The fall season’s three most successful Tucson athletes don’t wear red and blue, don’t sing anything about “Bear Down,” but do know that the last 116 miles from Gila Bend to Yuma always take forever.
You want an impact linebacker? He wears No. 5 for the Pima College Aztecs. Wesley Payne.
“This kid could play for Oregon,” says Aztecs coach Jim Monaco. “I just don’t understand why the UA doesn’t come knocking.”
Payne is second in all of junior college football with 14.1 tackles per game. In an inspiring playoff upset over Yuma’s Arizona Western last week, Payne had 13 tackles and three sacks, and he forced a fumble, which he picked up, then bolted 46 yards for a game-changing touchdown.
Payne wears the same colors, navy blue and black, as fellow Aztec sophomore Jason Romero, who is probably going to be the NJCAA’s soccer player of the year.
“I had the privilege to coach Donny Toia, who is now starting for Montreal in the MSL playoffs,” says Aztecs coach Dave Cosgrove. “I put Jason right with him, one of the best we’ve ever had, by far.”
Romero has scored 28 goals, which is No. 2 nationally. How good is that? UCLA offered him a scholarship, and he accepted.
“What many don’t know is that Jason missed four games with a hamstring injury,” says Cosgrove, whose team is ranked No. 4 nationally. “As a goal-scorer, he’s at the top.”
Devyn Hunley chose to wear jersey No. 22 when she transferred from the UA to play soccer at Pima College last year. If you follow the 19-1-2 Aztecs, you no longer have to ask, “Who’s No. 22?”
That’s a family tradition. Her father, LaMonte Hunley, wore jersey No. 98 when he was an All-Pac-10 linebacker at Arizona in 1984. Her uncle, Hall of Fame linebacker Ricky Hunley, wore No. 89 when he played at Arizona from 1980 to 1983.
A generation ago, the Nos. 89 and 98 at Arizona were instantly identifiable. Now it’s No. 22 at PCC.
Devyn has established her own identity at Pima. She was the MVP of the Region I playoffs last week as the Aztecs established themselves as one of the favorites to win the national championship Nov. 14-17 in Florida.
“I signed up Devyn to play soccer when she was 4,” LaMonte says. “I didn’t know anything about soccer, but lo and behold, they made me the head coach. By the time Devyn was 8, she was like a head coach on the field. That’s when I knew I needed to sit in the stands and watch. She was a natural.”
Typical of most junior college athletic programs, Payne, Romero and Hunley didn’t take a straight and narrow road to Pima. That’s the beauty of it, the almost serendipitous story that surrounds PCC’s remarkable fall semester.
Payne was probably the best player on Phoenix Mountain Pointe’s undefeated 2013 state championship team. He sacrificed for his team as a senior, agreeing to move from linebacker — where he made a state-leading 170 tackles as a junior — to fill a gap at tailback.
He gained 938 yards during the Pride’s 14-0 run to the title but gave up his linebacking job for the good of the order. Thus, many college recruiters lost interest; he was going to play for nearby Mesa Community College until Monaco used his hole card.
PCC assistant coach Brian Hernandez, who was an All-ACCAC receiver on Pima College’s 2004 Pilgrim’s Pride bowl championship team, also graduated from Mountain Pointe.
“Brian’s mom (Karen) remembered how much Brian had enjoyed his Pima career,” says Monaco. “It helped him get a scholarship at Utah and catch a ton (86 passes) for the Utes and get into some NFL camps. With her help, we were able to get Wesley 10 years later.”
Romero’s journey to Pima was more complicated.
He began at Yavapai College, which is the Duke basketball of NJCAA men’s soccer. A year ago, Romero led the ACCAC with 22 goals, but he wasn’t enamored of the chilly weather in Prescott, nor by the smaller-town lifestyle. Romero grew up in San Jose, California, and in the offseason drove to Tucson to train with the FC Tucson program.
“Jason saw us when we played in the (NJCAA) finals last year in Prescott, ironically enough,” says Cosgrove. “And he was impressed by our facility at the Kino Sports Complex. Tucson is now perceived by many as a soccer city, and it turned Jason’s head.”
And now Romero has helped turn Pima into a serious national championship contender.
Hunley was offered a spot on former UA coach Lisa Frazier’s 2013 soccer team but knew she needed to get stronger and get more experience to play at the Pac-12 level. After a redshirt year, Hunley chose to transfer to Pima.
How did it work out? Kendra Veliz’s Aztecs have since gone 35-7-4, twice reaching the NJCAA finals, and Hunley, a notable prospect, is again going through the recruiting process.
The Hunley family name is one of the most revered in Tucson sports history, but at Pima, Hunley has used her Sabino High roots to excel.
Incredibly, All-ACCAC goalie Daniela Sanchez, All-ACCAC midfielder Brandi Parks and All-ACCAC honorable mention defender Sierra Heredia were all Hunley’s Sabercat teammates before arriving at Pima.
“If you look at the makeup of this team,” LaMonte Hunley says, “you know that the kids have a chemistry — they know and understand one another. That has a lot to do with it. “
And so the Aztecs roll on. Romero, Payne and Hunley have been to Yuma and back with their teammates this year. After a long ride, they have found that the road to the championship runs through Tucson.
