Editor’s note: All week, the Star is listing reasons why 2019 was one of the best football seasons in Arizona history. Today’s topic: Walden Grove’s record-breaking season.
One of the biggest stories in Tucson high school football took place 20 miles south of town, in Sahuarita.
Walden Grove won nine games in 2019, secured the Class 4A Gila Region championship, hosted a playoff game and delivered the best season in program history.
“There was a heck of a lot of success,” third-year coach Corey Noble said. “A lot to be proud of.”
From the outside perspective, a season with that many accolades wasn’t supposed to happen. Afterall, Walden Grove graduated close to 40 seniors in the previous two seasons and thus, had a shortage of upperclassmen depth.
“There were a lot of people that, if you just look at that, would have not had a whole lot of expectations for us this past year,” Noble said.
Walden Grove’s season began with a bang — the Red Wolves beat Flowing Wells 56-0 in the team’s season opener, then beat Pusch Ridge Christian 27-0. After losing to Casa Grande in Week 3, Walden Grove went on another run. During a four-week span beginning on Sept. 20, the Red Wolves went 4-0, outscoring their four opponents — Nogales, Glendale, Rio Rico and Douglas — by a combined score of 177-15.
Walden Grove Coach Corey Noble directs his team’s practice from the sidelines. The Red Wolves kick off their season against Flowing Wells on August 30th. This practice occured on August 7th, 2019. Sahuarita, Ariz.
Twins Jordan Lopez and Alex Lopez led the offense, combining for 195.7 all-purpose yards per game. Alex Lopez, the quarterback, threw for 2,337 yards and 25 touchdowns. Brother Jordan led the Red Wolves with 38 catches for 838 yards, adding 12 receiving touchdowns.
Walden Grove went a perfect 5-0 in Gila Region play, earning a No. 5 overall seed in the 4A playoffs and a first-round home playoff game against 12th-seeded Casa Grande.
The Red Wolves led 10-0 in their playoff game before Casa Grande rallied. The visitors stunned Walden Grove 26-19 despite Alex Lopez’s 229 passing yards and 72 rushing yards.
“Our goal was to win a playoff game and to get to the second round,” Corey Noble said. “We had an opportunity to do that and we fell short,” Noble said.”
The Red Wolves leaned on this year’s set of seniors during the breakthrough season, who surpassed expectations. The team’s top passer (Alex Lopez), two leading rushers (Alex Lopez and Sam Martinez), two leading receivers (Jordan Lopez and Hector Najar) and 10 of their 12 leading tacklers were all seniors. Six of them will play some form of college football next year.
Linebacker Rick Avelar, who racked up over 300 tackles in his high school career and was named the Gila Region Player of the Year, signed with Dayton University in February. Jordan Lopez will walk on at NAU in the fall, and Alex Lopez is expected to announce his college choice soon. Alex Lopez was named the region’s offensive player of the year.
“They were incredible,” Noble said of the departing class. “They showed to the young guys that we can be one of the top programs.”
Noble also credits the continuity among the coaching staff among the reasons for last year’s record-breaking campaign.
“The staff did the best job we’ve ever done since I’ve been there,” Noble said. “Everyone really came together; the players and our program responded.”
Noble said he’s expecting more big things next season. The Red Wolves’ wins total has climbed in each of the coach’s three seasons, from seven in 2017 to eight in 2018 and nine last fall. The trend would indicate a 10-win season is possible in 2020. Either way, Walden Grove will be a handful.
“We’re not the little brother anymore,” Noble said.
