in us; we believe in them. We love them, they love us and they’re going to work just as hard as they can. They know we have their best interest in mind, and I believe that’s the biggest change.
OFFENSE
By their standards, the Dons were a scoring machine last season, putting up 371 points and scoring over 30 points four times in the last eight games. That total would have been north of 400 points had it not been for shutout losses to Portola High and Westminster High. Returning as the leader of the offense is junior quarterback Justin Sagun, who completed 73 of 137 for 713 yards, tossed eight touchdowns but threw nine interceptions last season. He also rushed the ball 55 times for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Sagun has not been with the team for the entire offseason because of his baseball obligations. While Franklin says he’s better than last season, he’s still a little rusty because he’s been with the team a few times since the loss to Wasco. With that said, Franklin believes he’s more efficient with his legs.
“At this point, it’s his legs because last year was his first time [thrown] into the fire, and he only got half the reps the first half of the year,” said Franklin. “This year we’re asking him to do more and get the ball to our skill players.”
Franklin, the former lower level coach, has never had the opportunity to coach a player for three years, but that’s what he’ll be facing with Sagun this season. He added that next year will be a bonus when he’s a senior. The backup to Sagun is still up in the air.
But, if he can stay healthy, then the offense will be in good hands because of the running attack the Dons will throw at opponents. Returning will be senior running backs Dikshanta Adhikari (153 carries, 812 yards, five touchdowns), Ruben Castro (eight carries, 116 yards, one touchdown), Nathaniel Crawford (five carries, 27 yards, two touchdowns) and Josiah Ungos (120 carries, 532 yards, four touchdowns).
“We’re blessed in our running game, and we’ve been working on a few other guys as well,” said Franklin. “I have plans on rolling out probably four to six guys at the running back position at different times. Receivers the same; we’ll have six to eight guys. We want to play a lot of kids because we have a lot of talented kids, and they all deserve to be on the field.”
Adhikari has the potential to crack the 1,000-yard barrier and is slated to be the number one back. Also part of the backfield will be juniors Bailey Crawford and Jacob Hoosac.
Those six guys also figure to catch the ball in space, led by Castro, who caught 45 passes for 570 yards and five touchdowns last season and Adhikari (28 receptions, 221 yards, three touchdowns). Senior Nathan Burton, junior Dylan Davis and sophomore Terrance Grissom also figure to be in the mix.
“When we’re training these guys, I want them to be able to do everything because one time you’ll be a running back,” said Franklin. “Maybe you’re a slot or an outside receiver. I need to see them in all those roles to see what they can do the best.”
Protecting those guys will be junior left tackle Chidubem Ozoagu, junior center Jonathan Avendano, and junior right tackle Devion Stinson. The guard positions are still yet to be determined, but vying for those spots will be senior Luis Lopez, who played some center last season, junior Nathaniel Marcroft, and sophomore Lorenzo Sanchez, whom Franklin calls a dark horse on the line.
Even with the success the team had last season, Franklin likes this season’s offense better because of all the sophomores playing on the line. If they were that good, then this season figures to be more terrifying, in his words. He also said he expects Sagun to make more plays.
“I didn’t know how we were going to get through the first 10 [games],” said Franklin of last season. “I said if we can get out of the first 10 at .500, then we were going to be a problem in the playoffs, and we were able to do that.”
DEFENSE
The defense allowed 284 points last season, held opponents to a touchdown or less five times and less than 15 points another three times as the Dons went 6-2 in those games. The line will be managed by junior Makai Ortiz, Crawford (60 tackles, one and a half sacks), Ozoagu, Stinson, Ungos with Crawford the anchor of that group, according to Franklin.
“We’re asking [Crawford] to do more,” said Franklin. “He’s going to play some nose [guard]; he’s going to stand in and play some linebacker. We asked him to shed a few pounds and get a little quicker so he can play some linebacker, because if we wants to play running back, which he wants to do, he has to be able to run. What you saw from him last year is a small fraction of what you’re going to see from him this year.”
Junior Labrenten Wilson and Castro (24 tackles, two interceptions) are the cornerbacks while at safety will be senior Marnell Smith (27 tackles, two interceptions) and juniors Jayden Bagaygay and Michael Quibrantar (39 tackles, one interception) while Crawford (129 tackles/41 solo, two sacks) will be the key linebacker with junior outside linebacker Tyler Ky (115 tackles/47 solo) and Hoosac (72 tackles) joining him. Not to be forgotten on the defensive side is senior Devyn Chantha (34 tackles, one sack), who will patrol any of the front seven positions. Look for sophomore Jordan Ju, who can play either strong safety or outside linebacker to find a spot somewhere as Franklin said he stood out at one of the summer tournaments.
SCHEDULE
Four of the first five games will be on the road and of those, three are against 2023 opponents. The Dons got past Buena Park High 14-7 and defeated West Torrance High 27-21 while falling to Portola High 14-0. Buena Park and Gahr High went to the playoffs last season, which should be an early test for Cerritos. When the Dons host crosstown rival Gahr, they will be seeking to own the city the way they did from 1999-2004 when Cerritos won six straight against the Gladiators. Since then, Cerritos has defeated the Gladiators just once, and that came two seasons ago.
“Right out of the gate, Buena Park…we know that’s going to be a very, very super physical game,” said Franklin. “I’ve seen them in the summer; I’ve watched them and that’s going to be a heck of a game. just like last year, it was a heck of a game that came down to last minute.”
The final non-league challenge will come before its bye week when the Dons host Westminster, which posted a 27-0 win last season. The Lions fell to Riverside Poly High Division 11 semifinals last season. Barring any hiccups, the 605 League title will be decided on the last night of the regular season when Cerritos hosts Artesia High.
“Those first seven games, we learned a lot about ourselves last year, and we were in those seven games,” said Franklin. “[Westminster] thrashed us; there’s no way around it. We didn’t play well. We made every mistake we could, and they didn’t make many mistakes. They embarrassed us on their homecoming and that [game] is definitely circled on my calendar.”
HOMECOMING
Cerritos defeated first-time opponent West Torrance High last season and this season it will face another new foe in Don Lugo High. While the Conquistadores had a losing season in 2023, they advanced to the Division 12 quarterfinals where they lost to Coachella Valley High by 17 points. It was there that Franklin made a connection with the Don Lugo head coach as Cerritos would defeat Coachella Valley in the semifinals.
This is the fifth straight season the Dons will have their homecoming game against a non-league opponent. Last season’s win snapped a seven-game losing streak in such games and since 1998, Cerritos has won seven homecoming games.
FINAL COMMENT
“We’re closer than we’ve ever been and that’s fun; that’s exciting,” said Franklin. “We’re going to do some good things. I predict we’re going to play really hard, in my Bill Belichick voice. I don’t know the future, but I know we’re going to play very hard.”
