Football: Wade Era Set to Begin at Dublin High

One of the first things John Wade noticed when he arrived at after coaching for 15 seasons at was the caliber of players he inherited.

"The skill set at Dublin pretty amazing," he said. "The athleticism and the size of the kids is something we didn't have at Miramonte."

Yet during his tenure — including the last nine as head coach — Miramonte was always among the Diablo Foothill Athletic League's best and usually on par with the North Coast Section's elite Division III teams.

The same couldn't be said for Dublin, which hasn't won more than three games in a season since 2005.

Time will tell if Wade plus Dublin's talent equals Miramonte-level success, but he's confident the team is headed in that direction. 

The Gaels open their 2011 campaign tonight at home against at 7 p.m.

"I think we're just going to try and get off to a good start with our first three games at home," Wade said. "If we can win these games, hopefully we'll get the community excited about football team. That's one of our main goals."

Wade's Miramonte teams could always throw the ball, and with quarterback Ed Achziger ready to begin his third year as a varsity starter, the Gaels' newly-installed spread offense should be exciting to watch.

"(Achziger) can throw the ball, he's a leader and a really smart individual," Wade said. "He's one of the better QBs in the league."

Achziger won't be limited in options with talented receivers Jabari Davis, Artis Jones, Major Stelly, Jeff Leung and Demani McFarlin to throw to. 

In the spread, Dublin won't field a tight end and will usually have running back Ondre Rudolph alone in the backfield. 

"Ondre Rudolph, he's really good," said Wade. "He's big, fast, very gifted. He'll be someone to watch over the years and getting the ball in his hands is what we'll try to do."

With Wade on board (he also teaches P.E. at Dublin), the Gaels are in the hands of a coach who knows the Diablo Foothill Athletic League as well, if not better than, anyone around. 

"At first I thought it'd be strange coaching for a different team in the same league, but the familiarity of knowing the other teams makes (the switch) easier," he said.

And coaching against Miramonte on Nov. 4?

"We've talked about it. I'm sure when that games rolls around late in the year they'll be a lot of hype spun on it," he said. "I'm sure our kids will be super excited to go back over there and I like the fact that it's there. It'll be a circus."

Follow Kyle Bonagura on Twitter

2011 Varsity Schedule