Dark clouds covered the Verde Valley and Mingus Union High School’s Bright Field as the Marauders’ football team began preparations for the 2017 season.
The Marauders hosted a final day of 7-on-7 passing league football on Thursday, July 13. They saw some higher-level competition come to the Verde Valley in 6A Cesar Chavez High School, as well as the return of 2A Sedona Red Rock High School.
“Chavez High School is a very athletic team and we matched up with their speed,” head coach Bob Young said. “I am impressed with our team speed and feel we can match up with anyone in our region.”
The first pass of the afternoon saw junior quarterback Antoine Zabala find junior receiver Alex Nelson deep down the right for a touchdown.
Heading into the day the team had enjoyed a week of no practice, which took somewhat of a toll on its conditioning.
Defensively it did not give up a touchdown until Chavez’s fourth series and forced a few coverage sacks along the way.
“Our depth is coming along — we have a few returners that missed this summer with injuries and other commitments that will give us depth,” Young said.
The next step for the Marauders is a camp in California; they will leave on Sunday, July 23, and have eight practices. After that it will be full steam ahead with the first day of official practice for the fall season on Monday, July 31.
