A little over a year ago, I made a decision that would change my life in a way I could’ve never imagined.

As I walked to my car in the parking lot of Mountain America Stadium following the Open Division championship between Liberty and Centennial, I reflected upon a journey that was years in the making.

I knew that night it would be my last night covering high school football.

Being quite honest, I knew prior to that championship night and frankly at the beginning of the season that I was ready to go into my next chapter.

After all, I had built myself, my reputation, and everything I had become known for on covering West Valley sports- and the West side was officially at the top.

(And was a questionable call away from flat out dominating the weekend as a whole).

It felt like there was no better time to put down the pen and pursue what would become next.

To be one-hundred-percent transparent, it was because I wasn’t happy anymore- far from it, truthfully. I had become tired of the toxicity and drama that had begun to permeate the media side of the high school sports world.

We've always had parents, players, coaches, and administrators complaining and taking issue with every little thing being discussed. But other people in the media who only cared about promoting themselves, and putting themselves ahead of the kids, was my last straw.

High school sports is supposed to be a four year journey of celebrating the successes of young men and women who were using athletics to build themselves up for the future. It felt like the adults in the room were out to change that completely.

I was ready to pursue something I always wanted to go for- coaching. For those who’ve known me, to say I wasn’t a great athlete would be an understatement. But while I finished playing, I knew that coaching and teaching was where I was best suited.

I began in January of 2024 to break down the different schools I was willing to reach out to, and where I felt like I could learn the most, and be a great fit at.

To me (and credit to the foresight of my fiancé Taylor), the place we kept landing on over and over again was Desert Edge High School in Goodyear.

I had gone out to observe the program multiple times in that 2023 season, and there was a charm about the school, community, and program that drew me in. I went out to the Scorpions signing day event in February and arrived early. It was there that I ran into then defensive backs coach Henri MacArthur.

It was then that the foundation was laid.

MacArthur in ways that only he could, gave me the blueprint on how to approach Mark and Marcus Carter about possibly joining the staff, and what the behind the scenes work looked like.

He vouched for me privately to help me get on staff, and from the moment he took over as head coach in April, has continued to be a mentor to everyone, an is someone who pours his time and energy into all of the Scorpion community.

As the one-year mark approaches of my hiring, I reflect on what being a member of the community in Goodyear has been like, and what being a part of a state championship program has entailed.

Desert Edge is a Title 1 school- for those who may not know, it means the school receives federal funding for educating disadvantaged or underserved children. The majority of the kids (not just in the football program, but throughout the campus) bust their tails day in and day out trying to accomplish their own goals and pursue what’s important to them.

The level of effort and intensity I’ve witnessed over the last year, in the weight room and in practice, was unlike anything I witnessed from the program I played with, and different from what I had previously observed from other schools.

To some people, high school football is a glorification mixed up societal priorities. But in Goodyear, as well as throughout Arizona, football can serve as an anchor to a set of priorities that allows many of the student athletes to make a better life for themselves and their families.

Winning a championship last year satisfied the hunger that most of the community had longed for since the last Desert Edge championship in 2015. It was a tenuous journey back to the top that included the type of adversity you only see in sports movies- but the real success of the season came a week later for early signing day.

Four Scorpions signed their letter of intent to play college football, and in February nine more joined in signing to play collegiately.

13 future husbands, fathers, and members of the community in the class of 2025 committed themselves to an opportunity to build the rest of their lives towards something greater.

That is the ultimate championship.

A banner will hang on the walls in the gym, and a trophy will reside in a case at the center of the school- and that is special in and of itself. For the people like Coach MacArthur, associate head coach Terrance Liddile, Desert Edge alum and coach Jose Parra, coaches/teachers such as Nick Ludovico and Bryce Wright, and the countless others on staff, the greatest victory comes in the form of lives that are changed for the better.

As the pursuit towards championship number four begins with spring ball on April 28th, the journey towards sending the next group of Scorpions to college and into society continues alongside it.

I believe the Scorpions will win at both.

I’ve returned to writing, right back where I got my start at Arizona Varsity, and this time I'm looking forward to using what I've learned to highlight the state's basketball prospects as they pursue their passion in the the most unstable, yet rewarding time to be a high level hooper.

Even though the journey of covering high school football statewide is closed, my path covering basketball is still unwritten. But helping Coach MacArthur develop students as both players and people helped me realize that the balance of of pursuing more than one outcome is a beautiful thing.

But even though I’m back, as the spring practices start up again, my heart, my head, and my pen will reside off of Yuma Road and Estrella Parkway.