Fort Defiance – The Tuba City football team didn’t lose much to graduation this spring.
In fact, the Warriors graduated just seven players from last year's 4-6 team, including two seniors who were first-year players.
“We have a young group returning, but we have some talented players,” said Jared Tunney, who is in the process of being hired as head coach.
Tunney took over at the school late last season and was scheduled to interview with the school for the head coaching position last Wednesday. At the time this newspaper went to press, it was not clear whether Tunney had been offered the job.
Still, Tunney has worked with the football program during offseason workouts, and on Saturday he led a small group in a 7-on-7 scrimmage in Window Rock.
“Right now we have a talented group of players, mostly sophomores and juniors,” Tunney said. “We need to continue to hone our skills. We still have some gaps, but I want our kids to learn offense, learn defense, learn their job, learn responsibility.”
“Once they learn that, we expect them to perform their duties and discharge their responsibilities,” he added.
The Warriors' 4-6 mark last season included a 4-3 mark in the 2A Little Colorado District. The Warriors finished tied for third place with Red Mesa and Hopi.
Other teams in the league include Greyhills Academy, Holbrook, Many Farms, Piñon and Valley (Saunders).
“I don't mean to blame anyone, but I think our only real rival in the conference is Holbrook,” Tunney said. “Last year, some teams couldn't compete against us because of the size of our team. We were able to replace players.”
“We were able to make adjustments on offense and defense,” he added. “Our skill set was a little bit higher than most teams in our conference.”
The Roadrunners won the region race last season with a perfect 7-0 record, and Tunney credited Holbrook's quickness and athleticism, as Holbrook dominated all of his region opponents, including four shutout wins.
“Holbrook has a really good program going,” Tunney said, “and for our kids to get over that hurdle of playing a non-reservation school, it's kind of hard for us. We tend to get a little intimidated, but we have to get over it. We have to treat football as football.”
Tunney, who previously served as Tuba City's JV head coach for three seasons, expects his team to be competitive this season.
“I worked for Coach Vincent Lee before he took over as head coach at Newcomb High School,” Tunney said, “Under that system we started to incorporate more of a spread formation. My quarterback, Collin Posey, has it all figured out.”
Posey did not participate in Saturday's scrimmage because the Warriors chose backup quarterback Dineshain Delle.
“Colin has been playing in basketball tournaments,” Tunney said, “and most of our star players have been playing at volleyball, so we've been filling in the gaps with our junior volleyball players.”
The Warriors fielded two freshmen, three sophomores, one junior and one senior for the 7-on-7 scrimmage. Tuba City went 1-3 in pool play, losing to HoJo Academy of Gallup (19-6), Wingate (23-20) and Monument Valley (24-12). Tuba City's lone win was a 22-6 victory over Newcomb.
“We actually did really well,” Tunney said, “and we held our own against the best players that were here.”
Besides Posey, Tuba City coaches are looking to veterans Tayshawn Nez (lineman), Riley Mann (lineman), Rafter Smalley-Canyon (lineman), Deiondre Whitelock (receiver) and Ryan Benally (receiver) to provide leadership to a young Tuba City team.
“Diondre and Ryan are our best receivers,” Tunney said. “You know, Riley's really strong on the line and Rafter is questionable. He's injured right now so we wish him the best.”
“Rafter is one of those players that can make or break a team,” he added. “He has a high football IQ, he's very charismatic and he's willing to work at the front line. He's got some things to work on, but we're just hopeful and praying for him.”
