Rivas Wants to Follow MP Blueprint

Edward Rivas knows what he needs to do to be successful.

Rivas has seen success, firsthand after transferring to Mountain Pointe from Campo Verde before his sophomore season. Rivas played sparingly on one of the state's most dominant offensive lines behind guys like Davis Perrott and Nick Carman. Guys who saw their recruiting stock soar in conjunction with their performance on the field. In the end, the two linemen fielded close to 30 offers, and helped the Pride rush for an absurd 300+ yards per game and 51 touchdowns.

Rivas is a 6-4, 280-pound guard, and could be one of the Arizona class of 2017's most sought after linemen over the next two years. He hopes that he can follow the example Perrott and Carman set, both in recruiting, and the way they played. "It means a lot to me because knowing the kids ahead of me have done so much," said Rivas. "To be in their footsteps is a good thing. If I do everything they did, maybe I can be in their position some day."

Last weekend Rivas attended his first Rivals Camp Series in Fullerton, California, and had the opportunity to face some of California's best defensive linemen one on one. He was excited to line up against California's best for the same reason that he's excited to be on one of the 17 teams left at the division 1 level next season. "I love the competition," he continued. "The kids here are strong so it comes down to technique and mentally knowing what you need to get done."

Mentally, Rivas is at ease, especially knowing that head coach Norris Vaughan is back in the fold for the Pride. Vaughan had been rumored to be exploring his coaching options after last season ended. "No one's worrying about anything now that Vaughan's back," said Rivas. "Everything's still good, and our O-Line is looking pretty good even though people think we'd have a drop off because of graduations." Rivas said that the Pride also have a lot to be excited about when it comes to who will be taking snaps under center next year. "Jack Smith, man. He's pretty good," Rivas said, smiling.

There haven't been any offers for Rivas yet, but he says there has been interest from Utah, Utah State, and San Diego State. He knows that when it comes to offensive linemen, a player can go from a few interested schools to double digit offers in the blink of an eye. For now, he's focused on Mountain Pointe's upcoming schedule- a slate of games that pits the Pride against some tougher, unknown competition. "We're coming here to California. Other than that, there's no Chandler, no Hamilton. Still, every game game is a big game now." When asked about the possibility of meeting Chandler in the playoffs in an attempt to pay back last season's semifinal loss, Rivas simply said, "I don't want to say excited, but I'm ready."