2022 Southern Arizona high school football spotlight: Pueblo Warriors

4A Kino: Pueblo

2021 record: 3-6 overall, 0-3 4A Kino (last)

2022 record: 2-0

Head coach: Jake Allen, 5-7 third year at Pueblo and overall. Allen was an 11-year assistant under Matt Johnson at Ironwood Ridge and Mountain View before he was hired before the 2020-21 school to replace Brandon Sanders. An Ironwood Ridge High School and Arizona graduate, Allen is also a teacher. He is an exceptional education teacher specializing in math at Pueblo.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS ALLSPORTSTUCSON.COM’S 2022 HIGH SCHOOL PRESEASON COVERAGE

Key returners:

• QB Diego Ramirez, 6-2, 140, Sr.
• LB/RB Elijah Duron, Sr.
• RB/FS Anthony Carpenter, 5-10, 170, Sr.
• WR/CB Miguel Moreira, 5-9, 170, Sr.
• CB/WR Andre Blanton, 6-1, 165, Sr.
• WR/CB Azaizol Gonzalez, 5-10, 140, Jr.
• CB/WB Andre Blanton, 6-1, 165, Jr.
• LB/DT Nathanael Gamez, 5-9, 215, Jr.
• DE/C Ben Rash, 5-11, 195, Jr.
• DE/TE Demarcus Lee, 6-5, 215, Sr.
• DT/G Jeremiah Parrish, Jr.
• C/DE Mario Escobedo, 6-0, 245, Sr.
• DE Damian Duarte, 5-9, 200, Jr.

Coaching staff:

• Head coach/special teams: Jake Allen
• Defensive coordinator: David Class
• Offensive coordinator: Mark Mullen
• Defensive line: Dave Allen
• Quarterbacks/running backs: Anthony Braunreiter
• Wide receivers: Brandon Ornelas
• Offensive line: Tony Andreassi
• Safeties: Mark Carpenter
• Cornerbacks: Rushon Armstrong
• Film: Marcos Allen

Notes: Pueblo is off to its third 2-0 start in the last 16 years, matching the starts of 2017 and 2019 of Brandon Sanders when he led the Warriors to 8-3 seasons and a spot in the state playoffs. … Pueblo came close to being 6-3 last year instead of 3-6. The Warriors lost three games by five points or less last season, including one-point setbacks against Safford and Sahuaro. One more win and the Warriors will tie their win total from all of last season. … Jake Allen‘s a model program for downtrodden TUSD looking to climb out of a hole. Allen has worked diligently with the Pueblo booster club to get sponsorship from the Pascua-Yaqui tribe for a renovated weight room with updated equipment that was once an old gymnasium at the school. That has reinvigorated the interest of the athletes to compete in football and other sports. … Pueblo’s size is very noticeable to the eye. The Warriors have at least five players who are 5-foot-11 and taller and weigh more than 200 pounds. One of them is senior defensive end Demarcus Lee (6-5 and 215 pounds) who has nine tackles, two for loss, through the first two games. … Pueblo has only four home games scheduled. The Warriors are in the midst of three straight freedom road games against Safford, Walden Grove and Amphi.

Keep an eye out for: Armando Ybarra is one of those players with good size at 6-4 and 240 pounds and he’s only a sophomore at offensive tackle and defensive end — a name Southern Arizona high school football followers will hear about in the next couple of years as he continues to develop.

26. PUEBLO (3-3, 0-1)

FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!

ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District

print