Just Play, Baby
The Shadow
By JOEL HOOD
BEE STAFF WRITER
He's amassed 1,300 yards and has scored a team-best 13 touchdowns this
season, but C.J. Rainey begins each morning by delivering produce to a local
warehouse.
Oscar Ruiz can make any throw on the football field -- deep crosses, short
slants, shovel passes. But before he takes the field, the former Bee
All-District quarterback sets tile in Keyes.
Turlock High graduate Matt Heaston has been a stalwart on the offensive line
for eight seasons, but admits making it to practice in Modesto these days is
a struggle. Not because of injury, but because he suffers through a
traffic-clogged, two-hour commute each day from his job in San Ramon.
Welcome to the Central Valley Raiders, where the owners don't expect
excellence, just commitment.
"This is old-school football right here," Rainey said. "A lot of these guys
hang out together on the weekends, party together sometimes. This is the
type of team (Oakland Raiders owner) Al Davis would put together."
With a toughness and swagger that pays homage to the rough-and-tumble glory
days of the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, the amateur CV Raiders are a
collection of former high school and college standouts from all over the
Central Valley. About half the high schools in the Central California
Conference are represented, as well as Modesto Junior College.
The Modesto-based team, in its third season in the 24-team Golden State
Amateur Football League, will vie for the "NFC" championship Saturday
against the high-flying Daly City Renegades at 2 p.m. at Benicia High
School. A win by the 11-1 Raiders would propel them into the Golden State
Bowl on Aug. 2 at San Francisco's historic Kezar Stadium. That's a far cry
from the Raiders' home field, Frank Sparks Middle School in Winton.
"That's what we're shooting for," said Raiders co-owner Leon Benjamin. "To
be honest, I don't even know what to say about that. I'm at a loss for what
we've already done."
There are no developmental leagues in professional football, not the way
there is in baseball and basketball. If a college player isn't chosen by an
NFL club in the draft and fails to land a free-agent contract during
training camp, he has a long road ahead to keep his NFL dreams alive.
Some are picked up by teams in the Canadian Football League, others have to
travel to Europe. Many more try to land jobs in either of the two Arena
Football Leagues.
Those who don't make an arena league roster, have two choices: give up the
game or play for free.
That's where the GSAFL comes into play. Players see it as their last chance
at impressing professional scouts or coaches.
"That's the dream all of us have," said Rainey, 25, a Fremont native in his
first season in the GSAFL. "We're here because we love football. You have to
love it to work this hard for free. But we're also trying to get our name
out there."
Rainey has perhaps a better shot at making a professional roster than most
of the CV Raiders. The speedy, 5-foot-11, 190-pounder was a standout running
back at tiny Huron University in South Dakota before moving back to his
native California.
When he wasn't able to catch on with any of the teams in the professional
leagues, he thought about dropping everything and focusing on his family,
which includes three children under the age of 5.
"I couldn't do this without my family's support," said Rainey, the team's
leading rusher and top offensive threat. "As long as my body holds up, I'm
going to keep trying."
Like other Raiders players, Rainey collects video highlights of his season
and sends them to sports agents who can help line up workouts with
professional clubs.
"That's what you have to do to get your name out there," said fullback Billy
Hylla, 25, a coach at Central Catholic High and a former Sonora High
standout. "It's a long shot. But if you love to play this game, you do what
needs to be done."
The biggest investment players make is with their body. A wide receiver
snapped his Achilles tendon in the Raiders' second preseason game in March,
sidelining him for the year.
Ruiz, 27, the team's starting quarterback, broke his collar bone in the
fourth game of the season and was replaced by a defensive end. But the
former Ceres High star returned last week in the Raiders' 7-3 victory over
the defending Golden State Bowl champion NorCal Lawmen (San Francisco) in
the first round of the postseason -- the first playoff win in franchise
history.
The only cost to the players is a $200 annual team fee, which helps covers
field rental, travel costs, and minimal insurance. Even then, co-owners
Benjamin and Shawn Spaulding say they each pay close $2,000 a season in
extraneous costs.
That's why the two have stepped up efforts to land local sponsors. But those
have been hard to come. Aside from small cash donations and discounts at
area stores, all 58 Raider players are allowed to work out for free during
the five-month season at the Gold's Gym in Modesto.
"This year we sent out over 400 sponsorship packages to businesses and we
got back two who expressed interest in the team," Benjamin said. "But that's
better than some years."
But Benjamin and Spaulding, who played at Modesto High, say they aren't
necessarily in this to make money. This is about competition first and
foremost, they said, and winning a little respect along the way.
"This team has really come together this season and become one unit," said
Spaulding, who also plays right guard. "And we're all here for the same
reason."
The Shadow
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