Quarterback competition begins with Owls' Spring Game
WEEKLY BLOG: 5/15/22
On Friday night in Avondale, it was a time to celebrate the end of one "season" and the unofficial beginning of another, much larger one.
The three-week period of spring football concluded on a warm (95 degrees before the sun went down) evening for the Agua Fria Owls, which featured a mix of a 7-on-7 game for the skill position guys and a lineman challenge in between segments.
The 7-on-7 game was actually a 6-on-8 one with a center (not eligible), a quarterback, and five receivers against eight defenders. This was built in because AFHS normally plays with three down linemen and eight other defenders. Quarterbacks had four seconds to get their passes off before a loss of down. Drives began at the 50-yard line with the normal 10 yards and four downs to move the chains. Scoring was a simple one point for a touchdown and two for a defensive interception. The three segments were played under a running clock (20 minutes). Two points were awarded for each of the three lineman challenges.
Jolly Daniels played most of the way for the White squad while junior to be Fabian Castro and upcoming sophomore Gabriel Waldren alternated on the Red team.
Daniels, who was playing quarterback for the first time this Spring, had three touchdown passes to lead the White team to an 11-8 win. He had less than a week of practice after coming over to the football team after the completion of the volleyball season.
"I felt really great," Daniels said. It felt comfortable, but it also felt nervous."
Daniels played running back last season as a sophomore on varsity. He said he definitely wants to keep at it over the summer with the possibility of becoming the starter in September.
Castro started for the Red team and was busy over the spring running in the hurdle events during track season. New head coach Ricky Higuera said there was also a potential signal caller that just finished baseball season. Waldren played on the freshman team last fall. Higuera said the position won't be settled until training camp in August.
About half of last year's Agua Fria 2021 team will be graduating later this month. In addition to quarterback, the Owls need to replace their top two rushers and leading receiver. There are some versatile athletes on the roster that can play multiple positions. One candidate is Esteban Rodriguez. The 5-11, 165-pounder saw time at fullback last season as a junior and can play running back and linebacker. Another '23 player is Carlos Elzy. He is the team's leading returning receiver. Elzy also played goalie for the Owls soccer team and is the kicker. His field goal against Kellis provided the difference in a 16-14 win.
"He's an all-around athlete," Higuera said of Elzy. "Offensively, we can put him anywhere we want."
Elzy isn't afraid to give suggestions to the coaches either. As a matter of fact, the staff gives the receivers options on their routes. Carlos also has a younger brother, Daniel, that can create mismatches as a receiver in the passing game.
Ruben Garcia was a Second Team All-5A Northwest Region selection at punt returner. He's athletic enough to play wide receiver, running back, safety, cornerback, or linebacker. It may just come down to what spot the Owls have a need at. On defense, Garcia intercepted five passes last season.
"Ruben will be all over the place," Higuera said. "Ruben is the literal jack of all trades."
In the secondary, a player that stood out was Xavier Tumlinson. The senior has returned to football after being out for the past two seasons. Tumlinson suffered an injury his freshman year, was out due to COVID-19 as a sophomore, and didn't play last year as a junior at West Point. Because of that, he'll be immediately eligible as a transfer. Tumlinson intercepted two passes for the White team in the intrasquad game Friday night. He has found his love of football once again and also appreciates the way the new coaching staff is instructing the team.
"They actually get down into the little things that we need," Tumlinson said. "Like if someone is not turning their hips right. They can focus on that. They're bringing us closer as a family."
Two more players that will make an impact on either offense or defense are Bryan Salcido and Braylon Cryer. Salcido is a 6-2 athlete that can play tight end or defensive end. He had 37 tackles and 2.5 sacks as a junior and was also the team's punter. Cryer is in the Class of 2024 and caught a pair of touchdowns for the White team and also saw time at defensive back.
Like the skill position players, the linemen were split into two teams wearing red or white jerseys and competed for those teams following 7's segments. The events were a version of one-on-ones, bench press, and tug of war.
The one-on-ones were meant to simulate game conditions. While there weren't helmets and pads, of course, some were set up as having to block a second and sometimes a third player as if you had to make your way past another blocker to either get to the quarterback or clear a path for your runner.
The bench press was set up on the track and linemen took their turns while teammates counted reps with the 155-pound bar. A few players posted totals over 20 with junior-to-be Julian Flores completing 23 reps.
