Just one week after honoring Rick Botkin with praise of his leadership and a Sahuaro win against Cholla, some of the Cougar football team members committed a huge fumble. Due to an incident pending investigation, thirteen players were unavailable to play at September 22nd’s game against Ironwood Ridge. It was, “next man stand up,” as Coach Al said, and in their place eight JV players were thrust into the spotlight and given a chance to shine. Tonight, some players who had never played on varsity before took to the field. Although the game ended in a disappointing 44-7 loss, the team gave it their all against the formidable Nighthawks, who went into the game with a 3-1 record.

Due to the circumstances, several of the younger players felt that the morale was low. Sophomore Josiah Buelna, wide receiver and defensive back said, “I’d say it’s pretty down right now because everybody’s pretty nervous and we’ve never gone into a game without the seniors, so it’s going to be different.”

Before the game, sophomore quarterback, Jared Sorensen said, “We’re just going to go out and play hard.” Jared had a couple of minutes on varsity before the game, but he usually plays on JV. Despite feeling nervous, he got out there and did his job. Following the game, Coach Al said, “I mean the quarterback was put in a position where he…had to step up and it was a big challenge…varsity football is a lot faster and I’m proud of him.”

The overall consensus from the newly promoted varsity players was that despite their apprehension, they had to step up and fill in the spots that were left open. “I felt a little nervous but I knew ultimately I couldn’t be nervous, I have to step up and do my part and just take over – and I do what I had to do...So I just kinda got rid of the anxiety and stuff, I just knew it was for the better,” said sophomore Joshua Cruz. Josiah Buelna felt, “…blessed for the opportunity.” Ozvaldo Gamez, another sophomore receiver said, “I’m a little nervous but I’ll be there for my team and I’ll just try my hardest.”  

Before the game, Coach Al was by no means concerned about any of the JV players who were moving up getting injured, “…physically, they do everything the varsity kids do, just talent-wise, they was moved down because we got better people in their position and they can go practice and hone in their skills.”

Since several senior leaders were caught up in the incident, someone else had to step up – especially with so many younger, less experienced players on the team. “Brady, Jack, and Ian…all three of them guys played really well and they tried to put the team on their back but it was a little too much,” said Coach Al in a post-game interview. From the sideline, Brady Celentano, Jack Berry, and Ian O’Donnell could be heard advising and encouraging the younger guys. On the field, they stepped up their game and played with phenomenal tenacity.

The first quarter had the game appearing to be going well for the Cougars, which was exciting, considering the situation. After the Nighthawks scored a touchdown and had an incomplete two-point attempt, the Cougars returned the kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown. After a successful extra point kick, Sahuaro was up 7-6, and they were able to hold Ironwood Ridge to a 14-7 score before the end of the first half. After that, the Cougars’ youth and inexperience was evident, and it was touchdown after touchdown for the Nighthawks. In the second half, the Cougars were unable to move the ball from their own side of the field. In a post-game interview, Coach Al said, “Hate losing…you know, it’s just the wheels fell off.” As was anticipated, having thirteen varsity members out did not reflect well on the score.

Unfortunately, this week happened to be Sahuaro’s week to have the presence of the media at the game. On this topic, Coach Al said, “That was one of the examples I told the kids. We fight for recognition and we fight for respect…the week that they decide to make a mistake…is the week that we got all the news cameras coming.” While this was bad timing for the Sahuaro football team, it gave some of the younger players the chance to get the attention they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. 

The incident brings the question, how did this happen? The answer is not in the coaching staff. Our head coach is not new to the sport. He has been a coach for 20 years, and, in the offseason, coaches for the Sugar Skulls, a professional indoor football team based out of Tucson. Through this incident, he has shown his ability to adapt as a coach. He said, “…football is a team sport. I mean if we had Micheal Jordan and he gets out…it’s a bad day. But football is, everybody rally around, and that’s funny you said about the forfeit part of it because we’re missing twelve or thirteen kids but we got to remember, I’ve got 120 kids in the program and…so that’s the great thing about building the coaching and the environment we got.”

Coach Al knows how to work with teenagers. The incident was, “…just kids acting out and it’s not tolerated at any school and it’s not going to be tolerated here,” he shared. “It’s an instance where you can move forward and use it as a crutch so in the future, everybody knows what’s tolerated and what’s not. People think they got a handle on it but they don’t. They think it’s innocent fun but innocent fun in the eyes of a lot of people is not fun.” As for the future of the team, he said, “You learn from your mistakes and that’s the one thing about growing up. You learn from your mistakes and you have consequences and…you just try to move forward.” Even though this isn’t an experience he has had practice with, he still handled it professionally.

Looking toward the future, hopefully, the team will be back at the capacity it was before, but until the investigation is through, we won’t know when the guys will return. For now, Coach Al said, “…the kids worked hard so we’re just back to the drawing board tomorrow.”