In its inaugural season, Desert Christian didn’t look like a new football program in its first state playoff game last week.
Except in one area, that is: the Eagles’ celebratory water jug dump on the coach needs work.
After their 56-16 win over Williams in the first round of the 1A playoffs on Friday, some Eagles tried to douse their head coach Jason McKibben. They missed.
Not much else went wrong Friday, though, and plenty has gone right so far in this Desert Christian kickoff campaign.
The Eagles won their first-ever game, against Phoenix Desert Heights Prep, on Aug. 30; now they’re in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
“It’s so surreal because I’ve been in this school for four years and when we were talking about a football team, the whole talk was ‘hey, I’m not joining that team.’ ‘I don’t wanna get squished.’ ‘I don’t wanna get blown up.’ ‘I don’t wanna get hurt.’ ‘I don’t wanna go 0-7.’” said DC senior fullback Tony Barcelo. “We just put our whole hearts onto this field. Props to the coach, glory all to God, and we just work through all of it and we put up the biggest upsets ever.
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Head coach Jason McKibben gathers the Eagles for a last huddle before ending the day’s practice at Desert Christian High School on Sept. 4. The Eagles are playing their first season of competitive football, in the eight-man 1A-Independent class.
“You know, we came in first game (against) Desert Heights and we put the score on them,” he added. “No one expected that from us, let alone did they expect us to make it to state playoffs. And, now, we win our first state playoff game against a team, Williams, who’s already had, what, like two state (championship) wins? It’s just crazy.”
Actually, Williams has four state titles and finished runner-up four times, though this year, the Vikings were the nine seed, and Desert Christian is eighth.
“Coach Jeff (Brownlee) is a great coach and I was honored to play them in the first round, me being a rookie and him being a historic Arizona football coach.” McKibben said. “I love that we got to match up with them and got to play with them.”
Barcelo had touchdown runs of 13 and 52 yards against Williams. Meanwhile, DC junior quarterback/strong safety/linebacker Cooper Payne had touchdown runs of 7 and 55 yards, as well as passing touchdowns of 13 yards and 38 yards. He also had a 52-yard scoop-and-score.
Friday’s win was at the Eagles’ new stadium. DC started the season playing on a makeshift field at its eighth-grade-and-under campus.
Starting quarterback Cooper Payne moves through the lines of his teammates as they get warmed up for a practice session at Desert Christian High School on Sept. 4. Payne was dealing with an ankle sprain suffered in the Eagles’ opener on Aug. 30, but he’s been back in a big way as the season wore on. In DC’s playoff opener, he had two rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, and a long scoop-and-score on defense.
“We played on so many different fields. Just having coaches to believe in us, having people in the back to believe us, putting all the money and time to help us,” Payne said, “(it’s) just amazing to be on this team and the guys are just work hard and stick to it.”
DC is 6-3, though the Eagles’ first loss was due to a forfeit due to injuries.
After the Williams win, McKibben gave the game ball to Dick Luebke.
“He was our headmaster before this and this whole football team was kind of his vision,” McKibben said. “He wanted to put this together. Desert Christian has been to school for 30, 40 years and he wanted to make sure they had a football team before he retired and so he played probably the most significant role in making this happen — making us get out here and being able to win our first playoff game.”
The Eagles had some players who were on freshman or JV teams at Sabino and Salpointe Catholic but mainly the roster is new to tackle high school football.
Payne thought the Eagles had maybe fewer than 10 guys that had played tackle football. He had before high school but Barcelo was new to it.
“No, I never played (laughs),” Barcelo said. “I’m actually not a big sports guy and they said ‘hey, we’re gonna put you at running back’ and so it’s been a struggle because I’m like a blind running back. I don’t really see gaps too well, so it’s making those adjustments.
“It’s a lot of the guys first time playing tackle,” Barcelo said. “It’s awesome.”
On Friday, Desert Christian travels to defending state champion Winkelman Hayden (9-0), the state’s No. 1 Class 1A team. The Lobos had a bye in the first round.
“Six-and-three, that’s a good start,” McKibben said when asked how he thought the season went so far. “You know, I think the expectations have been exceeded already — everything else is icing on the cake.
“But we’re gonna go out to this team that we’re supposed to lose to and we’re gonna play our hearts out and we’re gonna see what we can do.”
Head coach Jason McKibben works on throwing technique with one of the quarterbacks during a practice session at Desert Christian High School on Sept. 44. The Eagles are playing their first season of competitive football, in the eight-man 1A-Independent class.
The Desert Christian High School football team poses for a picture after winning the first game played in school history. The Eagles defeated Desert Heights Prep 42-20 on Aug. 30.
Players for Tucson’s Desert Christian High School (in blue) and Glendale’s Desert Heights Prep (in white) gather with the officials for pregame instructions and the coin toss before their game on Aug. 30.
Defensive end Reed Olsen eyes the quarterback while the team runs through some plays during a practice session at Desert Christian High School on Sept. 4. The Eagles are playing their first season of competitive football, in the eight-man 1A-Independent class.
Linebacker Brock Payne and the Eagles line up and hone their tackling techniques during the early going of a practice session at Desert Christian High School on Sept. 4
Recover Tyson Dobbins gets some hands-on help on his grip while the team fine-tunes their tackling during a practice session at Desert Christian High school, Tucson, Ariz., September 4, 2024. The Eagles are playing their first season of competitive football, in the eight-man 1A-Independent class.
Team chaplain JD Reyes uses linebacker/running back Josh Medina for a target while teaching tackling technique during a practice session at Desert Christian High School on Sept. 4. The Eagles are playing their first season of competitive football, in the eight-man 1A-Independent class.
