Author Jim George once stated, “It’s not how you start that’s important, but how you finish!” The quote best describes the 2024 Jesse Bethel High School football team.
The Jaguars began last year’s campaign by losing their first seven games. Plenty of teams would have quit after that, throwing helmets and complaining on the sideline.
Bethel was different. It won its next three — the ones that really mattered — and was able to win a crazy tiebreaker that gave them the Tri-County Athletic League title and a spot in the postseason.
Now that the Jaguars got a taste of the playoffs, they want a refill in 2025.
“Winning boosts confidence,” Bethel senior quarterback Kylen McNeal said on Wednesday after the Jaguars’ practice. “Losing brings self-reflection, but we’re done with that now. We’re going to make some noise this year. The city is going to know about us.”
McNeal’s teammate, Melvin Miller, agrees.
“Last week we had a scrimmage against some very good teams, but we all showed maximum effort in that scrimmage,” Miller said. “Our mindset now is that nobody is going to mess with us. We’re going to ball out and have fun.”
Bethel’s season begins Friday night with a game at Las Lomas. Head coach Gary Lee says the team is ready after having a full offseason in 2025, something he didn’t have in 2024 after being hired just four months before the season started.
The Jesse Bethel head football coach, Gary Lee, talks to players during practice on Friday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
“Our expectation last year was to win a league title, and we did that,” Lee said. “This year with a full offseason the bar has been raised. We’ve embraced the whole offseason and we’re very confident we can do even better this season.”
One of the players with the ability to lead Bethel to a postseason game closer to home is McNeal, a three-sport athlete who once again will start at quarterback.
“I’ve loved his maturity this year,” Lee said about McNeal. “He knows his strengths and weaknesses and he’s owning up to everything. He’s like everyone on this team — if we get a first down, we wonder why we didn’t score. If we knock the ball down on defense, we’re going back to finding out why we didn’t have an interception.”
McNeal will be throwing to wideout targets Dennis Walton III and Anthony Young.
“He’s also matured and he’s running hard on every play and blocking on every play,” Lee said about Walton. “If he doesn’t get the ball on a play, he’s not acting selfish anymore. He’ll keep working hard and then quietly let people know that he was open and what can work better on the next play.”
Other wideouts are Jayshaun Jiles-Bishop and Jermeer Lee-Hicks. The Jaguars will most often not use a tight-end in their offensive formations.
Bethel is known for a strong running game, going all the way back to when C.J. Anderson played for the Jaguars, as well as Thome Walters and DeAundray Taylor in the last 15 years. The running backs this year will be Miller, Jeremiah Gulley and Julian Reyes.
“Melvin is our power back,” Lee said. “He’s put on about 30 pounds of muscle.”
The offensive line consists of senior Diego Mejia, right guard Anthony Dondiego, right tackle Keith Salmon, left guard Leonardo Gutierrez and Kali McNeal at left tackle and backup center.
Jesse Bethel’s Jermeer Lee-Hicks works on blocking drills during practice on Friday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
On defense the Jaguars are led by Young and Jiles-Bishop at safety, while Walton and Julian Fasanella are the corners. Miller and Gulley are at linebacker, along with Young.
“They (Young and Miller) are two of the biggest heartbeats of this team,” Lee said. “They make my job a lot easier.”
Kevin Fuentes and Kylen McNeal will be two of the biggest players on the defensive line. Lee said he knows that most teams don’t play their quarterback on defense, but the coach said he’s too talented to have him sit on the bench.
“He’s one of our best defensive players as well,” Lee said. “He reads plays well and he always puts his head down and gets ready to work.”
Salmon, Mejia and Kali McNeal will also be rushing the opposing quarterback.
“Our goal isn’t just winning a league title this year,” said Lee. “We want to win a few more games in the regular season so that when the playoffs begin we’re not traveling all the way to Humboldt in the first round. We’re changing the culture here.”
After a road game on Friday, Bethel returns home to Corbus Field on Sept. 5 for a game against Elite, followed by a Sept. 12 contest against Pinole Valley. Bethel’s Mayor’s Cup game against Vallejo is on Saturday, Oct. 4, while a cross-town vital league matchup against St. Patrick-St. Vincent is on Saturday night, Oct. 11 at Corbus Field.