Vail prevails.
Empire is part of the football empire there.
Mica Mountain, Cienega and Empire, all within a five-mile radius of each other in Vail, are a combined 6-0 (each 2-0) through their first two weeks of the season.
Mica Mountain is one of the favorites to win the 4A state title with a senior-laden team that is 13-2 in the last two seasons with the two losses occuring last year to the state champion, Canyon del Oro.
Cienega has the history of winning football under coaches Nemer Hassey and Pat Nugent, both of whom are at Mica Mountain now, Hassey the principal and Nugent the head coach. The Bobcats presently play for another proven, winning coach, Justin Argraves (76-64 in his 15th season as a head coach).
Empire, motivated because it is perceived to be not as successful as its Vail counterparts, has a seven-game winning streak dating to last year.
That’s the school’s longest winning streak since the Ravens won nine straight in 2009, the program’s fourth season of existence. The coach was Jorge Mendivil, now the head coach at Amphi.
.@ehsravensfb RB/LB Ngonkra Fuangunyi was the @APSMailroom / @FrognFirkinAZ Player of the Week for Week 2 when the Ravens defeated Sierra Linda 14-7 behind his 209 yards rushing. Pictured here with @EmpireAthletic1 AD James Sye. pic.twitter.com/688r2qv37i
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 10, 2024
The current winning streak under sixth-year coach George Kelly, a former Pima College and UTEP defensive back, has occurred immediately after the Ravens lost 10 of 11 games between 2022 and 2023.
“Right now, it’s a culture change with the program,” Kelly said on Tuesday’s Eye on the Ball radio show. “I think it’s getting the right coaches in the building, getting these kids around the right guys. I thank my coaches every day.
“We have a small staff; there’s seven of us.”
The staff other than Kelly: Magnus Magnuson, offensive line; Alyn Fletcher, quarterbacks; James Kelly, receivers and linebackers; and head junior varsity coach Derek Collinsworth and his assistants Cory Shires and Cody Mowen.
George Kelly mentioned that a staff of only seven is challenging especially with a limited talent pool. Empire, a 4A Gila school, has an enrollment of only about 850.
“We’re not known to be the sports school,” he added, especially with a varsity roster of about 25 players with juniors and seniors and a junior varsity “B” team with only about 25 freshmen and sophomores.
The Empire coach stated that before COVID-19 hit heading into the 2020 season, he was attracting more than 80 players and now it’s about 50.
That has forced him to recruit within his own school and that’s how he landed Ngonkra Fuangunyi, who played soccer at Empire but is now a three-sport star in football, soccer and track and field.
The talented senior running back/linebacker with a family background from Cameroon recently was selected the APS Digital Print/Frog & Firkin Week 2 Player of the Week for his 209 yards rushing and a touchdown on 24 carries in the Ravens’ 14-7 win over visiting Phoenix Sierra Linda in the season opener. He also had three tackles and kickoff returns of 35 and 40 yards in that game.
The following day, he was a guest of Arizona’s football program when the Wildcats hosted New Mexico at Arizona Stadium.
“He’s just an all-around athlete,” George Kelly said of the 5-foot-11 and 195-pound Fuangunyi (pronounced FWAWN-goonee). “He can play football. He’s big. He can play this game.
“His sophomore year, he came out for football, and you know, ever since then he’s been taking off.”
The coach mentioned that Fuangunyi has developed a love for American football and the results on the field indicate that passion.
“We’re coming together as a team; guys are working a lot harder,” Fuangunyi said of Empire’s surge the last two seasons with him as a leader.
Of his 209 yards against Sierra Linda, Fuangunyi said, “The O-line was blocking very well so I was able to hit the gaps.”
Empire has one of the most experienced offensive lines anchored by senior tackle Jovhany Capuchino, a college prospect at 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds. Another senior is fellow tackle Matthew Best.
Empire will play at Ironwood Ridge, a 5A Sonoran school, on Friday at 7 p.m. The Nighthawks are 1-1. Their 28-0 win at Empire last season was part of the Ravens’ 1-4 start before their current seven-game winning streak.
The Ravens are 2-0 for the first time since 2012. They have an opportunity to start 3-0 for the first time since 2010.
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 in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Recommended for you
