Hartnell College leaps to bowl victory in Living Breath Foundation Bowl

APTOS — After all the trophies were handed out, after the team photo was snapped, while friends, family and fans were still mingling on the field, Hartnell College football coach Matt Collins was left to put it all in perspective.
"Where do you go now?" he asked.
For sure, the 2012 Panthers have a tough act to follow.
Hartnell accomplished an honor roll of things this year that hadn't been done in a long time, and some may have thought would never be done again from a program coming off five straight years without a winning record.  (read the rest of the article here...)

Bowl-bound Panthers take down MPC

Saturday night the 2011 Hartnell College football team put its name right up there with some of the most notable in the 76-year history of the program by bringing back the glory with a rousing 36-24 win over rival Monterey Peninsula College in front of a large and excitable crowd at Salinas High Stadium. (click here to read the full George Watkins article...)

Hartnell Panther's has biggest roster in years

Matt Collins has gone through a whirlwind of tough times, close calls and even tragedy during his first four years as coach of the Hartnell College football team.

He not only had to spend his first year coaching against teams in the big-school Golden Gate Conference in 2007, but also had to deal with the tragic stabbing death of one of the most popular players on the team — Thaddeus Williams.

And just when things appeared to be turning around two years later, along came last season when the Panthers lost four games by seven points or less. Rather than finish with their first winning record since 2005, the Panthers went 2-8.

Enough is enough. At least that's the way Collins sees things.

"We want to get this thing rolling,'' Collins said. "The program is evolving. We're moving kids on [to four-year schools]. We thought the wins would come. Sometimes they come right out of the gate. Other times you have to work to get where you want. I think we're getting real close.''

As the Panthers ready for Saturday's season opener against Mendocino in Ukiah, the turnout is holding strong at 67 players — the largest September roster for a Hartnell team in years.

Much of the attention of Hartnell fans and opposing defenses is expected to be focused on running back Alvin Jelks. The 6-1, 195-pounder has a chance to become Hartnell's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2005. He ran for 841 yards and 12 touchdowns as a freshman and capped the year with a 194-yard, three-touchdown command performance against Monterey Peninsula College.

"He can make big things happen,'' Collins said.

New to the Hartnell backfield is Terrance Wilson from Baltimore, a 6-1, 220-pounder; and Josh Wade, a 5-8, 160-pounder from Washington, D.C.

Palma High graduate Austin Fales returns as Hartnell quarterback after a solid freshman campaign. He completed 103 of 151 passes for 1,118 yards. He threw seven touchdown passes and only three interceptions.

"He's a lot more confident,'' Collins said. "He understands the pace of play at this level. He's prepped himself well for a good season.''

The leading returning receiver is Matt Snead from Virginia, who had 16 catches for 182 yards. Darrion Griffith of Seaside is another returner; he pulled down six grabs for 86 yards last season.

The receiving group also includes Brandon Crosby, who had 13 catches for Salinas High in 2009 and 6-3, 165-pound Todd Bush of Florida.

Hartnell brings back a first-team All-Coast Conference offensive lineman in 6-4, 280-pound Nick Nunez of North Salinas High. He'll be teamed with 6-4, 275-pound Mike Milovale from Monterey and 6-2, 320-pound Gary Phillips from North Salinas.

Hartnell's roster is loaded with freshmen, and most can be found on defense.

But there's also reliable sophomore, returning all-conference defensive end Freddy Ayala of Gonzales. He'll be lined up with such notables as 6-3, 265-pound Jesus Zamudio of Greenfield High — a first-team all-MTAL pick in 2008 and formerly of Sacramento City College; and Joe Santiago, a 5-11, 255-pound first-team all-leaguer from Palma.

The newest member of a relatively inexperienced linebacker crew is 6-2, 220-pound Anthony Rice from Baltimore. The defensive backfield will be a mostly home-grown collection consisting of Marcos Martinez from North Salinas, Myles Coleman from Salinas, Louis Martinez from Alvarez and Steven Lemus of Soledad.

Article from: Salinas Californian

Panthers coach Collins gets first victory over rival Lobos

BY GEORGE WATKINS • gwatkins@thecalifornian.com • November 16, 2009

The crowd sang "Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, good-bye," the stadium sound system blared Kool & The Gang's song "Celebration," and the Hartnell College football team whooped it up at midfield and hoisted the President's Trophy for all to see.

After a three-year struggle, it was happy days are here again for the Hartnell College football team.

The Panthers gave an emphatic and enthusiastic end to the season Saturday night by beating rival Monterey Peninsula College 55-34 in front of an energetic crowd at Salinas High Stadium.

Considering how badly Hartnell has suffered during the last three years (combined record 3-27), this may have been the sweetest 5-5 finish in Hartnell history.

