The 2025 Gijón Mariners American Football Team

Friday, April 4, 2025

Amidst the combination of recuperating from our trip to Marrakech and packing for the flight home to California on Sunday, I thought that I would take a break and give our loyal blog readers a complete rundown on the 2025 Gijón Mariners.

2025 Gijón Mariners

Spanish Serie A

Western Conference Tied for 4th Place

2 Wins - 6 Losses

The 2025 Roster

#0, Iván Ávila, DB,

19 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Ávila"

Ávila had a solid season for us maturing into his role as the season progressed and has a bright future with the Mariners.

#1, Raúl Garcia Caldero, WR/K/P

37 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Calde"

Calde is a veteran to say the least and is a great team leader who was fearless going over the middle. He brought his passion to every practice and game.

#2, James Douglas, DB/WR

30 years old, USA

James left the Mariners after four games for a more lucrative two year deal with a team in China.

#2, Geoff Green, DB/WR

30 years old, USA

Geoff joined the Mariners for the last three games of the season in place of the departed James Douglas. He did a marvelous job for us both on and off the field. Geoff was a key player in the upset win over the Osos Rivas in the season ending game.

#3, Roberto Rodriguez, LB

32 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Rober"

Another of our emotional team leaders. I wish that we had ten more just like him on every team that I've ever coached.

#4, Spencer Moore, QB

27 years old, USA

Spencer showed great resilience and mental toughness all season long in leading the team with a calm demeanor. His three TD passes and two successful 2-point conversion passes in the Osos Rivas game in Gijón were memorable.

#5, Javier Castañon, RB

28 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Casta"

Casta is that warrior that every coach wants on his team, plain and simple.

#6, Pablo Boza, DB

18 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Boza"

Boza spent the year on the Injured Reserve list recuperating from an injury incurred in the off-season.

#8, Gonzalo Rojas, QB

19 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Rojas"

The Mariners' young backup QB who competed when he got his opportunities to play in games.

#9, Sebastian Caroci, WR/DE

32 years old, Argentina

a.k.a., "Sebas"

Sebas was a quiet player who contributed several key receptions and also had some great moments for us on defense.

#13, Pablo Lopez, DB

29 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Pablo"

An experienced DB who played well but missed four games due to work demands on the weekends.

#18, Ruben Quintana, WR/DE

23 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Ruben Coach"

Ruben is a young man with tremendous skills who seemed to consistently make a great play just when the Mariners needed it the most.

#22, David Pérez, DB/RB/P

20 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "David"

David was a fine role player for the Mariners who quietly performed well each and every time he stepped on the field.

#24, Guillermo Rivera, DB

18 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Guillermo"

Another player who was battling an off-season injury but contributed strongly in practices.

#27, Iván Bravo, DB

21 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Chauffeur"

Iván came back from yet another off-season injury to play quite well in the last three games of the season.

He was my ride home from our Tuesday and Friday night practices, hence the Chauffeur moniker.

#29, John Walter Londoño, DB

31 years old, Colombia

a.k.a., "Walter"

Walter, ever feisty, was our most consistent DB all season long and lead the team in interceptions.

#34, Javier Sánchez, DB

25 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Javi"

Possessing a great work ethic, he made large strides this season making up for his lack of size with grit and determination.

#35, Brian López, LB

19 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Brian"

One of our Team Captains despite his young age, he played well this year and will become a great LB in the future as he matures. 

#42, Samuel Fernández, LB/SS

18 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Samu"

Samu was a solid contributor to our defense throughout the campaign. As he studies the playbook, his playing time will increase in the future.

#45, Alan Lera, LB/SS

27 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Alan"

Alan played well for us in our first two games but work his commitments to his Guardia Civil post in Madrid curtailed his season.

#53, Mohamed Ben Brahim, OT

25 years old, Tunisia

a.k.a., "Moha"

Fun loving Moha started for us at Offensive Tackle until he tragically broke his leg in game #6 vs. the Las Rozas Black Demons. He had been selected to play for the Tunisian National Team later this year.

#54, Matteo Cusimano, DE/OT

25 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Matteo"

A Team Captain in every sense of the title, Matteo plays with his motor at full throttle all of the time. The last two weeks of the season due to injuries, he stepped in at Offensive Tackle and did a yeoman's job. 

#59, Hugo García, LB

19 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Hugo"

A starter at LB all season long, Hugo is another of the Mariners' young lions who will be a main stay of the club for years to come.

