Last week, football season kicked off against Jurupa Valley and the boys are healthy and ready to keep chalking up the Ws. Tonight is their first home game of the season against Eisenhower, so it’s time to preview the 2025 season.
Last season was an absolute success as the Yellowjackets finished as Skyline League Champs. A defeat at the hands of Baldwin Park in the first round of the CIF playoffs wasn’t how the team wanted the season to end, but it provided room for growth as they come into 2025.
And 2025 comes with several changes for the Yellowjackets: a new league, a new roster and more expectations.
New League
The Yellowjackets are now in the San Andreas league after taking first place in the Skyline league last season.
They will face similar faces and some new ones: Rim of the World, Grand Terrace, Kaiser, and San Gorgonio.
The team feels confident playing these teams, but there’s one conflict: new coaches for the old teams.
“Learning what they do, figuring out how they run their stuff and it kind of goes from there,” shared head coach Ray Rodrguez. “But I think we do enough preparation, we got our system of play and were good, were comfortable.”
Simple Expectations
This season, Colton’s coaches have simple expectations for the boys: win the league
But as for the team, they hope to find some battles to face and tough games.
Being the team they were last season, the team didn’t feel they had enough of a challenge. “We didn’t have enough games where we really had to push ourselves and buckle down,” said Rodriguez.
Being in a new league brings with it excitement for the challenge, but that means the non-league games become even more important as they give the team time to improve their preparation, their play, and grow as players and a team.
Stand Out Players
Overall, the Yellowjackets lineup is looking strong. Their game against Jurupa Valley showed a team that is bigger and faster than they were last year. But they also showed improved leadership as the team didn’t lose focus in the blowout victory. They seemed to embrace the challenge of keeping the pressure on Jurupa Valley instead of taking their feet off the gas pedal.
That leadership comes from their four captains, who are also standout at their respective positions: Koa Regalado, Jonathan Monroy, Isaiah Ruiz and Jordan Chairez.
These boys have earned their captain spots for being leaders, always focused and motivating.
“They’re always locked in.” says Rodriguez.
Besides the captains, according to Rodriguez the team is loaded with great players across the board from Kalvin Leon and Julian Gonzalez at receiver, Tyler Zesk at running back, and Isaiah Garcia at defensive back.
However, when asked about a player who should surprise us this season, Rodriguez mentioned junior receiver/defensive back Jacob De La Rosa. De La Rosa is a quiet guy, but is always grinding.
Rodrguez said, “We’re excited to see what he does this year.”
With the 2025 season underway, the Yellowjackets look primed for another successful campaign. Check the Pepper Bough sports page for stories, scores and this year’s schedule.
