Nogales' Vince Villanucci heads our introduction to the fresh faces this season. The Ohio native is the eighth coaching hire among Southern Arizona's 25 big high schools since last season. He's also the only one who played in the NFL and was once one of the top powerlifters in the world. Turn the page to meet the other seven men.
There is a reason the Nogales football team listens when coach Vince Villanucci speaks.
"He's been there before," says senior quarterback Miguel Maldonado.
"I look up to him because I want to get there one day," says receiver Eddie Lopez.
Villanucci, who became the Apaches' coach last month when James Martinez abruptly left town, says the same thing: "They know I've been there."
"There" is the NFL, where Villanucci, 43, spent a few unforgettable months during the fall of 1987. "There" is Lambeau Field, the most sacred venue in pro football and home of the Green Bay Packers.
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Villanucci is the only local 4A or 5A coach to have played in the NFL.
But when the Ohio native talks about his playing days, he manages to link the purpose of it all to his two head coaching stops on an Indian reservation in Sells and, now, a town on the United States-Mexico border.
"I was with Green Bay for about six weeks, and then after a game against Minnesota I got released," says Villanucci, who was an all-conference defensive end at Bowling Green State. "Once that happened I knew I wanted to be a coach."
And not because his playing days were over and he was out of work. The Packers' coach that year was Forrest Gregg, an NFL Hall of Famer whom the legendary Vince Lombardi called "the finest player I ever coached."
Gregg learned from Lombardi the legend, and Villanucci absorbed everything he could in the short time he played under Gregg.
"It was one of the best experiences of my life," Villanucci says now. "He was one of the best motivators I've ever seen. He would say, 'Let's go men!' and everyone's hair stood up. It was a biblical experience. He was a big reason why I became a coach."
Villanucci was officially credited with playing two games, and was later released. He was a high school assistant coach in Cleveland and, along the way, became one of the top 10 powerlifters in the world.
His personal-record lift is 865 pounds — roughly the weight of four Nogales offensive linemen.
But he never lost touch with coaching. After serving as an assitant in New Mexico and in the Phoenix area, he landed at Class 2A Sells Baboquivari and went 13-5 in 1999 and 2000. Since going to Nogales in 2001, he has groomed wrestlers into state champions and gained unwavering respect from his football players in a few short weeks.
A confident, "been there, done that" demeanor exudes from Villanucci during conversation. When asked which offensive play he likes to run most, he rattles off five or six, each one followed with the phrase, "This one works awesome, too."
Apparently, it's the truth in Nogales these days.
"Every play he tells us to run, it works perfectly," says Lopez, a senior. "If he sees something in the defense and tells us to run a pass pattern, it's wide open. He says, 'Run this,' and we know it's going to work. He knows his stuff. It's nice having him around."
Vince Villanucci, Nogales
• Age: 43
• Previous gig: Nogales assistant, 2005-06
• Career record: 13-5 Birthplace: Lorain, Ohio
• Favorite T-shirt slogan: "I don't like fancy stuff like that. If I had one, it would be, 'Go to practice and work hard.' "
• Bread-and-butter play: "Running the Iso right at the defense."
• Coaching inspiration: Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher (Steelers)
• Stoops or Tomey: "I definitely like Stoops. He's got a fire in him and his teams are well organized."
• Nightly sleep time: "Six hours on a good night."
• If I weren't a coach, I'd be … : "out fishing in a walleye tournament on Lake Erie."
• On the important stuff: "The only goals I have are getting my kids at practice, getting them cleared to play, on time and in shape. Work hard, and good things will happen."
