YUMA, AZ – You can refer to Kofa’s 2-0 record to start their 2016 campaign as a number of things. Just don’t call it a surprise.
Asked how he would describe his team’s run to the early ranks of the undefeated, Kings head coach Ben Franz chose the word “exciting.”
“It’s been a wild ride,” he continued. “It’s only two weeks, but to see these guys have the success that they’re having and to be able to celebrate in the locker room and up there on the field with them afterwards, it’s an unreal situation for these guys.”
The Kings are coming off a winless campaign a year ago, but they had a large contingent of seniors return and have been undergoing a “culture change” for the better part of six months. According to Franz and several players, it begins with not dwelling on the past.
“One of the first things we made a point of saying was, ‘We aren’t going to bring up last year,’” Franz said.
And so far they have allowed their play to wipe away the memory of last season. They snapped a 14-game losing streak with a week zero win over Trevor Browne, and stretched their record to two wins and no losses with a 10-7 victory over Central last week.
“Last year was a rough season,” said Kofa guard Jose Esparza, a senior. “We have improved a lot and that’s what I’m happy about. Hopefully, we keep it up.”
To do so, the Kings will have to pass another early season test: their first road game.
They travel Friday to Antelope High in Welton, where the Kings, coincidentally, last won on the road (28-14 on Sept. 25, 2014). Until two weeks ago, they hadn’t won a game since.
The Rams have opened the year 0-2 and have allowed 96 points in their first two contests. Still, there are areas that concern Franz.
“Their quarterback does a decent job,” Franz said. “Coach White, our defensive coordinator, in our meeting on Monday, identified two running backs and receiver that they’ve got. The thing that we are worried about stopping them is the outside run.
“They like to run a lot of swing passes, a lot of quick screens to the outside. They have success when they get their running backs outside of the tackle box.”
For the first time, in a long time, Kofa has the ability to win by merely taking care of business themselves.
Throughout the week they have been practicing on the opposite side of the field, switching up position groups, and doing anything they can to remove players from a comfort zone after two-straight weeks at home. More than anything, though, it will come down to a defense that has allowed just seven points over the first eight quarters of the season and has recorded nine tackles for loss.
David Castaneda, who doubles as one of the team’s top ground gainers on offense, Esteban Ledezma, Gabriel Castaneda (David’s brother), and Isaac Marquez have proved a formidable linebacking quartet. But they’re getting help from all over the field, including guys like Jesus Licona and Isaiah Lopez on the edge.
“They’re playing as a team,” Franz said. “We don’t have guys out there playing for stats. We have guys playing out there to win games. And that’s huge.
“They are just playing team football. There’s not one player out there where we are like, ‘We’re building the team on this guy.’ We’re not. There’s a group of men that have decided, ‘This is what we are going to do.’ And we’re doing it.”
If they keep doing it, the Kings may just wind up 3-0 for the first time in, perhaps, a surprisingly long time.
