Warrior Football Fans:

I apologize for not writing more content earlier in the season. It has been very hectic around here and I have been trying to find the time to keep you all informed of what has been going on with our program.  Let me start with the varsity team.  Like many of you, I did not expect to start the season off the way have.  However, we have showed signs of improvement each week and have continued to compete in every game.  Unfortunately, our record has not demonstrated the progress we have made as a team.  However, we did get our first win last week in a very exciting game.  Our kids played hard for 48 minutes and were able to make the plays when they needed.  We had 0 turnovers, were efficient on offense, and played good enough defense to win.  The defense had a shutout in the second half, which was the first time this season.  Offensively, we are getting better at executing and becoming more physical.  I expect this to continue week by week.  The jv's have played very hard in their 3 games.  Although they have 2 losses, both were by a touchdown or less, and they had opportunities in both games to come out on top.  I am proud of how the jv team has played and competed so far this season.  Our goal for the jv team is for them to learn the basics of our offense and defense, learn to be selfless, play as a team, and play hard for 48 minutes.  With the kids who have made the commitment to our program so far, they are starting to show signs of all of these. 

As we move towards the midpoint of the season, we are looking for the continued commitment by our players to the program.  It takes a disciplined young man to stay committed and put their bodies through what they put them through in the game of football.  As long as that commitment continues, the kids will continue to get better and become better football players.  And with that, we will continue to get better as a football team. 

War Eagle

-Coach Mendez

Wow.  That is all I have to say.  What a great way to start the season for our young guys.  If you missed it, you missed one heck of a game.  We started off quick and jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second half.  Then, Mesa made a game of it by scoring two td's late and converting on both two point conversions.  They kicked the onside and it went out of bounds and we took over for one last possesion.  With Mesa having 3 timeouts left, we needed at least one first down to secure the win.  After two short runs by Velencio Gray, we were faced with a 3rd and 8.  This late in the game, normally you would run a safe play or high percentage pass, but not us.  Juan Zazueta lined up wide and Dakota Harlan hit him deep down the sideline for a huge gain and a 1st down conversion to secure the win.  There were a few highlights to point out in the game. They were, but are not limited to: Valencio Gray's 98 yard TD run, Dakota Harlan's 2 TD passes - one to Billy Seuing and one to Jason Alldredge.  Defensively, the Warriors were led by Hunter Huish and Dustin Owens in the middle, and a defensive line that got after it all game long.  Overall, the effort that our players put forth the entire game was outstanding.  A lot of our players played both sides of the ball and it takes a tough minded person to take that many snaps.  I look forward to seeing them in action next week. 

War Eagle

 -Coach Mendez

Warrior Football Fans:

Last night we had our opening scrimmage against Hamilton High School.  It was a 120 play scrimmage that was ran in sets of 10.  This was a great opportunity for us to play one of the best programs in the state, and I think we benefited greatly from it.  My initial thoughts on the game were that we played very hard at times, but still need to focus on the little things.  For example, we had a few false starts early in the game, and a holding penalty that negated a long touchdown pass.  Those are the type of things that must get fixed before next Friday night. The good thing is that the players are well aware of this, and are communicating this to one another to ensure that it gets taken care of.  I saw a glimpse of what our team has the potential to become last night, and that is a tight nit group of young men who want to play hard for one another.  They are slowly buying into this concept and as they start to figure it out, they will be very competitive on Friday nights.

Offensively in the scrimmage I thought we looked very good at times.  We improved on our assignments from the last scrimmage, and did a sufficient job of executing.  We still had some missed assignments and some technical things have to get fixed.  This will come with time and practice, which, unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of.  Overall, I thought we ran the ball pretty well.  The O-Line started to get in rhythm as the night went on, and our backs (Brian and Jake) ran very well.  They were patient and ran downhill.  That is the one thing we have been stressing to them, and anyone else with the ball, and that is to run downhill, get what you can, and secure the football.  Speaking of securing the ball, we had too many footballs on the ground on our pitches.  This will get taken care of.  In the passing game, our QB’s must do a better job of doing what they are coached to do.  They both understand the concept and know what to do, it just has to transfer onto the playing field now.  For example, on our quick passes, the ball is not coming out fast enough and the WR’s are open.  On the flipside, we had some balls dropped out there as well.  The passing game is about one thing, confidence.  Once the QB’s and WR’s are confident in their abilities and learn to trust one another, the passing game will be a viable part of our offense. 

Defensively, I thought the Warriors played well for the most part.  There are so many little things that go into playing defense and with a lack of experience out there, it will take a bunch of tough minded players to execute what they are being coached to do.  I’ve seen this defense run correctly (see the mid ‘90 teams), and it is very tough to run against and beat when all 11 guys are doing there job.  For the most part, I thought the DL played well.  They still need to work on there steps and technique, but I would like to see more of a motor out of them.  This will come with confidence.  The more confident they are, the faster they will play.  If there was a downfall last night defensively, I would have to say it was the outside linebacker position.  Now, in their defense, it is the toughest position to play on our defense.  It takes a disciplined player to play the position because they have to play a combination of linebacker and defensive line, which is not easy for a high school player to do. With practice and game planning, I expect a better performance next Friday, and knowing the guys that play that spot, they will do much better. 

The scrimmage served its purpose and allowed us to take a good look at some guys in certain spots.  As the early part of the season moves on, it’s good to see the support from the fans.  As a former player, there is nothing better than to hear a crowd of people cheer for your team.  Some of the seniors are starting to find out what it is to be a Westwood Warrior, and the quicker that happens, the better we are going to be. The tricky part now is we have to take a look at the film and decide who is going to be playing next Friday at Gilbert. 

War Eagle!

-Coach Mendez

Warrior Football Fans:

The summer is coming to a close and we are getting ready for the upcoming season.  Coming out of football camp, we have some good position battles that should play themselves out when they put on shoulder pads.  We have a lot of skill players that are going to be able to contribute and our offensive line may be the strength at this point.  The players have picked up the new systems well and are starting to excute like a football team that is getting ready to compete on Friday nights.  The coaching staff is looking forward to next week when we can begin to wear helmets and shoulder pads.  This will give us a much better indication of what type of team we are going to have this year.  Westwood players have always been  known and recognized for their heart, and this team is no exception.  Although we may not appear on paper to be the most talented team, these players have shown the heart and passion that will carry them on Friday nights.  As long as we continue to grow each day, our players will be ready for the upcoming season. 

War Eagle

-Coach Mendez

Warrior Football Fans:

 Our summer program has really been going well.  The kids are working extremely hard and learning the value of hard work and dedication.  The players have been working out in the weightroom with heavy chains, bands, doing plyometric work, hitting tires, flipping tires, pushing trucks, and many other things.  We are starting to show some strong leadership out of some of our seniors.  Although only a few have played on Friday nights, their attitude and work ethic are allowing them to progress quickly.  We have a new offense and defense to put in for the upcoming season.  Our players are very smart and picking up the new terminology and schemes very well.  We are looking forward to going up to camp July 21st and putting in the effort it is going to take to be successful on Friday nights. 

War Eagle

Coach Mendez