Last fall, the Wilcox Chargers varsity football team put forth yet another prototypically strong season under Head Coach Paul Rosa. In eight seasons, Rosa’s Chargers have been no stranger to CCS Championship and CIF State Championship games.
The 2023 team was no different. In the first round of the CCS playoffs, the Chargers upset the St. Francis Lancers with one of the most impressive wins the program has ever delivered. While Wilcox would fall the next week, it was still another year of terrific football.
Sustaining success year after year is incredibly difficult, particularly at the high school and college levels when, eventually, players graduate and move on to the next level. Perhaps more so than any other year, this fall season presents a particularly tough challenge for Rosa and the Chargers, as the team graduated 24 seniors last spring.
That list includes starting quarterback Tyson Bonilla, University of Washington left tackle Justin Hylkema, wide receiver Will Ruff, cornerback Tyson Mitchell, tailback Elijah Walker and middle linebacker Jeramiah Lewis.
For the first time in Rosa’s tenure, Wilcox will be going with a sophomore starting quarterback as Kai Imahara will be under center. Speaking after the first day of fall practice, Coach Rosa had high praise for his young signal caller.
“He’s very football smart for his age; he’s played a lot of football and is super dedicated,” said Rosa. “He works hard; he does all the right things.
“It’s just a matter of when he goes through his young period. He will go through that no matter how good he is,” continued Rosa. “It’s just a matter of how he handles that, which I think he will do a good job. He’s got the skills, very coachable.”
One of the things Imahara will also have is a senior tight end in Adrian Aguilar who can play the role as security blanket for the young quarterback.
“My dad always told me the tight end is the quarterback’s best friend,” chimed Aguilar, who made the highlight reel catch of the day on day one of practice. “The tight end is always gonna be there; always gonna get those catches you need him to get.”
Imahara already seems to have bonded well with the teammate who may become his favorite target.
“As a teammate, he’s really nice; he’s really funny,” chimed Imahara on Aguilar. “He’s just cool to be around, always uplifting. He’s never down or sad or anything. And as a tight end, he will do it all. He will block for you; he’ll do whatever coach says and then he’ll also make those tough catches.”
Wilcox has always been known for tough hard-nosed teams and on the opposite side of the ball the Chargers will feature a pass rusher in Adam Kenney, whom coach Rosa described as the most improved player from one season to the next that he has ever had.
“If you measured improvement in a one year span, he has probably improved more than any guy I have ever had in all the years I’ve coached,” praised Rosa on Kenney. “He’s almost doubled his strength; he’s moved from a boy to a man really. It’s going to be fun to watch him play with that much confidence.”
Wilcox will need Kenney and all its leaders on the field to be ready to go Week 1 when they have a big test against Valley Christian on Aug. 30.
