Football preview: Capuchino Mustangs

Key returners: Brandon Mailangi (Sr., RB/SS), Alipati Tutoe (Sr., C/DE); Isiah Lopez (Jr. G/NT); TEs Kenny Osterlund (Sr., TE/DE); Akel Jack (Sr., WR/CB); Armando Renteria (Sr., LB/WR)

Key newcomers: Lorenzo Bullock (Jr., WR/SS); Sione Kafoa (Jr., RB/OLB); Malaeti’a Misa (Sr., RB/MLB); Santino Inferrera (Jr., QB/RB/MLB)

2018 opener: Saturday at Lincoln-SF, 2 p.m.

Outlook: With their third coach in three years, it might seem as though the Mustangs have been mired in an identity crisis.

If there’s one thing Capuchino has excelled at in recent years, though, it’s figuring things out on the fly. That’s much in part to the recent string of coaches. Ben White — Cap’s head coach from 2014-16, turned the program around in a hurry with its move to the PAL Lake Division, etching a 13-2 league record during his tenure. Miguel Nava had a rough start last season in his one year at the helm, but righted the ship over the final two weeks as the Mustangs ended on back-to-back wins, including a key 14-10 victory over San Mateo in the season finale to earn a share of third place in the Lake.

This season, Jay Oca takes over at Cap after spending the previous four seasons at South City. Oca and Cap already have something in common, as Oca finished each of his four seasons at South City with a victory, including last year when the Warriors closed the year with three straight wins.

Consistently fighting low roster numbers at South City, Oca has a spoils of riches with 34 players on roster to start the year in San Bruno, a depth he is admittedly not used to. He’s only got one glimpse of his new team in a game-time scenario once, as last week’s four-team scrimmage with Menlo, Sequoia and Oakland. But so far, he likes what he sees.

“We performed well, in my opinion,” Oca said. “I’m very excited. We were able to move the ball. Defensively we were able to stop guys. … So, I’m very, very excited.”

Oca has introduced the same offensive and defensive concepts he used at his previous school, installing the fly offense and the 30 stack defense. He’s also brought over two reasons those systems saw success at South City, as defensive coordinator Kolone Pua and line coach Steve Matteucci has made the move to Cap as well.

“[The players] definitely bought in to it,” Oca said. “They’re doing well. They’re excelling.”

Senior two-way player Brandon Mailangi was a versatile weapon last year, seeing time at quarterback as well as running back. His focus out of the backfield this season, at present, stands to be that of a pure rusher. Running behind a pair of experienced and mobile guards in senior Alapati Tutoe and junior Isiah Lopez should allow him daylight enough to polish his star as a breakout rusher.

“He really excelled at the position,” Oca said. “And he can play quarterback too. … Just assessing the guys since January, I know what they can do in practice and in drills. Things change in games. From what I understand he can do it all.”

Mailangi will still see snaps, along with junior Santino Inferrera. The test will be how they use their two most prominent targets, senior receiver Akel Jack and senior tight end Kenny Osterlund.