#60, Mykhailo Hordiienko, OG

40 years old, Ukraine

a.k.a., "Mykhai"

A huge and quiet man with a sense of humor and an inquiring mind who answered the bell every week.

#64, Juan Carlos Fernandez, OG

38 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Juan Carlos"

He is a steady, thinking player, perfect for the Offensive Line who gave great effort at all times. His daughter is part of our Flag Football program.

#65, Angel Alvarez, DT

21 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Angel DT"

One of the two new Defensive Linemen that made up devastating "Los Angeles" tandem in practice. Angel may have been our most improved player this year.

#66, Tayler Courtney, DL/OL

28 years old, USA

a.k.a., "Taye"

An intense player on the field who lifted up all of his teammates with his zeal and passion for the game. Off the field he is a teddy bear who soaked up all of the local culture, cuisine and language that he could. Taye was the poster child for what an import player should be at all times in EuroBall.

#69, Jonathan Vergara, DL

28 years old, Colombia

a.k.a., "Jonathan"

An intense player with the perfect on-the-edge attitude that we needed on Defense. He missed a few games due to injury and his absence was clearly noted. A good man to have on your side.

#74, Mikel Gomez, Center

29 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Mikel"

The anchor of our Offensive Line, a big man with even bigger blocking skills.

#77, José Menéndez, OL

37 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "José"

He says little and plays hard, typical traits in an Offensive Tackle.

#78, Angel Cobos, DE

28 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Angel DE"

The other half of the "Los Angeles" DL tandem that wreaked havoc on our Offense in practice all season. He made great strides in his first season playing American football.

#86, Carlos Vaz Suarez, WR

29 years old, Spain

a.k.a., "Carlos"

Carlos made lots of big catches for us this year and was an integral part of our receiving corps.

The 2025 Mariners Staff

Head Coach

Nacho Valdés

He made great strides in establishing his culture in his first year at the helm of the Mariners.

Offensive Line Coach

Alvaro Palacio

Patient and cerebral as most good Offensive Line coaches tend to be.

Wide Receiver Coach

Angel Mangado

A much beloved and highly respected coach who was positive at all times.

Defensive Coordinator/DL Coach

George Contreras

I believed in our players all season long and was highly gratified with our efforts in that final Osos Rivas game.

Defensive Backs Coach Isaac Abid

A master at teaching fundamentals. He is a fine coach.

LB Coach Iván Canto

A great young coach who gladly stepped up during a season in which a knee injury while playing in Germany last Summer kept him from playing DB for the Mariners.

Iván contributed lots of great ideas this season that improved our efforts.

Game Day Do It All Staffer

Javier López

Javier handled every possible game day issue with ease. Another good man to have as a Mariner.

Athletic Trainer

Jimena Rodriquez

I always felt good about her knowledge and professionalism.

The day Moha broke his leg during a game, my feelings for her training abilities leaped forward about 10,000%.

Team President

Kike Prado Alonso

I cannot think of a better person to have leading the Mariners.

Positive at all times and never afraid of getting his hands dirty.

He's a great tour guide, too.

Despite the wins and losses, it was a GREAT year to be a Mariner with this group of good, dedicated people.

We'll end this post with some late arriving photos from Felipe, the Mariners' crackerjack photographer, from the famed Osos Rivas game last Saturday.

American Football is a game

of Blood, Sweat and Tears

The famed "Los Angeles" devastating duo

Center Mikel and his QB Spencer

Winning cures all pains!

Emotional support for some of our

veteran players who may be calling

it a career after this season

The Colombians

Defenders

Taye and Mikel

I must have said something right

to the squad after that emotional win

Taye and Geoff

The Mariners' Old Guard

The O & D Lines

Veteran and Rookie LBs

The best team picture ever

The players pulled Laurie into the picture and I love seeing HC Nacho getting water poured on him as Felipe took this photo.

The sheer joy of victory in this photo is palpable!

As I yelled too often this season . . . 

"PUNT TEAM LISTO!"

Laurie insisted that I get a haircut and a beard trim before flying home to California, so I was off again to the nearby Friend's Barber Shop.

I love the old school feel at Friend's

David is my go-to barber in Gijón

David is just a good man who, as with

all good barbers, can talk up a storm

on just about any topic under the Sun

I really enjoyed my monthly trips to Friend's with David.

After the usual sumptuous Menú lunch at Casa Toni, we spent the rest of the day packing for the trip home.

We only have one more full day in Gijón before the flight home on Sunday morning.

What a life we're having!