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The Superior football team enters the 2016 season as a definite state title contender.
Last year’s loss in the semifinals to Valley Union is still fresh in the mind of some players, especially the seniors who are hoping their final season playing together is the most memorable one.
Those seniors knew what they had to do in the offseason to reach the ultimate goal this year.
“(The loss) pushed us even harder to advance (further),” said senior Edgar Galindo, one of the Panthers’ four captains. “In order for us to get stronger we had to go to the weight room and that’s what we did all summer.”
Some players, including quarterback and Player of the Year candidate Nicolaus Cruz, have added as much as 20 pounds to their frames.
“(Adding the weight) is something I always should have done, honestly,” Cruz told the Superior Sun. “This year I was told, especially by my dad, that I needed to put some weight on. I feel a lot better, a lot stronger, a lot faster and hopefully it helps me on the field.”
After last year’s defeat, Superior head coach Ryan Palmer said the most important thing his team could do to get over the hump was to get stronger. He knows his team is as talented as any, but he felt it needed more strength to compete with teams like top-ranked Bagdad. The players obviously agreed and showed up in great numbers in the weight room.
“That is one of the first places a state championship is won,” Cruz said.
Increased strength and experience has Palmer optimistic that his team can accomplish its championship goal this season.
“Our biggest improvement is the core group of kids that made up a lot of our skill positions last year are all back and better,” said Palmer, the reigning Coach of the Year. “They worked really hard in the offseason. They put on about 20 pounds each, I think, so anytime a kid is working that hard, and especially when you get a group of kids like that working hard together, you can’t help but be optimistic about what they’re going to be able to achieve this year.”
About a third of the Panthers’ roster is made up of seniors, most of who, if not all, started playing football together in elementary school. Even at that young age they aspired to be state champions and they know this year represents their last and perhaps best chance to make it happen.
“We’ve been trying to win a state championship since our freshman year,” Galindo said. “We’ve been talking about this since we were little kids.”
“Now it’s time to put up or shut up.”
The Panthers’ start what they hope is a special season this Friday, Aug. 26, when they host North Phoenix Prep Academy in their home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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