Gridiron Guide: Pueblo's 'true stadium' remains the same
Pueblo's Farber Field has seen much use. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star
School: Pueblo
Name: Lou Farber Field
Address: 3500 S. 12th Ave.
Opened: 1956. The field is in its original location, but the stadium didn’t open until around 1960.
The lowdown: Not much has changed at Pueblo through nearly six decades of football. Everything — the field, bleachers and locker rooms underneath — is basically the same as it was from the beginning, aside from the addition of an open-air press box, some new lockers and fresh paint. Pueblo has prided itself on having one of Tucson’s best natural playing surfaces, dating back to the early days of coach Lou Farber to now, thanks to a long-standing policy of not practicing on the field. (The team holds its walk-throughs in the stadium, however.)
Don’t miss: Second-year coach Brandon Sanders, a former UA star who played in the NFL, loves the fact that his team has an all-inclusive stadium. “This is a true stadium,” he said. “Everything is so close to the field, you don’t have to do a lot of ripping and running.”
Biggest game: The undefeated Warriors took down Casa Grande with a 34-13 win the in first round of the Class AAA playoffs in 1988, marking the last time Pueblo has hosted a postseason game.
A pair of early fumbles helped the Warriors out to a 13-0 lead, less than four minutes into the opening quarter. Pueblo, then coached by Curly Santa Cruz, improved to 10-0 and advanced to the state quarterfinals, where it fell to Avondale Agua Fria, the eventual champion.
Performance for the ages: All-State quarterback Richard Martinez had a hand in three touchdowns and accounted for 19 points as Pueblo topped Catalina 20-0 at home in the 1961 regular-season finale. The win gave the Warriors their first conference title and qualified them for the for the Class AA playoffs, where they went on to beat Tempe and Phoenix St. Mary’s to win their first official state title.
Pueblo was voted co-champions with Phoenix South Mountain three years earlier.
Quotable: “We have some of the greatest alumni from Pueblo in this city, not a lot of people understand it. I didn’t know until I got here and started seeing all the alumni come back that walked through these halls have sat on these stands and played on this field. It’s amazing.” – Sanders
