Mingus Union High School’s race to successfully defend its sectional title and make some noise in the 4A Conference state football tournament will be perhaps the toughest head coach Bob Young has ever faced.
“If you go by the teams’ preseason rankings, it’s the toughest schedule we’ve ever had,” said Young, whose Marauders have no bye week this fall.
For the Marauders — themselves ranked 10th in their conference by the Arizona Republic — that means no rest from the Friday night lights for the next three months.
That makes last season’s 9-2 finish an even tougher act to follow, starting with their Friday, Aug. 26, home opener against sixth-ranked Gilbert Higley High School.
“They’re really tough,” Young said of the Knights. “Their offense is one of the top in the state; their quarterback is one of the top in the state; and their wide receiver’s going to the University of Arizona.”
Cactus Shadows High School won’t be any easier, Young warned.
Then comes another home date with seventh-ranked Cactus High School — an easy 41-14 winner at MUHS two years ago.
“Honestly, the non-region schedule’s insane,” Young said. “Last year, we got off to a good start, and our confidence carried over. That’s important. This is a whole different team, so they’ve just got to find their identity.”
Survive those tests, as well as a 4A Grand Canyon Region with games at Bradshaw Mountain and Flagstaff high schools, and a dubious reward awaits the Marauders: A season-ending trip to fourth-ranked Sunrise Mountain High School, in Peoria.
“Higley, Cactus, Sunrise [Mountain]: They’re going to be all top five teams,” Young said. “All three of those teams are stacked.”
No Marauder may be better equipped to deal with that insanity than senior Trey Meyer — the Marauders’ kicker, punter and starting quarterback.
The 5-foot, 9-inch, 175-pound Meyer averaged just over two yards more per punt, with longest traveling 70 after Young installed him in the position full-time last fall. He also placed nearly half his punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
As the team’s placekicker, he only missed one field goal last season, with his longest make coming from 43 yards.
Averaging more than 56 yards a boot on kickoffs, Meyer is Young’s game-changer this fall.
Driving the change is a big offensive line — the first all-senior line Young’s ever had. Josh Scalf, Carter Scott, Jordan Taylor, Steven McClanahan and Jordan Vincent are all four-year Marauders ranging from 230 to 300 pounds.
Young himself admitted the team usually doesn’t have players that big and that experienced.
“We run what we run,” Young said. “They just need to do it better than we’ve been doing.”
Another senior offensive lineman, 185-pound Charles Hardy, will also split time at nose guard.
Scalf and Taylor will share the bulk of the minutes at defensive end with senior Trevor Galloway.
Galloway is going to be used more as a blocker along the line as well this fall, Young said.
Although he amassed 342 receiving yards and six touchdowns at tight end in his first three years at MUHS, the 6-foot, four-inch, 225-pound Galloway will be less of a pass-catcher and more of a blocker in Young’s spread offense.
Other key fall positions and the players expected to carry the load in those roles, by class:
? Running backs — Jason Groth and Alejandro Stabreff, seniors. As was the case for last year’s eighth-ranked MUHS team that made a first-round state tournament exit, the Marauders don’t really have a big, power runner.
“We just don’t have that kind of athlete,” Young said. “We’re going to running a number of skill guys out, but a lot of them play defense.”
Stabreff may also start at one of the defensive safety positions with another senior MUHS running back, Juan Ruiz.
? Wide receivers — Jose Pacheco and Jordan Huey, juniors; Jordan Pollock, senior; Bradley Howard, sophomore. A number of sophomores like Howard and juniors like Justin Link will get more time at wideout against rivals Bradshaw Mountain and Prescott.
“That’s what it looks like are the teams to beat again, like the setup it’s been,” Young said. “Flagstaff and Coconino will be better.”
Huey and Pacheco will likely spend more of their time in the secondary, where Young projects them as starting cornerbacks this fall.
? Linebackers — Tyler Kelly and Lucas Svoboda, juniors; Kendrew Streck, sophomore. Kelly, arguably the Marauders’ top all-around athlete, can play running back and even quarterback as well.
But with 12 sacks last season to finish among the top 20 quarterback terrors in the state, Kelly’s main focus this fall will be building on that as a returning starter at linebacker.
Streck will also apprentice Galloway at tight end and could line up with him in short-yardage situations, while Svoboda, an out-of-state transfer, will have support in the new program from sophomore Bryce Cramer.
“There’s not a whole lot we can do differently, just work as hard as we can,” Young said. “We need to be ready.”
For more photos and the full fall schedule for Mingus varsity football, please see the Wednesday, Aug. 24, issues of the Camp Verde Journal and Cottonwood Journal Extra.
