By Don Delco
Acalanes Freshman Football Staff Writer
Dana Hemmingsen was in the middle of a time-honored Thanksgiving tradition — sitting on the couch watching football. Next to him, taking up a majority of the space on the couch, was his high-school aged granddaughter’s boyfriend, Bethel Imasuen.
“I think I’d like to play football,” Imausen told Hemmingsen.
At the time, Imausen was a junior in his first year at Acalanes after transferring from his hometown of Reading, England, about an hour west of London.
“He knew nothing about football,” Hemmingsen said. “He didn’t even know how to put on pads. So, I helped him get started.”
After Hemmingsen introduced Imausen to the game and Acalanes varsity defensive line coach Doug Ingham. In Imausen’s only year playing varsity football, the defensive lineman, known as “Big Bethel,” finished with 77 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, six sacks, 12 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and three blocked kicks. The Dons finished 10-4 that season before losing in the Division 5-AA regional final to Carmel 42-41. Imausen was a three-star recruit and landed at Boise State. Entering the 2026 season, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive end is red-shirt freshman for the Broncos.
Hemmingsen consumed Imausen’s senior year from the stands, but his days watching football, whether it was on his living room couch or at the stadium’s metal bleachers, was coming to an end.
That offseason, Acalanes varsity head coach, Joel “Blue” Isaac, called Hemmingsen to offer him the freshman head coach position for 2025. Hemmingsen was no stranger to football coaching, spending years coaching and serving on the board of directors for the San Ramon Valley Thunderbirds youth football program, as well as stints as an assistant coach for the Monte Vista High School freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams.
“I turned Coach Blue down at first,” Hemmingsen said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to coach freshmen again. It is absolutely the most challenging coaching job in any sport, hands down. You have kids coming in, maybe three or four have played tackle football before. You are really starting from the ground up.”
Hemmingsen’s daughter, Kelli, got in her father’s ear.
“Dad you’ve got to do this,” she said. “You got so much to contribute to the kids.”
After a couple days of contemplating, Hemmingsen returned Coach Blue’s call and accepted thanks to his daughter’s encouragement and Blue’s coaching philosophy.
“Coach Blue really mentors these kids,” Hemmingsen said. “I’ve observed him one-on-one in the coach’s room with players, how he talks to them and it’s just really, really positive. He’s talking to the player as a person and what’s best for the kid.”
Hemmingsen led the Acalanes freshman to a 7-3 record last season. Now after a year under his belt, he enters this season with more time to get prepared and organized. As a result, Hemmingsen, who also is the defensive coordinator, running backs and linebackers coach, has surrounded himself with a four-person coaching staff in Anthony Bishop, Kelli Hemmingsen (defensive line), James Kelly (passing game coordinator/wide receivers/defensive backs) and Vim Keosian (offensive coordinator/special teams).
“Vim has almost 30 years of experience coaching kids of this age,” Hemmingsen said. “James coached the T-Birds and here he hit the ground running. Coach Anthony adds value everywhere. He’s got that ‘big picture organization’ stuff because we don’t have a huge staff. He’s going to add value on the sidelines to keep things together. And yes, coach Hem is my daughter, but she really knows what she’s doing. She got those guys on the defensive line playing really, really well.”
Offensively, the freshman team runs the same offense as the varsity team, just a scaled-down version to account for things like QB arm strength and receiver speed. Entering year two, Hemmingsen and Keosian — with the support of the varsity offensive coordinator coach Jake “Gilly” Gilbert — began regular meetings last December to prepare the offensive playbook for the freshman game. The terminology is 95 percent the same as varsity, according to Hemmingsen. They simply altered the plays. For example, the wide receivers line up inside, not outside, the numbers and their routes aren’t as deep. Running backs line up behind the quarterback in pistol formation, instead of offset, to account for defensive alignment.
“(Keosian) has an incredible ability to communicate with kids at this age,” Hemmingsen said. “He puts them in a place to be successful. It’s magical. I wouldn’t be doing this if Coach Vim didn’t come with me.”
Defensively, Hemmingsen employs a 4-4 front with three defensive backs deep. The Dons combine both a man coverage and a simple cover 3 zone match. Again, like on offense, the scheme isn’t too complicated so teaching and weekly opponent adjustments can occur. The less the players need to think the faster they can play.
“It’s more about individual fundamentals,” Hemmingsen said. “Scheme wise it’s a bit different than varsity, but they get the foundational experience related to alignment, technique, leverage and pursuit.”
Acalanes begins the season with technically three straight road games beginning Saturday, Aug. 29 against Archbishop Mitty at Los Lomas. A scheduling conflict forced the game to be moved from Lafayette to Walnut Creek. The Dons then play at American Canon (Sept. 3) and St. Ignatius (Sept. 12) before their first true home game against College Park on Sept. 17. Acalanes finishes its non-conference schedule with games at Granada (Sept. 24) and at San Leandro (Oct. 1). On Oct. 8, the Dons open the Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division by playing host to Las Lomas followed by their last road game at Miramonte (Oct. 15). Acalanes finishes the season at home against Clayton Valley Charter (Oct. 22) and Campolindo (Oct. 29).
The freshman team mirrors varsity not just in the playbook, but philosophically, as the freshman coaches also preach Coach Blue’s acronym E-A-T, which stands for effort, accountability and team.
“We’re tying those elements together whether it’s at home, in the classroom or on the football field,” Hemmingsen said. “I told them from the get-go that football is going to be hard, but it’s also really, really rewarding. When you get home from practice you should feel you’ve accomplished something.
“So far, these kids have given good effort, they’re smart and highly coachable. It’s a great group. Acalanes is a special place and there are so many people and volunteers that support the football program that make it work. Too many to name, but without them this doesn’t happen.”
2026 Acalanes Freshman Football Roster
(Jersey number – Player Name)
1 – Mazin Abrams
3 – Mateo Potts
4 – Caelen Birrell
6 – Lucas Hansen
7 – Kai Harmeyer
8 – Eli Cooley
9 – James McCallster
10 – Louie Birdwell
11 – Reggie Birdwell
13 – Max Visnick
14 – Malcolm Payne
16 – Parker Williams
17 – Case Feinberg
18 – Teddy Woolway
19 – Trey Renno
21 – Beckett Mason
22 – Hudson Ciccio
23 – Jovani Bordi
24 – Connor Lederman
25 – A.J. Jeffery
26 – Declan Tseng
27 – Nico Beuchotte
31 – Aaron Schweifler
34 – Tate Foster
36 – Rocco Coniglio
38 – Luca Delco
44 – Grayson Johnson
46 – Hunter Stemmer
50 – Anthony Del Favero
52 – Samuel Kubas
53 – Kian Sarabi
54 – Lachlan Kalberg
55 – Shreyansh Gundra
56 – Kamden Min
57 – Wesley Boxerman
58 – Cortland Cook
60 – Dylan Andersen
64 – Massimo Cangini
73 – Preston Fogarty
74 – Turner Deane
76 – Lincoln Wellington
78 – Damian Gomez
80 – Ted MacLeod
83 – Lam Livingstone
85 – Mason Sayegh
87 – Logan Kmet
89 – Sasha Korotkov
90 – Yannick Ngako