By Ray Hamill — One of four H-DNL teams to feature a new head coach in 2026, the Hoopa Warriors will be hoping for a fast start to give them some early-season momentum when they travel to play Trinity on Friday night.
The Warriors don’t have a whole lot of varsity experience on this year’s roster, but that doesn’t mean they lack talent, and new head coach Tashone Rice likes a lot of what he’s seen from his players during the preseason.
Last weekend, they traveled to the coast to compete at the annual H-DNL preseason jamboree and despite having just 11 varsity players available for the trip there were several bright spots.
“I thought it went pretty good,” said Rice, who had to call up a few JV players for the varsity scrimmages. “And I thought the players did really good with getting little rest. I thought we did pretty good overall.”
Among the preseason highlights for the Warriors has been the play of junior quarterback Torin Billings, who is embracing the new role, as well as senior lineman Saul Peralta, two of the four team captains.
Billings takes over under center and is showing no signs of feeling the pressure.
“Torin has really stepped it up,” Rice said. “He’s filling some big shoes as a junior and he’s been able to keep the morale up. His athleticism showed up (at the jamboree).”
Billings, according to the coach, also did a good job in the face of pressure while going up against some of the bigger H-DNL schools.
“He didn’t fold,” Rice added.
Peralta, meanwhile, is quickly establishing himself as a valuable team leader in the trenches and is the “voice of our offensive and defensive lines,” the coach said.
Junior running back/linebacker Ashton Vigil and senior playmaker Kekoa Moon are also captains on this year’s team and making their presence felt in the build-up to the season opener.
“He’s not very vocal, but when he speaks up people listen,” Rice said of the versatile Moon, who plays a variety of roles, including running back, receiver, safety and linebacker “He’s a football guy, so he really knows the game.
“He really impressed me. He plays great fundamental football and he does it all.”
Vigil had to miss the jamboree because of other commitments and he was missed, according to the coach, who believes the junior standout is ready to play a key role on the team this fall.
Other players also have been impressing the new coach during the preseason, including sophomore Manny Peralta, who has wasted no time in establishing himself at the varsity level.
“I was really impressed with how Manny Peralta played,” Rice said of the influential lineman after the jamboree. “He’s only a sophomore and he stepped it up quite a bit.”
So too did junior cornerback/receiver Jesse Roberts, who was one of Hoopa’s standouts on a busy morning, along with junior running back Jack Marshall, who took “some pretty big hits and held his own,” the coach added, as well as physical junior Jonathan Peralta, who plays receiver and safety.
“He’s not the biggest guy, but he plays with tenacity,” Rice said of Jonathan Peralta. “He flys all over the place.”
The Warriors were limited at the jamboree and only had 11 varsity players eligible because of the mandatory 10 practices required beforehand, but the new coach expects to have around 18 on the roster now that school is back this week.
As for Trinity, Rice is expecting a battle to open the season after the Wolves beat the Warriors 17-0 last year.
“I think they’ll want to get that win again after beating us last year, so I think we’re going to go in there and have ourselves a hard-fought game,” he said. “It’s just a matter of putting the pieces together.”
Friday’s varsity game is set for 7:30 p.m., with the schools’ JV teams facing off earlier in the evening.
Trinity finished 5-6 last year, while the Warriors closed out 3-7.