It also earned Hartnell's third-year coach Matt Collins his "Beat MPC" merit badge.
It was Hartnell's first win against the Lobos in four years.

Among those congratulating Collins on his first win over MPC was the guy he replaced as coach at the start of the 2007 season, Larry Souza.

"Now you're a Panther!" Souza told him. "Now you're a Panther!"

"They love you when you win, I guess," Collins said with a wry smile. "They wanted to egg me the first two years."

After going 0-10 in 2007 and 2-8 last year, Hartnell battled back this season to finish 4-1 in the Coast Conference — its first winning conference record since 2005.

De Anza beat San Jose City Saturday to finish as conference champions at 5-0.

"We knew from day one this was going to be a long process," Collins said. "And we're nowhere near where we need to be. But that's all part of the growing pains. We're on the right track."

Not only did the win over the Lobos (3-7 overall) extend Hartnell's lead in the series to 37-24, but it may go a long way to improving the local recruiting process that has been just as much of a challenge as the schedule.

"We just want the student-athletes in this area to know we want them to be part of Hartnell football and not always to be looking to go to the next best place," Collins said. "We want this to be the next best place."

One that got away was MPC receiver Bret Chernetsky from Palma, who caught 12 passes for 131 yards for the Lobos.

But the Panthers had their share of standouts as well. They broke tackles and completed passes all night long.

Ricky Rodwell rushed for 132 yards and one touchdown, Dwayne Gatlin completed 15 of 22 passes for 253 yards in the first half, then switched positions and caught two passes for 45 yards in the second half.

The game-breaking score was turned in by Jarvious Smith, who grabbed a punt in heavy traffic while in full stride and raced 56 yards for a touchdown to give Hartnell a 41-20 lead with 8:20 left in the third quarter.

Sione Polota ended things with Hartnell's second interception of the game.
It was a triumphant finish to what has been three seasons of seemingly never-ending challenges.

"Most of it was done with a third-string quarterback, six offensive linemen — we were down to five defensive lineman and had receivers filling in as defensive backs — with no real subs," Collins said. "We were paper thin. It was a testament to their character and hard work."

View original article here

Pete Noble joins the Hartnell College football staff as the defensive coordinator

Hartnell football coach Matt Collins wasted no time hiring Pete Noble just less than 2 months after his retirement from Monterey High School. Coach Noble stepped away from a lifetime career as a high school teacher and coach. His resume is unmatched as he can be remembered having a major influence on thousands of young men and women dating back to the beginning of his career in 1970 at Tennyson High school in Hayward, Ca.



“Pete has been a friend and colleague of mine in the coaching profession dating back to the 2000 season. We met at the Portland State clinics and have kept in touch over the years. His knowledge of football is legendary as he is known throughout the country as a successful coach. Having the opportunity to hire Pete was just good timing. We couldn’t pass him up.”

Prior to serving as the head coach at Monterey High School from 2003-2008, he was named the 2002 Monterey Herald and Salinas Californian Coach of the Year at Gonzalez High School. In addition, he has been named coach of the year 10 different times in 3 different conferences. Coach Noble has won 10 conference championships and has had 16 playoff appearances throughout his 23 years as a head coach.

Coach Noble is the author of Football’s Split 4-4 Defense and he has gained National recognition for football clinics and instructional videotapes through “Coaches Choice videos”. Over the years, he has been a guest speaker at clinics throughout the country at major Universities; too many to list.

In addition to coaching on the football staff, Coach Noble will be teaching classes as a part-time member of the physical education department. His wife Kathy is a full time employee at Hartnell College where she works as a DSP counselor.



THE NOBLE FILE

2003-2008 Head Coach Monterey High School
2002-2003 Head Coach Gonzalez High School
2000-2002 Assistant Alvarez High School
1998-2000 Assistant Gavilan College
1985-2000 Teacher Monterey High school
1985-1994 Head Coach Monterey high School
1985 Head Coach Oakland Fire Dept.
1976-1985 Head Coach Encinal High school
1983 D. C. Fremont Cavaliers (Professional League)
1973-1974 Head Coach Alameda High School
1972 Assistant Alameda High School
1970-1971 Assistant Tennyson High School

EDUCATION

1971 B.S Physical education California Sate University – Hayward
1972 Lifetime Teaching Credential State of California

Additional education course work:

Cal Lutheran
Chabot College
Azusa Pacific College
University of Santa Clara
San Francisco State University
San Jose State University

PUBLICATIONS

Author Coaching Football’s Split 4-4, Coaches Choice Second edition
DVD Author: Coaching Football’s Split 4-4 vs the Run, Coaches Choice
DVD Author: Coaching Football’s Split 4-4 vs the Pass, Coaches Choice
DVD Author: Coaching Football Linebackers in the Split 4-4, Coaches Choice
DVD Author: Coaching Football Defensive Linemen in the Split 4-4, Coaches Choice