Young Mingus talent shines in final skill scrimmages

Jordan Upham, an incoming Mingus Union High School junior, third from right, pulls back and launches the ball during a seven-on-seven touch football game against Mesa Mountain View High School on Friday, June 26, at Camp Verde High School. Sophomore Trey Meyers filled in at quarterback for Upham during the Marauders’ final seven-on-seven series of games Monday, June 30, at MUHS.
Zack Garcia/Larson Newspapers

When the going gets tough in football, often the hardest truth behind the winners is simple superiority in numbers.

In its final series of seven-on-seven games Monday, June 30, Mingus Union High School demonstrated such preparedness to win, as the Marauders controlled Bradshaw Mountain, Chino Valley, Coconino and Flagstaff high schools minus their head coach, offensive coordinator, starting quarterback and even their lights at Bright Field.

“The last game ran dark,” said MUHS defensive coordinator Neil Dixon, the only full-time assistant coach in attendance. “We were even with Bradshaw, but we had to call it. We pretty much won everything we played.”

In the absence of head coach Bob Young, assistant coach Rick Walsworth and junior No. 1 quarterback Jordan Upham, the Marauders showed they could still handle their Division III, Section 4 counterparts Coconino and Flagstaff — at least for 25-minute games on a 40-yard field.

“We played a lot of young players because we had an awful lot of people gone,” Dixon said. “Everyone had a chance to play everyone.”

For the full story, please see the Wednesday, July 2, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.

George Werner

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