Pueblo senior quarterback Justin Pledger doesn't know much about Catalina Foothills except that “they have Rich-Rod's son.”
Senior running back Jorge Romero isn't sure what part of town the Falcons reside.
“I don't know much about them,” Romero said. “I don't know where the heck they're at, but a lot of teams don't expect much from the south side, and we're here to show out.”
Meanwhile, second-year Pueblo coach Brandon Sanders knows plenty about Foothills.
Sanders is familiar with junior quarterback Rhett Rodriguez – the son of UA coach Rich Rodriguez – and coach Jeff Scurran because he was the Falcons defensive coordinator two years ago.
On Friday, when Pueblo plays Foothills (0-1) for the first time since 2010, it'll also be the first meeting for Sanders against his former team.
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Sanders is attempting to do what Scurran has managed to do at several programs in town – win. Specifically, at a place desperate for a winner: Pueblo's last trip to the state playoffs came in 1990.
“For this community," Sanders said, "if we could go to the playoffs, it would be absolutely bananas.”
Sanders, also Pueblo's athletic director, planned for a schedule built to test the Warriors before the postseason, and the first task is to get past Foothills. That's where Sanders learned from coaching under Scurran how to put together offenses and defenses and how to build a program.
“We're trying hard to work to be that kind of program,” Sanders said. “He's built multiple programs, built them up to state champs. All you can do is learn from a guy like that.”
After Foothills, the Warriors will play Marana, Flowing Wells, and eventually end the year with Pusch Ridge Christian, Empire and Santa Rita.
“I feel like we can beat any team,” Pledger said. “I feel we have more strength, we're better fit as a team and we have the right mentality going into this season. We want to make the playoffs this year, we're hungry for it.”
Romero echoed Pledger's thoughts.
“It doesn't matter what team we play," Romero said. "They lace their shoes up just like we do. They put their jersey on the same way.”
But Romero noted with a young team, a win against Foothills would build up the team and those around it.
“Foothills is going to test our ability and see what we have coming for the season," he said. "We're here to shock people; a win would not only lift the confidence of our young guys, but it would show people where our foundation is at.”
