With an early end to a chaotic Southern Arizona football season, the Star wanted to give coaches a chance to share their thoughts and highlight the efforts of the people who helped their teams shine, on and off the field.
“Super proud of the players and coaches for showing up daily with enthusiasm and excitement for the game they all love daily,” said Sahuaro High School coach Scott McKee, who credited the team’s trainer, Becky Fajardo, with keeping them safe during the pandemic. “The team stuck together and worked hard to give us the foundation we need for a great 2021 season.”
The Star reached out to all 25 coaches whose seasons were cut short with five questions about what they experienced this season. We’ll be running their answers through Thursday. Their responses have been lightly edited to reflect Star style.
Here’s what the coaches who responded had to say:
Who was your best player this season and why?
Corey Noble, Walden Grove: “I know it’s cheating but I don’t think I can name one player. I’m so dang proud of all of my seniors who got this opportunity even though they deserved more!”
Dustin Peace, CDO: “Our four team captains were Chase Randall, Nickolas Contreras, Montana Neustadter, and Dustin Shelley. They were selected by their teammates.”
Ryan McBrayer, Sabino: “Derek Sanchez did in two games what most hope for in a career. He scored five touchdowns in the two games and had two interceptions. He scored on offense, defense, and special teams. He will be one of the best players in Tucson next year.”
Sabino’s Derek Sanchez, left, managed to score on offense, defense and special teams in only two games this season.
Jake Allen, Pueblo: “I would have to go with Jesus Prado and Francisco Leon. Those guys are great football players and great leaders. We will miss them tremendously next year.”
Jorge Mendivil, Amphi: “It’s tough to single out one guy. We had two three-year starters on the offensive line that averaged more than 300 yards rushing per game, we had two running backs that averaged more than 115 yards per game and both had a 200-yard rushing game. Along with a converted quarterback that relished the role and did everything asked of him. With that being said, I believe Isaiah Hill would barely edge out the rest and be considered our best player. He rushed for 561 yards, five touchdowns, and averaged 9.7 yards per carry. All while being the hardest worker and most consistent performer day in and day out. He was always ready to perform, regardless of where we lined him up.”
Pat Nugent, Cienega: “Gabe Levy our running back had two amazing games. In the first one, he had over 200 yards and was player of the week and then the very next week he had 150-plus yards. Two great games.”
Cienega’s Gabe Levy (5) sidesteps his way over Sunnyslope’s Ashton Yurkiw (13) as he bulls inside the Viking five in the second quarter of their first round game in the 5A State Championships, Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 8, 2019.
Jay Dobyns, Tanque Verde: “It would be unfair for me to label one player as ‘best’ or most inspirational. I will instead name our 10 seniors. They had every reason to walk away from football based on their prior experiences. Those who chose to stay changed the culture of our program and inspired our community. Anything Tanque Verde football becomes in the future is credited to them. They are our foundation to build from.”
Khyree Copeland, Rincon/University: “It is great to nominate the best player, which is and was Steven Geiger who played numerous positions for us through the season.”
Virgil Henderson, Cholla: “Sophomore Malachi Eafon. He scored on offense, defense and special teams, All around player and teammate.”
Mike Wells, Palo Verde: “Our best players were a group of guys who embody the character, integrity, leadership and hard work that we as a staff are demanding. Two guys who stood out the most in those areas and with their play were senior (running back/linebacker) Tristan Spalding and senior (offensive lineman/defensive lineman) Forrest Waller.”
Louis Ramirez, Marana: “I believe our most impactful player had to have been our senior athlete Isaiah Roebuck. In only three games Isaiah had 600 all-purpose yards, five touchdowns, 32 tackles, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.”
Scott Cortese, Flowing Wells: “Giovanni Walls was our MVP. He epitomizes what is right about high school sports. He is 5 feet 6 inches and weighs 140 pounds soaking wet. He played multiple positions for us, and would do anything to help his team be successful.”
Matt Johnson, Mountain View: “Kollins Opoku-Appoh was a two-way starter, a captain, and dynamic on both sides of the ball. In addition, Kollins has a GPA above 3.0.”
Justin Argraves, Tucson: “Very hard to pinpoint one individual when so many worked so hard in the short period of time that we had.”
James Hardy, Ironwood Ridge: “I would have to say it was our senior class because of the roller-coaster ride they went through this season leading up to us playing. To fight through the adversity and frustration of not knowing if they would have a season. They continued to work hard through all the odds. I’m proud of them.”
Glenn Posey, Sunnyside: “Our best player on offense was Mike Delgado. We know we have something special. Big physical runner that set the tone daily with his play. Dominic Murrieta was our best two-way player, the Flowing Wells game was what we saw daily. Ricky Escalante and Rene Fragoso were playing great on defense. Both guys are tough to block and they are relentless getting to the ball.”
