Southern Arizona's high school football coaches share stories of on-field inspiration

It’s an understatement to say that 2020’s high school football season was like no other ever experienced in Southern Arizona.

With a late start, social distancing, enhanced safety protocols, frequently-changing schedules and finally an unexpected and premature end, teams across the region experienced plenty of ups and downs in order to play the game they love.

While coaches are used to being sources of inspiration for their players during trying times, they had some extra help this year from young men on their rosters, in a season where inspiration was needed perhaps more than ever.

The Star reached out to all 25 local 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 most inspirational player and why?

Corey Noble, Walden Grove: “I’d say our most inspirational player was our running back Stephen Brower Jr. He came back from a devastating knee injury last season to have an amazing four-game stretch including 406 yards rushing and five touchdowns in our last two games.”

Dustin Peace, CDO: “Max Cordova showed great courage now and through the season as his father suffered a heart attack just as the season started. His dad is making a recovery but it has and will continue to be a tough road. Max was just so courageous during this time with his commitment to his family and team.”

Ryan McBrayer, Sabino: “We had a lot of leaders on this team. Korbin Mukelbust led our secondary, Luke Thompson led our linebackers, Alex Pobloske led our defensive line, Zac Brown led our offensive line, Kenneth Blackman led our running backs and everyone followed the lead of AJ Skaggs. We have a lot of eager young men to take the reins next year.”

Jake Allen, Pueblo: “I truly have to go with our entire senior class this year. Those young men handled this situation with more grit and integrity than I could have ever imagined. They never played the victim. They led our program with poise through a very tumultuous year.”

Jorge Mendivil, Amphi: “Emilio Cocio was coming off a junior year injury and was just chomping at the bit to get on the field for his senior year. He led us in receiving as well as provided some key reverse runs and was our shutdown corner on defense. He had two receiving touchdowns to go along with two rushing. Versus Sahuarita he recorded a team-high nine catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns.”

Pat Nugent, Cienega: “Isaiah Webb, he only played five games his junior year due to multiple injuries and then was voted captain and started both ways for two games and was our leading tackler.”

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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: “Saef Arkam was the most inspirational player that we had on the team this year. From last year to this year, Saef has transformed himself from a kicker into a wide receiver for our team. The evolution of the transition is the direct reflection of the type of athletes that we have walking the grounds of RUHS. Jaxon Sabourin was the second most inspirational player, with overcoming multiple responsibilities.”

Virgil Henderson, Cholla: “Senior Abel Cuestas had an ACL tear last season. He came back stronger and better and never complained, just got the job done.”

Mike Wells, Palo Verde: “Our most inspirational player is senior Orlando Luna. Tough and full of grit!. He has been forced to deal with some challenges in life but that didn’t keep him from earning an academic scholarship to attend the University of Arizona.”

Louis Ramirez, Marana: “Our team captain Daniel Parrish is our most inspirational and passionate player we have. Daniel brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm that radiates to his teammate and coaches on a daily basis. It is awesome seeing our kids bring up others in a positive way to get them to where they need to be mentally in terms of preparation for our opponent.”

Scott Cortese, Flowing Wells: “We had a lot of players who inspired their teammates and coaches this season. However, the one that stuck out would be our quarterback Eric Pace. He was always at practice, and worked hard to improve everyday. He made the most out of his abilities, and was always upbeat.”

Matt Johnson, Mountain View: “Kollins Opoku-Appoh came back from a torn ACL to be better than he was as a junior.”

Justin Argraves, Tucson: “I would have to say that all 19 of our seniors would be nominated as ‘Most Inspirational,’ in my opinion. Those 19 young men endured a senior year like no other and made the best of every minute that they were given. Every day they had to take an approach where a practice or game could be their last, all while keeping a positive mindset.”

James Hardy, Ironwood Ridge: “Peyton Pelletier was a transfer from Salpointe that had to sit out his junior season. He was looking forward to playing this season as quarterback. He ended up making a position change to help the team and did well at the wide receiver position, while contributing on defense and special teams.”

Glenn Posey, Sunnyside: “I have two favorites: Andrew Gonzalez and Aaron Zetina, team captains that did everything we asked as coaches and they led by example every day. Both volunteered to play offensive line at 190 pounds. Turns out they were really good at it. Us coaches will miss them tremendously.”