Not long ago, choosing the Southern Arizona high school football Coach of the Year was an uncomplicated process.
One of the Big Four would dominate the ballot: Howard Breinig at Sahuaro; Jeff Scurran at Sabino; Vern Friedli at Amphi; or Richard Sanchez at Sunnyside.
But the game has evolved in the last decade, and the suburban schools and their coaches, notably Ironwood Ridge’s Matt Johnson and Cienega’s Nemer Hassey, have joined Salpointe Catholic’s Dennis Bene in a clear shift of power.
The TUSD schools don’t have resources or the numbers to consistently compete with those blessed by such community support. But it doesn’t mean that skilled coaching can’t make up some of the deficit.
This year, you could surely vote Johnson and Hassey as Coach of the Year, 1A and 1B in any order, and you wouldn’t get much complaint. But this is one season the so-called small schools made up some ground. Here’s how I would vote:
1. Brandon Sanders, Pueblo. In his first year as Pueblo’s head coach, Sanders’ Warriors finished 7-3. It was Pueblo’s first winning season since 2002 and best record since 7-3 in 1999.
2. Mark Brunenkant, Flowing Wells. With only 33 players on his roster — Ironwood Ridge, by comparison, has 71 — Brunenkant went 7-3, rallying a program that had gone 3-17 the last two seasons.
3. Scott McKee, Sahuaro. The Cougars’ 9-1 regular-season record is the best at the school since 1995.
The others? Hassey long ago established himself as one of the state’s top coaches. In his final year as Cienega’s coach, Hassey was coming off his first non-winning season in 16 years. His only loss was a season-opening 17-7 setback at Ironwood Ridge. Hassey’s coaching acumen can be seen in senior QB Adriell Alvarado, who threw just one interception in 199 attempts.
Johnson, who coached Ironwood Ridge to the 2012 state championship, combined to beat power schools Cienega, Salpointe, Mountain View and CDO by a cumulative 79 points. The Nighthawks’ only loss was to 9-1 Peoria Liberty.
Given Hassey’s retirement, the new Big Four in Southern Arizona football is a tough call. Johnson and Bene are in, and it would be difficult not to include Sahuarita’s David Rodriguez, who has gone 34-8 after inheriting an 0-10 Mustangs team.
And it would be unwise not to think Scurran, who coached a sophomore-laden Catalina Foothills club to a 7-3 record with only 37 players, won’t be back on top in 2015.
