The game of football, even in high school, is won in the trenches.
Mingus Union High School head football coach Bob Young has long understood this truth.
“To me, it all comes down to our offensive and defensive lines,” he said. “We’ve been down about the last five years, but the 20 years before that we’ve had some great offensive lines,” he said.
While the Marauders’ defensive line will need to rely more on its speed to help reverse last fall’s 0-3 start, Young believes that his current group of linemen could return the Marauders to those glorious days of yesteryear beginning Friday, Aug. 29, at Snowflake High School.
“This is one of our bigger offensive lines,” Young said. “They’re a combination of physical and smart.”
Although three of the starters up front — senior center Cordell McKeever, junior Stefeno Dalu and sophomore Jordan Vincent — each weigh 230 pounds, the Marauders will need to avoid any more slow starts like the one they suffered during a scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 21, at Avondale Agua Fria High School.
“They scored two touchdowns the first 10 plays, then they didn’t score again,” Young said. “Our offense had four touchdowns, so we improved as we went along, but we can’t come out that slow against Snowflake.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Aug. 27, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
