Prescott Badgers Look To Future After Key Departures

Photo: Prescott quarterback Gio Pugliese attempts a pass to 84 Eli Allen

The Prescott Badgers are coming off a (10-2) season, their best in 30 years, with two road losses, the first at Thunderbird, and a season ending quarterfinal setback at Snowflake.

The Badgers lost a lot of the skilled position players on offense including Player of the Year Uriah Tenette, and a good number of defensive standouts as well. Eli Allen returns at tight end for his junior season after catching 21 passes last season.

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As far as this year is concerned, look for Prescott to develop and grow as the season progresses. They have won seven straight at home going back to the final game in 2023.

The general consensus from the players I spoke with is that this team is more a cohesive unit than a year ago. Junior lineman Blake McGlory said. “The difference between last year and this year is we’re more like family. We are all in as far as being there for each other and this is tight,” as he clasp his hands together to demonstrate.

Gio Pugliese is set to be the signal caller this season. The senior transferred from North Canyon High School in Phoenix, where he was a starter for the Rattlers. “I’m happy to be here and am looking forward to the challenges that this season will give me. Everyone here has been great and supportive and I am ready to go.”

The Badgers had some success on both sides of the ball versus both Peoria and Poston Butte.

Tight end Travis Gates said, “I’m looking forward to my senior season and being able to help our team on both sides of the ball. This is basically a new team and we have the opportunity to show what we can do.”

All the players saw some action during the evening as the temperatures slowly cooled once the sun went down beyond the horizon.

Photo: Braylon Johnson with the carry goes up against Diego Zamora of Peoria

A pair of junior ball carriers that will see plenty of action are Braylon Johnson and Nicholas Phillips. Both players were optimistic about the upcoming season. Johnson said, “I am ready to play and see what we can do this season.” Fullback Phillips said, “We have an all new team this year and I am really excited about that. I really think this team has a lot of chemistry and it should be a lot of fun.”

As far as the schedule goes, the Badgers welcome back Mohave back into the Grand Canyon Region after a five year absence. Gone are Combs, La Joya Community and Vista Grande. Also new on the schedule are Greenway and Youngker.

The season opener will be next Friday at Greenway in Phoenix. Last year the Demons struggled and on paper appear to be much like the Badgers, as they graduated their quarterback, leading rusher, and leading receivers. Greenway went (3-7) overall and (2-3) in the Skyline Region. The last meeting between the two schools was at Greenway in 2022 resulting in a 52-7 Prescott win. Hopefully the most challenging thing for the Badgers that night will be dealing with the Arizona heat.

Thunderbird comes to town for a very tough game two. The Titans got some home cooking from the officials to turn the tide early last season and ended up winning easily 36-14. The team a year ago lost to Mica Mountain in the quarterfinals, finishing (10-2) overall, along with a second place finish behind Yuma Catholic at (4-1) in the West Valley Region. Gone are their starting quarterback and leading rusher, but keep an eye out for standout Daryl Little. The Titans are (28-6) over the last three seasons, losing in the quarterfinals each season. They should be (2-0) when they make the trip to Prescott after home games versus Westview and Moon Valley.

Game three brings Northwest Christian here for what could be another barn burner. It was the game of the season as the Badgers won a wild 42-41 battle. The Crusaders rolled the dice and opted to go for two points and the win, but the Badger defense strung the runner out eventually pushing him out of bounds to preserve the victory.

Northwest Christian finished (7-4) overall, (3-2) that was good enough for third place in the West Valley Region. The Crusaders were upset by Walden Grove in the first round of the playoffs. They return a talented starting quarterback in Laki Wallwork, who threw for 2781 yards with 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Leading rusher Nathan Johannes also returns.

A trip to Kingman to face the Lee Williams Volunteers is on for week four, which is returning to the scene of the “crime”, so to speak. It was two years ago that the Badgers lost 36-33 there in one of the worst officiating games I have ever witnessed. If you were there, you know exactly what I mean. Last year Prescott overcame a slow start and won 28-7 at home. The Volunteers were just (2-8) last season and (1-4) in the Grand Canyon Region. Lee Williams returns their starting quarterback Morgan Quinn, both running backs along with a receiver that will give the Volunteers a good chance at a better season.

The Mingus Marauders comes to Prescott on September 26. The Marauders have not had a winning season since 2018 when they reached the quarterfinals and finished (9-3). They have since been the doormat of the Grand Canyon Region and this season looks to be equally challenging. Last year, the Badgers won 40-0 in Cottonwood. Prescott has won six in a row in the series.

The Badgers welcome back Mohave on their schedule with a trip to Bullhead City on October 3^rd. The Thunderbirds made the playoffs and went (8-3) last season in a lower division. Mohave moved down to 3A the previous four seasons, going (31-13) over that stretch including a semifinals loss just two years ago.

A real battle will take place in Flagstaff on October 10 with another road trip to face the Coconino Panthers. The Panthers went (6-5) last season, (3-2) in the GCR, and gave the Badgers all they could handle last season as Prescott won 35-28. The Panthers, like Prescott will start the year with new skilled position players as well.

Flagstaff went (6-4) last season, (2-3) in the GCR, missing out on a playoff berth thanks to a season finale loss to their rival Coconino. The Eagles will make the trip to Prescott on October 17 with what could be their best team in years. Four year starting quarterback Chase Brown has shown improvement each year for the Eagles. The big question is can the Flagstaff offensive line protect Brown and give him a chance to throw the ball. This has been a problem in the past.

An October trip to the West Valley should be quite comfortable for the Badgers and they travel to play the Youngker Roughriders. Last year, Youngker finished in third place of the Skyline Region at (3-2), and (5-5) overall. The last time the two teams met was 2014 in Prescott with the Badgers winning 56-3. Prescott won the previous year at Youngker 45-12.

The regular season finale will be on a Thursday when the Bradshaw Mountain Bears make the short trip over to Prescott High School for the biggest game of the season. The Bears finished second in the Grand Canyon Region after the 27-17 loss to the Badgers. A season ending playoff loss at Thunderbird finished the Bears off at (7-4).

The Badgers lead the series 24-9 and snapped a two game losing streak to Bradshaw Mountain last season.

This rivalry game always brings out the emotion and energy no matter what the teams’ records are, but this game could and should have playoff implications that go beyond local bragging rights and the Esse Quam Videri 19 Cup trophy.

GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS 2024

School W-L W-L

PRESCOTT (6) 5-0 10-2

Bradshaw Mountain (12) 4-1 7-4

Coconino (13) 3-2 6-4

Flagstaff 2-3 6-4

Lee Williams 1-4 2-8

Mingus 0-5 1-9

(x)-Final regular season ranking

PRESCOTT BADGERS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

August 29 at Greenway

September 5 THUNDERBIRD