The beginning of the end is here.
Pima College will open its final football season on Saturday, when it travels to Thatcher for a game against Eastern Arizona. The Aztecs’ final “first’ comes a week later than expected; the team’s opener against Soul Patrol, scheduled for last Saturday, was canceled.
Sophomore safety Leonard Lee said the week has been filled with mixed emotions about the impending end.
“(I’m) happy to play against someone other than each other, but it’s sad knowing that Pima is going to close down and a lot of opportunities for future kids is going to be gone,” Lee said.
Eastern is the first of three road games the Aztecs will have to play before opening at home against Scottsdale Sept. 29. Monaco knows it’ll be tough, but he believes it’ll help the team prepare for the end of the season, when the Aztecs will have to travel to Snow College in Utah and Arizona Western.
“So, that way we get the guys, maybe, in the right mindset early,” Monaco said. “If we can handle our business on the road, we’ve got a good shot.”
For now, though, the Aztecs are just trying to get ready for their first game. Although Monaco said he and his staff have a pretty good idea of who will get the start Saturday, plenty of Aztecs were still competing for a spot this week. Coaches have backed off the physicality in practices because players were getting hurt.
Even those who start will still have to keep competing.
“It’s very difficult to say that they’ll make it out of the first game without having to put somebody else in,” Monaco said.
Coaches have already named freshman Marquise Cooper the starting quarterback. Cooper, from Atlanta, is one of four quarterbacks on the Aztec’s roster.
Cooper said he had to work hard against the other talent to earn the top spot and is now working on getting his head right for the Eastern game. He’s not focused on the end of the program, but on Game 1.
“I’m just making sure I know the defense, make sure my team’s ready,” Cooper said.
Regardless of who takes the field, Monaco still expects the same thing: a win. Eastern won’t make it easy; the team runs an option offense that punishes mental mistakes.
“Mental lapses are very easy to come by when we play an option team, because you’re just looking for run, run, run,” Monaco said. “They’ll lull you to sleep.”
But if the defense is able to stick to the plan, Monaco is sure the offense — which is looking stronger than last year — will be able to thrive.
“Out front, our kids have worked really hard,” Monaco said. “We’ve got really good running backs. We’ve got really fast receivers. We have great quarterbacks. Our coaches have worked their tails off. I think, offensively, we can score against anyone.”