In the tug of war, the rope was 10 yards long and six players pulled on each side. The winning side had to get all six from the other side across the midpoint at the 50.
There was a different mindset with a competitive nature compared to a regular practice.
"We were just coming out to have fun and get the community involved," offensive guard Isaac Aguirre said. "The toughest event was the tug of war. It was a group thing and we all had to work together."
Aguirre (6-2, 290) will be one of two senior starters on the O-Line.
There was encouragement not just from the other linemen during the big man events, but also from the skill position players, who were getting a break from their game.
"It tells us to push through," lineman Brandon Auau said of the support. "At the end, when it looked like the White team was going to win (the tug of war), we had a lot of cheering for our team."
Auau, who will be a senior, is 6-4 and 215 pounds. The Samoan plays offensive tackle and defensive end. Given a choice, he prefers the defensive side where you move in to attack either a ball carrier or the quarterback. He had 45 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season.
Agua Fria fielded teams at all three levels last season (not necessarily a given in this current landscape across the state). Both the JV (five games played) and the Freshman (eight games played) won three games in 2021. With the seniors out of the mix for Spring Ball, the remaining varsity players have been combined with the Frosh and the JV. In total, there have been 60 in the program this spring.
"We're looking to platoon guys," Higuera said. "I know we'll have a deep rotation at the nose position. We might have a couple kids that go both ways."
As for the varsity, you may not know this, but the Owls have had three consecutive winning seasons. However, each year left them one win short of the playoffs. In 2019, Agua Fria had its first winning season in seven years (6-4), but finished outside the top 16. The next year, the Owls were 5-3 in the COVID-shortened season and won their region. They were ranked No. 10 in the 5A, but only eight teams were invited to the playoffs that year (with no auto-bids for region winners). Last season, AFHS started off 4-0 and finished 6-4. It would have been close with the mathematical numbers, but a 31-30 loss to Canyon View in the last game likely kept the Owls outside the postseason for the eighth straight year.
"I'm just trying to make the playoffs," Aguirre said. "We've been one game away two years in a row. I'm just trying to get over the hump this year."
Agua Fria remains in the 5A Northwest Region with the two teams that finished ahead of it last season (Canyon View & Willow Canyon). There are three newcomers this year in Apollo, Ironwood, and Goldwater. As for the big picture, Higuera wouldn't give a win total or postseason pronouncement when asked about the team's expectations.
"1-0 each week," Higuera said. "It's a new season. Protecting the Rock is Game 1. Playing every sister school in the district is our next worry. And the third one is the region. We are more than capable. There's a lot of things looking forward to in the schedule."
"The Rock" would be the River Rock trophy awarded to the winner of the Agua Fria-Tolleson game. The longtime rivals open the season against one another at Tolleson on Sept. 2 and the Owls, who have been in possession of the rock since 2019, will try to maintain control of it.
After that comes three games against West Valley teams (Millennium, Verrado, and West Point) with a home game against Tucson's Flowing Wells thrown in. The Millennium game will be interesting because Higuera assisted Lamar Early at MHS last season. He still teaches at AFHS and has returned to the school, where he was an assistant with the Owls in 2020. Higuera was hired as the head coach in February.
Higuera cited several influences in his coaching career dating back to the time when he was a player at Buckeye Union under Bobby Barnes. Later, he learned from Kelly Epley at Glendale Community College. When Higuera moved into coaching, it was with Brad Griffin at Southwestern College in Kansas. Griffin had a 9-2 season with the Moundbuilders in 2021 and the team successfully recruited four athletes from Arizona in the '22 recruiting class (three from Agua Fria). Higuera said former Agua Fria head coach George Martinez taught him about "keeping cool, calm, and collected". Finally, he is appreciative of the year he spent with Early last year as an assistant.
Among the colleges that had coaches visit AFHS during spring ball were Nevada, Idaho, and Ottawa.
For the summer, Agua Fria will have some 7-on-7 practices with select schools competing weekly in June at Westview, and in a four-way competition at Trevor Browne. The Owls are planning to bond at a team camp in Pinetop at Blue Ridge from July 24-27.
Reach Chris Eaton at gridironarizona@yahoo.com or DM at @gridironarizona with story ideas.
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