Alex Lopez loosens up before the Red Wolves took on Nogales at Walden Grove High School earlier this month.
Friday night lights in the greater Tucson area has a far different meaning than in Texas, where high school football is king, often excessive, warping the importance of football games played by teenagers.
So on Friday night I sought a more innocent, throwback setting for Friday night lights in Southern Arizona. I found it where you’d least expect it: at Walden Grove High School, a 7-year-old Class 4A school named for the Walden family, owners and operators of the world’s largest pecan orchard in Sahuarita and Green Valley.
I turned onto Interstate 10 at 5:30 p.m. and the temperature in my car said 98 degrees. Ugh. I drove south to Sahuarita.
Almost magically, when I pulled into the parking lot adjacent to Walden Grove’s football field, the temperature had dropped to 77. Initially, I thought the temperature function in my car was broken.
But it was truly 77 degrees (dropping to 71 at game’s end, a 58-0 victory by Walden Grove over Rio Rico).
More than 250,000 pecan trees over 7,000 acres are the greatest cooling agent, outside of central air conditioning, in Southern Arizona.
But it wasn’t just the weather that made a Friday night at Walden Grove so enjoyable, it was the community approach and its embrace of high school football.
The north-side bleachers at Walden Grove were packed. That’s close to 1,500 people, maybe more. It wasn’t a rivalry game or one with playoff implications (although the Red Wolves are now 4-2). It was family-friendly.
I sat next to a trauma surgeon from Banner-University Medical Center, and a firefighter-paramedic from the Green Valley Fire Department. Neither had a family member in the game. They were at the game because it’s an inviting community activity on a Friday night, especially one in which you don’t sit and sweat profusely. The band was terrific, too. Tickets: $5 for adults.
Walden Grove built a quick 38-0 lead, which was predictable. Rio Rico brought just 21 players to the game; Walden Grove suited up 56.
After a 20-minute delay to attend to an injured Rio Rico player in the first half, the game went quickly. Because of Walden Grove’s large lead, the second half was operated with a running clock and no stoppages.
I was back on Interstate 19 by 9:15 p.m.
Walden Grove athletic director Barry Cromer and his staff have created a remarkably entertaining game-night atmosphere. There was a big trailer selling shaved ice and another selling taquitos. There was also a main concessions compound with an outside hamburger-grilling pavilion. There was a tailgating area. And there was a fun zone with large, inflatable play-areas for kids.
This didn’t just happen. The full-color game program was sponsored with ads from dentists, equipment companies, Mexican restaurants, hardware stores and trophy-makers.
It was small-town football in a big way by Southern Arizona’s newest high school.
I initially planned to write about Tucson’s Friday night lights — small-school edition — two weeks ago. I went to the Empire-Palo Verde game and found it to be a sad experience. The bleachers were almost empty. It was 100 degrees at kickoff and both teams had difficulty fielding even 20 players.
The drain of excitement for the sport at TUSD’s football-challenged schools such as Palo Verde, Catalina, Cholla and Santa Rita, was not a good place to search for Friday night lights.
Finally, amid the vast pecan groves of Sahuarita, I found a little piece of football heaven at Walden Grove.
