Banner years for Glasmann, Hofmeister

Battered and beaten and licking his wounds, Mitch Glasmann walked into offensive coordinator Jon Mitchell's classroom after Chaparral's midseason loss to Vista Murrieta ---- a backbreaker by some observers' accounts ---- and learned the key to his team's plan for the second half of the season: The Pumas' were loading their hopes on Glasmann's back. Their 6-foot-4 quarterback was really going to start taking a beating now.

"I don't think any quarterback can handle those kinds of shots all year long," Mitchell said. "We needed an identity, and by the time we got to the final, Mitch was pretty beat up. I think we timed that pretty well."

They did indeed, with Glasmann's 22 touchdowns ---- through the air and on the ground ---- during the next seven games helping the Pumas claim their first section title. Along for the ride a year ago, Glasmann's leadership and emerging talent earned Chaparral's 18-year-old quarterback All-Valley Offensive Player of the Year honors opposite Vista Murrieta linebacker Ryan Hofmeister, the All-Valley Defensive Player of the Year after spearheading a defensive unit that punched the Broncos' first ticket into a championship game against Glasmann's Pumas.

Both players ---- along with Linfield coach Jimmy Kemmis, the All-Valley Coach of the Year ---- were selected by panel of 25 coaches and writers, with Hofmeister emerging as the winner from a team with several deserving defensive candidates and Glasmann taking his honor a year after spending most of his junior season handing off to a 2,000-yard running back.

"When they first brought him in, they used him to not make mistakes and manage the game," Paloma Valley coach Bert Esposito said of Glasmann, Chaparral's sixth Offensive Player of the Year and fourth straight. "To see him a year later, he was a much more mature player. He wasn't just throwing to (Antoine Arnold) and handing off to (Jonathan Diaz). He was making great decisions. He was a leader."

Throwing to Arnold ---- a 6-foot-4 receiver with more than 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns ---- certainly helped. The Pumas, though, didn't really take off until a spell of soul-searching after the team's initial loss to Vista Murrieta during Southwestern League play. Coaches and seniors recommitted at that juncture, and Glasmann emerged as a go-to-threat who compiled nearly 3,000 yards passing and 44 total touchdowns ---- 27 through the air and 17 on the ground, including four rushing scores in Chaparral's 43-35 overtime win over Corona Centennial in the Inland Division semifinals.

Two weeks earlier, the Pumas (11-3) needed to orchestrate a two-touchdown comeback in the fourth quarter of their playoff opener against Redlands East Valley, and Glasmann answered in a final period that saw the quarterback throw two scores and set up a game-winning field goal with sneaks that resembled his 21-yard score in Chaparral's 13-7 win over Vista Murrieta in the championship, one of Glasmann's two rushing touchdowns in that game.

Later in the final, Glasmann connected with Arnold on a pair of third-down passes that enabled Chaparral to run out the clock to cap an up-and-down season that ended with the Pumas clinching their first section title in three trips to the Inland Division championship game.

Even during the lows, the Pumas never questioned their ability to get to that stage. They simply regrouped and leaned on seniors like Glasmann.

"When we lost to Vista (during the regular season), a lot of people started doubting us," said Glasmann, who threw only nine interceptions on the year. "But everyone on the team knew we were going to pull it out. We just went back to work. We came back with a new attitude."

Vista Murrieta's attitude never swayed during its banner year. Plenty capable on offense, the Broncos' defense and special teams were what really shined during a 13-1 season that ended with the program's first section final berth.

Both units helped Vista Murrieta turn back a 20-point deficit in a semifinal comeback against Norco, with Hofmeister piling up 24 tackles and two sacks in helping the Broncos slow Norco's vaunted rushing game. In all, Hofmeister finished with an area best 195 tackles as a Sam linebacker who harassed defenses from sideline to sideline, in the backfield and in pass coverage.

"This year, I felt more comfortable because (of) all my friends coming up together and playing the defense and getting it all right," Hofmeister said. "I played a lot better and understood everything a lot better because of the people around me. The trust in our defense, the way we worked together was so much different than any other year. ...

"I clicked real well because of the trust we all had."

Hofmeister added 10 sacks, two forced fumbles and two recovered fumbles. His signature play came in the midst of a 25-tackle showing against Great Oak, with the 6-foot-2 linebacker showcasing his 4.5-second, 40-yard dash speed on a busted play in the backfield in which Hofmeister knocked quarterback Bubba Luna back for a 22-yard loss that ended with the Broncos linebacker stripping the ball from Luna in the end zone for a touchdown in a 21-14 win over Great Oak.

"He made a lot of plays," said Great Oak co-coach Robbie Robinson, the team's offensive coordinator. "He's strong and he's fast and he's a ball-hawk. He's a high-motor kid."