With a new coaching staff, the Nipomo football team remained winless in 2022.
In 2023, second-year Nipomo coach Stephen Field earned his first win on the field, 28-0 at Cabrillo. Shortly thereafter, the Titans learned that they had earned their actual first win of 2023 by forfeit. San Luis Obispo accidentally used an ineligible player and lost a 38-0 victory to the Titans.
The first league win in the Stephen Field era was a 24-21 Mountain League victory at Santa Ynez. JD Zarate kicked a field goal early in the game and the Titans never looked back. The win ended an 0-for-10 league drought for Field and his team and gave the Titans their third win, qualifying them for the playoffs.
The week after the win in Santa Ynez, Nipomo gave the clear favorite Lompoc no chance before finally losing 41-34. The Titans won the following week against the favorite Paso Robles.
Field was named the Times’ 2023 All-Area Football Team Coach of the Year.
Nipomo has lost its final two games of the season. Righetti rallied to beat the Titans 24-23 in Nipomo’s final regular season game, and the Titans lost 28-18 in the first round of the CIF Central Section Division 4 playoffs at Mt. Whitney in Visalia. Still, the Titans appear to have something to build on.
“I feel like the team started to come together last year,” said Jake Camacho, a returning senior wide receiver.
“We started throwing the ball a little more often. I think it just took the coaching staff a year to figure that out because it was a whole new group.”
Another returnee, junior wide receiver-linebacker Griffin Groshart, said, “I felt like our young defense really took a step forward.”
Camacho said, “90 percent of our defense last year was made up of sophomores.”
The Nipomo coaching staff inserted freshman Blayne Lowry at quarterback in the second half of the 2023 season opener, and Lowry responded by throwing for 1,684 yards this year. Lowry threw eight touchdown passes and five interceptions.
When it came to stepping in quickly at quarterback as a rookie, “everyone stuck together and helped me get used to it quickly,” said Lowry, who returns for his second season at quarterback.
Once things got going for the Titans, Griffin said, “I felt like we were able to expand our offense and run more different plays.”
Veteran Nipomo senior lineman Angel Almanza said, “It’s looking pretty good this year. We’ve worked a lot as a team in the offseason.”
Not only was Zarate a reliable kicker for the Titans last season, but he also ranked 14th in the Central Section last year with an average of 34.8 yards per punt. He returns as a defensive back.
He has been preparing for this season. “I’m pretty active,” Zarate said when it comes to kicking. “I’ve been kicking on my own and a little bit with Billy Vinnedge.”
A graduate of Nipomo High School, Vinnedge later played for Hancock College and then Wyoming. Vinnedge is the veteran coach of the Hancock men’s and women’s soccer teams.
The Titans have moved from the Mountain League, which is considered the highest division in the Mountain League, Sunset League and Ocean League system in which the Central Coast Athletic Association (CCAA) teams play this year. Nipomo will play in the Ocean League along with Santa Maria, Cabrillo, Templeton and Morro Bay.
The Ocean League is considered the lowest of the three leagues.
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Nipomo will open Friday night at 7 p.m. in Lompoc. Here’s a look at the Titans.
Record 2023: 4-7 (2-5 Mountain League).
Camacho, Groshart and Lowry are the only returnees. Field expects freshman Nick Evans, a junior, to contribute a running back. The third-year coach is also counting on a trio of freshmen, junior Jerry Wheeler and sophomores Adam Ortega and Cayson Ziedses Des Plantes, to bolster the wide receiver group.
The returnees are Almanza and senior Eric Toledo. Toledo has played every position on the offensive line.
With seniors Toledo, Joe Beach, Mason Bird and Ethan Ortiz as well as junior Travis Barr, many experienced players are returning to the unit.
With returning players Groshart and fellow senior Freddy Figueroa as well as juniors Jacob Goldsbarry, Christian Gonzalez and Evan Doll, Nipomo has a well-staffed linebacker team.
The Titans have three returnees: Zarate, junior Trevor Oxley and sophomore Troy Simonson.
Zarate will again be Nipomo’s kicker and punter.
Fields’ assistants are David Flores, Bryan Barr, Ken Wolff, Aaron Quarles, Ephraim Evans, Russ Edwards, Jay Wells, Johnathan Wells and Doug Garrett. Edwards is Nipomo’s athletic director.
