When Walden Grove football begins the season at home against Phoenix-Northwest Christian on Aug. 30, the Red Wolves will have a new starting quarterback and several players in expanded roles.
“We’re fired up. I think we’ve got a really good group of guys here,” Walden Grove head coach Corey Noble said. “We’ve obviously graduated a lot these past couple years. That’s what we should be doing, that’s what we want to do, but there’s a lot of guys that played a lot of minutes and a lot of meaningful roles for us these last couple of years — especially this last year — that are coming back.”
Some notable players who graduated following last season include defensive lineman Pierce Elliot, wide receiver/cornerbacks Paul Guy and Skyler Allen, defensive end AJ Gonzalez, linebacker/running back Jayden Bitton, and, most notably, standout senior quarterback Gabriel Smith.
Smith broke the school record in passing yards last season when he became only the 14th quarterback in Southern Arizona history to surpass 5,000 career passing yards. He committed to play football at Wabash College in Indiana this spring.
Noble is grateful for Smith’s legacy with the program and says he’s “super excited” to see what he can do at the college level.
“He took over halfway through his sophomore year and was a stud for us his junior and senior year,” Noble said. “He’s off doing big things at the next level now.”
Walden Grove enters the season on the heels of making the playoffs in its inaugural season in the 4A Kino region with a 6-4 regular season record.
The Red Wolves moved from 4A Gila to 4A Kino in the offseason leading into the 2023-24 season after a conference shake-up by the Arizona Interscholastic Association grouped the most competitive 4A teams in Southern Arizona in the Kino region, leaving developing and rebuilding teams in the Gila region.
The AIA’s ruling came after Walden Grove won the 4A Gila championship in 2022-23 but narrowly missed out on the 16-team state playoff bracket despite an 8-2 season.
Walden Grove begins its second season in a 4A Kino region with defending state champion Canyon del Oro and Mica Mountain, which lost to CDO in the state semifinals.
The quarterback duties will be in the hands of either junior Kaleb Layton or sophomore Gauge Abalos this season. Noble says senior safety and backup quarterback JD Chafin will also provide veteran experience if needed.
“We’re pretty far ahead of where I thought we would be at the quarterback position,” he said.
Senior linebacker and running back Carlos Montoya Jr. leads a solid cast of returning players.
Montoya was recognized as one of the best football players in Arizona when he was named to the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Preseason All-State team earlier this summer. He was an Ed Doherty Award nominee and first-team all-conference and all-region player last season.
“He’s a monster. He’s going to do a heck of a lot for us this year. He was an absolute game wrecker last year and he’s only gotten stronger, and he’s only gotten faster, so he’s really going to be special for us this year,” Noble said.
Montoya has the Mica Mountain game circled on the schedule. Last season in Tucson, the Thunderbolts beat the Red Wolves 21-7.
“I’m really looking forward to Mica. We took a loss last year, but I guarantee we’re not looking for that this year,” Montoya said. “It’s going to be a great fight. I know it is, but we’re ready for them.”
Senior running back and linebacker Robert Cash III is among eight other Walden Grove players named to 4A Kino All-Region teams last season returning this year.
“He’s been our bell cow for the last two years. He’s been our number one back since he was a sophomore,” Noble said.
Cash is excited to play one last season with Montoya in the backfield.
“Playing with Lito, it’s really just a one-off battle. If we’re on the offense, we’re ready to either block for each other, or run behind each other. It’s one way or another,” he said.
Other key all-region selections returning for the Red Wolves include Chafin, senior wide receiver Jayvon Coleman, senior wide receiver/safety Enzo Morales, senior offensive linemen Sal Nieves and Rigo Carrizosa, junior defensive lineman Steven Michael Valdez Jr., and junior cornerback Jaxsen Philistine.
Noble is also excited about potential breakout seasons from junior wide receiver/cornerback Wheeler Delancey and three seniors: free safety/wide receiver Buddy Davis, offensive lineman Austin Pahler and senior tight end Calan Shoals.
Shoals developed a rapport with Layton on the junior varsity team last season.
“It’s working good because we’ve got a lot of our receivers working specifically with the quarterback, trying to get that chemistry together,” he said. “Last year, I played with him (Layton) myself, so I have that chemistry with him, and I’m excited to see how he progresses throughout the season.”
While Valdez says heading into the season without the departed seniors from last season takes a toll, he is excited to build upon his bond with the returning players and welcome the newcomers to the fold.
“A majority of them are in my class. We’re all really good friends and brothers,” he said. “We’re all really family. I feel like there’s no real loose ends with all of us. We’re all pretty close.”
Walden Grove’s home opener against Phoenix-Northwest Christian is a rematch of last season’s opener on the road in which the Crusaders came out on top 38-26 in Phoenix. Northwest Christian also ended the season for the Red Wolves in the first round of the state playoffs last year with a win in Phoenix by a score of 40-12.
“Last year, they got us twice. Both fantastic games, and we’re really excited to have an opportunity to get our payback — to get our next opportunity at those guys here at home and take care of business,” Noble said.
The Red Wolves follow the home opener with a road game at Phoenix-Arcadia, who won a 34-28 heartbreaker on the last possession of the game last season at Walden Grove. Then it’s three non-conference games against 5A schools from the Tucson area before entering region play.
The tough schedule is by design.
“A couple years ago, we didn’t have the schedule we wanted based on our region’s strength and it kept us out of the playoffs,” Noble said. “We made sure that wasn’t going to happen again.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com writer Kevin Murphy was born and raised in Tucson, and has followed Arizona Wildcats athletics since childhood. Murphy is a journalist product manager with the Green Valley News & the Sahuarita Sun. He has a bachelor’s degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU.
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