2024 High School Football

Cholla & Palo Verde programs elevating summer work with more involvement in passing leagues

Posted on
Share



So much has been written in recent years about how downtrodden TUSD football programs such as Cholla, Palo Verde, Santa Rita and Catalina have been in football with the focus lacking on player development and community involvement.

Pueblo, Sahuaro, and Sabino have fared better as TUSD schools in football because of their community involvement, youth programs and year-round commitment to the sport.

Tucson High has undergone a considerable upswing under second-year coach Zachary Neveleff, bringing his expertise as a longtime Salpointe assistant of how to run a successful program.

Cholla had a capable coach in Virgil Henderson in recent years but he could not reach what he believed to be the Chargers’ fullest potential because the school’s facilities did not stack up to other programs. That led to multiple defeats and caused a lack of interest of students wanting to play. Henderson often had to walk the halls and recruit students and athletes from other sports to give football a try.

It all starts from the top. The support from school and district administrators is essential for all of these programs to compete with a fighing chance. The struggling schools such as Catalina, Cholla, Santa Rita and Palo Verde are nowhere near the likes of CDO, Mica Mountain, Salpointe and defending 3A state champion Sabino but that should not keep them from at least trying to be competitive.

Buena claimed the championship of the first Cholla Passing and Big Man Tournament (Buena football)

Cholla first-year coach Paul Tripp, only 11 years removed from graduating from Desert View, understands the direction that is needed to make the Chargers more relevant in Southern Arizona football.

That includes an emphasis on player development all year with workouts, weight training, drills, 7-on-7 and big man competitions taking place during the off season.

Tripp organized the first Cholla Passing and Big Man Tournament on Thursday at the same field that produced Vance Johnson, who would have dominated such competitions when he played with the Chargers before his Arizona and NFL careers.

“It’s the first of many to come,” Tripp said of Thursday’s event. “I put the word out. Everyone started coming in. They wanted to come out. It’s a good thing for the community.

“Nobody comes out to Cholla. No one knows where we’re at. We’re hidden behind ‘A’ Mountain. It’s a great start. It will be bigger and better in the years to come.”

Cholla advanced all the way to the championship game, which it lost Buena.

Palo Verde was competitive, winning one game, in its first 7-on-7 competition in five years and the first under third-year coach Jamal Chatman.

“My young kids have some experience and what we’re trying to do now is bring it all together,” Chatman said of the development of his players the last two seasons. “What we’re going to do as a staff is continue to make the kids grow not as just players but as men. … I’m not a football coach, I’m a life coach.

“If we get this together, they’ll be all right in life. I’m not worried about football. If we do it right, we will win.”

INTERVIEWS

TOMBSTONE COACH DOMINIK BONILLA

EMPIRE COACH GEORGE KELLY

print
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Related Items:, , , ,

Recommended for you

Comments
To Top