Dual-threat QB Theabold led Frosh Coyotes in TDs & rush yards
WEEKLY BLOG: 3/27/21
It wasn't high school football as usual in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic made its presence on the football calendar first by wiping out spring ball and summer 7-on-7's. Many schools began workouts in June, following new protocols and working in smaller groups. A summer spike sidelined most teams for a few weeks and threatened the season. Delayed, but not canceled, the games returned in early October (for most). Many bands were sidelined. Social distancing in the stands limited the atmosphere, but allowed most parents to see their boys under the Friday night lights. Scheduling was done on the fly weekly as schools saw their seasons take an abrupt two-week halt. But despite the skeptics, the end of the season was reached complete with playoffs.
It was a year for those who went through it that won't necessarily be remembered for the wins and losses, but for the anxiety of wondering if all the training would result in getting to play any games at all and then for the gratitude of getting the chance to suit up and play.
Today we take a look at Combs High School in San Tan Valley. I was able to catch one of the Coyotes' freshman games last season. For this article, I interviewed varsity head coach Travis Miller and freshman head coach Joshua Salas.
A quick showing of the numbers tells us that the varsity finished 3-3 while both the JV and the freshman teams went 2-3. But, there was much more to it than that. All three of the teams were sidelined between Weeks 2 and 3 due to a number of COVID-19 cases. Schedules were scrambled as opponents of the Coyotes had to cancel and replacement teams were found, sometimes at the last minute.
Miller called the 2020 season the toughest he's been involved with in his 15 years of coaching.
"It was hard to keep the boys focused amid all of the extensions and other obvious obstacles," Miller said in an e-mail interview. "I believe we would have done really well with our originally-planned schedule, but that's the way it goes."
Due to games lost to opponent cancellations, Combs (a 4A school) played games against Buena and Gilbert (both 5A schools) that were scheduled with just a day or two notice. Against fellow 4A teams, the Coyote varsity team went 3-1. With only six games instead of the usual 10, those losses hurt in the power points and Combs missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year.
"We were happy to play," Miller said. "We had a tough loss on paper to Poston Butte (44-14), but we were winning at halftime (14-12). A few unfortunate turnovers really made that second half look lopsided."
The JV team appeared better than its 2-3 record as well. The Coyotes lost games by two and seven with the other defeat coming against 6A Higley (another makeup). Combs also defeated a Poston Butte team (13-0) that came into the rivalry game with a 4-1 record.
The first win for the JV squad came in dramatic fashion at home against Sunnyslope.
One of the questions many have when looking at lower level results is how they translate to future varsity records. In terms of evaluating freshman individuals, Miller said it happens often that success on the freshman level does lead to more as they progress in the program.
"Those athletes usually end up on varsity for us as a sophomore or even find themselves dressed out and on the sidelines on Friday nights as freshmen," Miller said.
With school in a virtual state at the end of the 2019-20 year, it was more difficult to get the word out to the incoming freshmen for summer workouts. The dates were also in flux on a weekly basis due to the new surrounding climate. Combs had 29 freshmen on the team in 2020, but was able to have a roster a little bit larger.
"We were fortunate enough to borrow some sophomores from the JV team since it is now a frosh/soph team according to the AIA," Salas said in an e-mail interview. "I would like to see our numbers increase next year and hopefully all of the COVID issues are behind us to have a normal summer and season."
When Miller evaluates his coaches at the JV and Freshman levels, his philosophy is that player development matters most.
"I really stress that the biggest focus is that the players are developed physically and technically for their positions," Miller said. "The goal is that they have a solid foundational skill set by their junior season to be able to contribute to varsity. If the Freshman and JV staffs are solely focusing on the perfection of 'plays' and 'schemes' we end up with underdeveloped athletes at the varsity level."
One of the other key factors at the freshman level is being able to retain those players to keep the system going. Salas said the coaches he works with do a great job connecting with the players and allowing them to have some time to be able to joke around and enjoy themselves at practices.
"We try to balance out the strict no-nonsense coaching periods with some time in which they can ask questions and not stress," Salas said. "Cardio is also a big issue for incoming freshmen who have never played before (Combs always has a handful of first-year players). So, we keep them on their toes with different types of cardio games so they don't dread the end of practice every day."
Like many other high schools, Combs tries to run a similar style of offense and defensive sets at the lower levels that the varsity employs. For the Coyotes, that was a mobile quarterback that can make the calls to keep it, hand off to a running back, or make a quick pass to a receiver (RPO offense).
"We expect that the JV and Freshmen use the same concepts and terminologies so that way everybody is speaking the same language," Miller said. "This makes an easier transition from level to level, especially if we need to bring a player up a level mid-season."
As far as the development of players goes at the freshman level, assistant coach Ben Johnson fills the role of "tough coach" that can get on the players when it's appropriate in order to stay focused. There's a dual role with ninth graders in terms of development both mentally and physically.
"All of us have a similar mindset where we are focused on developing players physically and trying to have them become students of the sport," Salas said. "Coach Travis Miller has a great program where he has the players learn what to look for when watching film and help them learn tendencies, indicating strengths and weaknesses on opponents."
Freshmen already have a lot to learn when joining a high school football team. The external factors of the pandemic complicated that with daily temperature checks, mask wearing (during practices), social distancing, and the uncertainty of whether there would be a game each week. Salas believes that this year's group bonded together more than other teams from the past.
"We had a lot of people come out and did not last due to a variety of reasons, but the 29 who stayed were consistent in showing up," Salas said. "It shows that they all have a mutual trust and respect for one another since they all went through the same challenges."
A few of the freshmen to watch for in future seasons include Cortez Jones, Chase Theabold, and Johnathon Melvin. Cortez was the team's starting running back and shows athleticism (he also played on the freshman basketball team). Salas said he displays huge potential to be on varsity sooner than later. Theabold was the Coyotes' quarterback and led the team in touchdowns and rushing yards. Against Poston Butte, he scored one rushing TD and had two other successful two-point conversion runs. Salas called him a great leader playing the dual-threat QB role in the offense. Melvin got into three games on varsity and was just one of two freshmen (the other was kicker Austin Ficek) to play at that level. Salas called him a phenomenal defensive back who also played a big role at wide receiver.
On the radar for the upcoming varsity season, Miller said Brodee Tucker (who will be a senior next year) is probably the most dominant lineman that Combs High has ever seen. Tucker (6-1, 270) is a defensive tackle that had 30 tackles and four sacks on varsity as a junior. The Coyotes return starting quarterback Tanner Hale, who Miller said is "electric" and flying under the radar. Hale passed for 763 yards and six TDs while also rushing for 166 yards and five touchdowns. Melvin should be a starter at corner as a sophomore and will be coupled with Hunter Clare (who will be a junior) at the other corner spot. Over the next two seasons, this could prove to be the best duo at the position the school has seen in its 11-year history.
