Many of the Southern Arizona high school programs are planning preseason workouts and team-bonding excursions in preparation for the upcoming football season.
An example of this is Walden Grove recently concluding a camp in Prescott, and Canyon del Oro starting one at Snowflake starting next weekend.
I love X&Os but the off field activities we do as a program are what I coach for! Seeing these kids crush a 5mi 1400ft elevation change to over 5k ft altitude hike was awesome!I’m over ran with pride for these guys! @FB_RedWolves @CoachNobleWGHS @SahuaritaG @sahuaritasun @SUSD30 pic.twitter.com/jIBUBhf5EG
— Coach Brandon Neilson – Walden Grove HS, AZ (@CoachNeilson_WG) July 19, 2021
2021 Southern Arizona High School Football Openers
The 2021 Southern Arizona high school football schedule is set to begin with Class 1A matchups on Aug. 20. Here is a list of every local high school with their opener (*-denotes Coaches for Charity Kickoff Classic games):| SCHOOL | DATE | OPPONENT |
|---|---|---|
| Amphi | Sept. 2* | Flowing Wells |
| Baboquivari | Sept. 3 | at Ray |
| Bisbee | Aug. 27 | Catalina |
| Benson | Aug. 27 | Pusch Ridge |
| Buena | Sept. 3 | at Barry Goldwater |
| Catalina | Aug. 27 | at Bisbee |
| Catalina Foothills | Sept. 3 | Sabino |
| CDO | Sept. 3 | at Salpointe |
| Cholla | Sept. 3 | at Rincon/University |
| Cienega | Sept. 3 | at Sunrise Mountain |
| Desert View | Sept. 3 | at Sunnyside |
| Douglas | Sept. 10 | Bisbee |
| Empire | Sept. 3 | at Sahuarita |
| Flowing Wells | Sept. 2* | at Amphi |
| Ironwood Ridge | Sept. 3 | Ironwood |
| Marana | Sept. 3 | Mountain View |
| Mountain View | Sept. 3 | at Marana |
| Nogales | Sept. 10 | at Rio Rico |
| Palo Verde | Sept. 3 | Walden Grove |
| Pueblo | Sept. 2* | at Sahuaro |
| Pusch Ridge | Aug. 27 | at Benson |
| Rincon/University | Sept. 3 | Cholla |
| Rio Rico | Sept. 10 | Nogales |
| Sabino | Aug. 27 | at AZ College Prep |
| Sahuarita | Aug. 27 | at Thatcher |
| Sahuaro | Sept. 2* | Pueblo |
| San Manuel | Aug. 27 | Ray |
| St. David | Sept. 3 | Bagdad (site TBD) |
| Salpointe | Sept. 3 | CDO |
| Santa Cruz Valley | Aug. 27 | at San Tan Charter |
| Santa Rita | Aug. 27 | Tombstone |
| Sunnyside | Sept. 3 | Desert View |
| Tanque Verde | Aug. 27 | Heritage Academy Laveen |
| Tombstone | Aug. 27 | at Santa Rita |
| Tucson | Sept. 3 | Maricopa |
| Valley Union | Aug. 20 | Ray |
| Walden Grove | Sept. 3 | at Palo Verde |
| Willcox | Aug. 27 | Globe |
Ten coaches will be leading new teams this fall. One of the schools with a new coach — Santa Rita — is in the process of finalizing a hire.
Some of the biggest names in local high school coaching are at new places — Richard Sanchez at Tucson, Pat Nugent at Mica Mountain and Justin Argraves at Cienega.
2021 Southern Arizona High School Coaching Changes
Coaching changes made at Southern Arizona high schools going into the 2021 season. *Santa Rita's Tom Joseph is awaiting TUSD governing board approval.| School | New Coach | Former Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Catalina | Greg McKinstry | Chris Barlow |
| Catalina Foothills | Daniel Sainz | Darius Kelly |
| Cienega | Justin Argraves | Pat Nugent |
| Eloy Santa Cruz | James Fitzgerald | Rishard Davis |
| Marana | Phillip Steward | Louis Ramirez II |
| Mica Mountain | Pat Nugent | New school |
| Sahuarita | Jake Price | Don Watt |
| Santa Rita | Tom Joseph* | Richard Sanchez |
| Tombstone | Dominik Bonilla | Jerome Rhoades |
| Tucson | Richard Sanchez | Justin Argraves |
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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
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