5A SONORAN — IRONWOOD RIDGE NIGHTHAWKS
2022 record: 1-9 overall, 0-5 in 5A Southern (sixth)
2023 record: 2-1
Head coach: Dale Stott, 3-10, second year at Ironwood Ridge and overall as a head coach at the high school level.
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Key returners:
- QB Dominic Norris, 6-2, 180, Sr.
- DE/OT Oluwanifemi Femi-Adeyele, 6-3, 205, Sr.
- WR/CB Grant Dooling, 6-0, 182, Jr.
- RB/LB Isaac Hyde, 6-0, 185, Jr.
- SS/WR Matthew Kroner, 6-0, 180, Sr.
- WR/CB Aiden Norris, 6-0, 170, Jr.
- TE/LB David Baba, 6-3, 220, Jr.
- TE/SS Colton Britt, 6-3, 175, Jr.
- LB Colin Wilson, 6-0, 190, Sr.
- LB Samuel Kleving, 6-1, 197, Jr.
- RB/LB Adrian Falcone, 5-8, 165, Sr.
- DT/G Sam Sotelo, 5-10, 240, Sr.
IRONWOOD RIDGE COACH DALE STOTT
IRONWOOD RIDGE TE/LB DAVID BABA, DE/OT OLUWANIFEMI FEMI-ADELEYE & CB/WR GRANT DOOLING
IRONWOOD RIDGE QB DOMINIC NORRIS, WR MATTHEW KRONER & RB/TE CONRAD TUFFLY
Notes: Dale Stott is a 1976 graduate of Amphi High School, where he was a standout defensive lineman for the 1975 state championship team. While attending medical school at Arizona, Stott served as an assistant at Santa Rita from 1983-86. Stott, a certified strength and conditioning coach, was offensive line coach at St. George (Utah) Pine View High School from 2003-13 and then from 2019-21. In between, he was coach of semipro teams in St. George. He also coached a pro team in Italy from December 2018 to August 2019. … Ironwood Ridge renovated its weight room since last season to include modern equipment and are in the process of renovating another large space adjacent to the existing weight room. … The Nighthawks shifted from the 5A Southern to the 5A Sonoran and will now contend with Flowing Wells, Tucson, Nogales, Maricopa and Mountain View for a region title. … Stott’s son Bryant has joined him as an assistant coach this season after serving in the same capacity under Jeff Scurran at Rio Rico last season. … The passing combination of QB Dominic Norris and WR Matthew Kroner is developing into one of the best in Southern Arizona. Norris has completed 29 of 55 pass attempts for 475 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Kroner has 11 receptions for 203 yards with three touchdowns. … The Nighthawks have already doubled their win total from last season withh seven regular-season games remaining. Dale Stott had only one starter last season who returned from the 2021 season. …
Keep an eye out for: RB/TE Conrad Tuffly, a senior who is a transfer from Yuma Kofa. He was a quarterback with Kofa and had a touchdown pass when the Kings ended a 39-game losing streak last season. Tuffly has rushed for 79 yards and has 33 receiving yards through the first three games, but Dale Stott believes Tuffly will become more and more of a factor as the season goes along.
16. IRONWOOD RIDGE (8-2)
Head coach: Dale StottNighthawks compete in the 5A Sonoran. Bold are playoff games. Playoff games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | IR | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/25 | at Seton Catholic | W | 59 | 30 |
| 9/1 | Buena | L | 20 | 35 |
| 9/8 | at Empire | W | 28 | 0 |
| 9/15 | Douglas | W | 47 | 14 |
| 9/22 | at Sahuaro | W | 44 | 7 |
| 9/29 | Flowing Wells | W | 35 | 7 |
| 10/6 | Tucson | W | 37 | 22 |
| 10/20 | at Nogales | W | 54 | 0 |
| 10/27 | at Maricopa | L | 14 | 21 |
| 11/3 | Mountain View | W | 18 | 17 |
| 11/9 | at Higley |
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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 Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District
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