It has been and will continue to be a summer of learning for the Mingus Union High School football team under first-year head coach Robert Ortiz, his new staff and their new schemes.
That process continued for the Marauders during an afternoon of six, 7-on-7 games at Mingus’ Bright Field on June 13. After a slow start, they gave up just one touchdown across the final three games to end the day at 5-1.
“You could tell this is only their second time getting their feet wet after we had gone down to ASU [on June 4], so all I was looking for was that we’re learning from our previous mistakes and that we’re learning and executing our assignments,” Ortiz said. “As far as the competitiveness goes, that just comes with the game of football. It wasn’t there early on, and as the day went on and we started playing teams like Prescott and [Flagstaff] and Snowflake and Snowflake again, you could tell the competitiveness, and the ambition went up a little bit and that’s where it needs to be at all times.”
Snowflake High School handed Mingus its only loss of the day, 14-7. Ortiz audibled a rematch against the Lobos to close out the day. Momentum piled up from victories over Flagstaff High School, 28-7, and Prescott High School,
21-0, and the Marauders finished the day on a high note with another 21-0 shutout.
Mingus senior Kendrew Streck tipped a pass on third down off the team’s first defensive series, which ended in a turnover on downs. Streck’s fourth-down reception kept the first offensive series alive, which ended with a touchdown in the corner by Mingus senior Jesus Rodriguez.
A Snowflake receiver dropped a touchdown before Streck grabbed Mingus senior quarterback Antoine Zabala’s throw in the back of the endzone to make it 14-0. The Mingus defense grabbed its fourth interception of the final three games when senior Joe Machado tipped a pass that senior Chris Mathe grabbed while falling at the sideline. Streck sealed the win with another touchdown.
“We came back crazy strong from ASU — we had a [downward] step. We didn’t have a few good practices, so we weren’t sure what we were expecting, but especially the last few games we really locked on,” Streck said. “Our defense had so much passion. We were all flying around, just a connection that we didn’t have before.”
Streck ended up being one of the Marauders’ most impactful two-way players of the day. He caught the team’s first two touchdowns against Prescott and picked the ball off on the second play of the opening defensive series with the Badgers.
Against Flagstaff, Streck had a touchdown and an interception. He hauled in the Marauders’ only score the first time out against Snowflake.
Senior receiver Mardquez Mestas featured out wide as a new piece in the offense, respective to last season. One of the tallest receivers on the team, Mestas grabbed the team’s first touchdown against the Eagles deep in the corner of the end zone.
The day started out slowly for Mingus. Despite beating Chino Valley High School and Payson High School, the Marauders struggled to put together a drive in the loss to Snowflake.
“The only difference between us and them is they catch the football,” Ortiz said to the team after an incomplete pass resulted in turnover.
Beginning with the Flagstaff game, Mingus’ players became more vocal and aggressive. That energy sparked the momentum that resulted in the strong finish. Things were helped along by the fact that, in comparison to the outing at ASU, the team was more comfortable with things like routes and timing.
“Once we got our energy and [were] comfortable and catching the ball, I think we did pretty good,” Mestas said. “Making sure we get to where we need to so our quarterback knows where to throw it …. We’ve just got to get there and execute well.”
Big Man Competition
Mingus’ offensive and defensive linemen took first place in the big man competition, comprised of bench press, relays and tug of war.
Fernando Anguiano, a 2011 Mingus alum and first-year lineman coach, said he is happy with how they have been coming along in the early part of the summer.
Schematically speaking, they have been tasked with picking up a lot of new information, and have done that successfully.
“It’s really cool to see these guys starting to buy into everything,” Anguiano said. “It’s a whole different scheme because everything we’ve done in the past is out the window. It’s a brand new system. That’s what I’m really impressed about these guys on both sides — the linemen and the skill guys — they’re picking it up, they’re being smart, and they’re starting to learn the new system and it’s going good.”
Mingus hosts two more 7-on-7 games and big man competitions on Wednesdays, June 20, and June 27, at 5 p.m.
