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VICTORY SPORTS: Tucson champs of big man & 7-on-7, Marana of first flag football competition

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The Fourth Victory Sports Foundation event had a few firsts on Wednesday and Thursday at the Kino South Sports Complex.

The competition showcased the most 7-on-7 teams in its existence, with 36 participating, and for the first time, girls’ flag football was added with eight teams.

Marana emerged as the first flag football champion of the event, defeating Sunnyside 13-0 in the championship.

Tucson High became the first school to win both the Big Man and 7-on-7 competitions in one event.

The Badgers defeated Sabino 20-13 to claim the title Thursday.

TUCSON CONTINUES TO BUILD MOMENTUM

The Badgers, under third-year coach Zach Neveleff, are coming off a 9-3 season and first playoff victory in 53 years. The nine wins were the most since the 1971 championship team went 11-1.

The dual wins (Big Man and 7-on-7) in the Victory Sports Foundation continue to indicate the vast improvement of the program under Neveleff and his staff after the Badgers went 4-16 in the two years before Neveleff left Salpointe as the running backs coach to lead Tucson’s program.

He is 14-8 in his two years with Tucson.

“The biggest thing is they are willing to compete,” Neveleff said. “That’s all we care about. We’re competing in the weight room. We’re competing on the field. We’re competing in practice. That’s what you want to take out of this.

“You want to see when adversity strikes, who is going to compete. Who is going to battle through it?”

Neveleff credited his players, especially senior captains Noah Chanez, Jonathon Diaz and Derek Mesa. for leading the charge as four-year starters who persevered after going 3-7 their freshman season, losing six of their last seven games.

Chanez is an all-purpose threat, Diaz is a wide receiver/safety and Mesa is the quarterback.

“They’re four-year starters, that’s something that I can build off of,” Neveleff said. “Those kids want to compete. Their competitive nature is high. They compete on the field. They compete in their nutrition.

“That’s what we breed here. We want people who compete and work.”

When asked what the Badgers can take from winning the Big Man and 7-on-7 competitions, Chanez said, “Just the confidence going into the next season.”

“A lot of our players are younger dudes so I feel this confidence helps, knowing we can compete with anyone in the city.”

FRESHMAN QB LEADS MARANA TO VICTORY

Marana freshman Izzie Garcia has yet to step on campus for classes and play a varsity game for the Tigers, but she led her team (which has quality returners) as a quarterback to the championship over Sunnyside at Kino South.

Garcia’s two touchdown passes in the game were to one of the best returning players in the state, senior Malaysia Roebuck.

Garcia performed well in her first tournament of her high school varsity career.

She mentioned that she started throwing the football when she was 4 years old because her father, Michael, and brother Michael Jr. are involved with the game. Michael Sr. is a coach within the Tucson Turf organization, which Izzie has flourished with in various tournaments.

“I was surrounded by football my whole life, basically,” she said. “My dad has been a huge part of it. He’s why I got here now.”

Marana was led by Sean Roebuck, the dad of the standout Roebuck athletes the school has produced, as the coach during the Victory Sports Foundation competition. The head coach during the season, Shaun Lara, was at a regional wrestling tournament with some of the Tiger wrestlers. He is one Marana’s wrestling coaches.

FRIEDLI, MENDIVIL & NUGENT DISCIPLE YOUNGLING TAKES OVER AT CHOLLA

Amphi graduate Roland Youngling has quite the past with football in Southern Arizona when it comes to learning from the best coaches.

He played under Vern Friedli at Amphi as a tight end/linebacker before graduating in 2012 and then competed briefly for Pat Nugent at Pima Community College.

His coaching career started as an assistant under Jorge Mendivil, who won nearly 130 games in his career before retiring after last season.

Youngling coached with the Panthers before the Cholla head coaching position opened following last season. He applied, got interviewed and was hired in January. He started working with the returning players in the weight room in February.

His staff is almost set. He is bringing a few with him from Amphi, including offensive line coach David Watson Sr., a former Arizona lineman.

“Consistency and discipline,” Youngling answered when asked what needs to be done to make Cholla a successful program.

The Chargers have only one winning season (2015, when they went 6-4) in the last 14 years.

“When I came in, I asked everybody — the teachers and kids — and all of them said, ‘Consistency and discipline,'” Youngling said. “I think these kids have taken to it. These kids have had their heartbroken — every year, somebody new (coaching), something new.

“I don’t plan on going any where. I’m a loyal guy. I want to build this, start shaping it of my own. These kids see that and that’s the big thing. Discipline and consistency, just like Coach Friedli.”

AMPHI UNDER NEW DIRECTION OF COACH FROM DENVER

The bond between Amphi athletic director Tyrone Cephers and new coach Stanley Richardson extends to when Cephers, a Panther football great in the late 1980s as a teammate of Michael and Mario Bates, was the athletic director at a Denver-area high school more than 10 years ago and Richardson was one of his football coaches.

Following Mendivil’s retirement, Cephers reached out to Richardson, who was coaching at Denver’s Montbello High School.

Richardson, who coached as an assistant at Chandler High School from 2000 to 2010, welcomed the idea of returning to the state.

Michael Bates, Amphi’s legendary running back, was part of the hiring committee that approved of the move to bring in Richardson.

“The dynamics are very similar from a demographics perspective,” Richardson said. “I’m coming from an inner-city school to an inner-city school. I left an inner-city school where kids are hungry and able to play the game of football.

“I’m here to get them coached up and keep them moving in the right direction. Teaching them is more important than football. It’s bigger than football. A lot of the kids here in Tucson as well back in Denver need my mentorship. Sometimes, I’m a dad. Sometimes, I’m a coach. Sometimes, I’m an uncle. Sometimes, I’m a friend and that’s what these guys need.”

Richardson is aware of the impact the Bates brothers, including Marion, made on the program.

“Amphi has a really rich tradition,” he said. “The Bates brothers really set the tone. We want to bring some of that flavor back. I’m excited to be here in Arizona.”

NUGENT, MENDIVIL ASSIST WITH VICTORY SPORTS FOUNDATION EVENT

Nugent, who also stepped down after last season after leading Mica Mountain to the state title, and Mendivil assisted the operations of the Victory Sports Foundation by monitoring the scores and time of the girls flag football games.

Nugent spoke to the athletes and coaches before the games ahead of Tim Kish, the executive director of the Southern Arizona chapter of the National Football Foundation.

Nugent asked for a moment of silence in honor of two recently deceased coaches who impacted the Southern Arizona community a great deal — Don Bacon and John Kashner.

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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 in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.

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