Mesa Ridge football hoping offseason pulls team together
The preseason leadership meetings were supposed to be a once-in-a-while event.
Then it was every other week. Next thing senior guard Kaleb Gaster knew, the leaders of the Mesa Ridge football team were meeting in coach Rob Braaten’s classroom every week during lunch, chomping on sandwiches and trying to figure out how to improve on a 5-5 season that left some players wondering what led to a late-season collapse.
Braaten coaches both football and wrestling for Mesa Ridge, and once he rolls up the final wrestling mat of the winter, his social studies room transforms into a coach’s office once a week during the lunch hour.
Team leaders – seven or eight from each class – come together to discuss goals and mottoes for the upcoming year. This spring, one word emerged: Battle.
“‘Battle’ has a little bit of a swagger to it,” Gaster said early Friday morning, smiling in a cut-off T-shirt drenched in sweat. “Yeah, you can compete. You can fight for a spot. But we want to battle.”
After graduating 22 seniors from the 2015 team, including the starting quarterback, running back and top wide receiver, the Grizzlies will need to fill a major offensive void.
Senior quarterback Dylan Mileto began leading after-school impromptu practices. He stressed a tough training regimen – routes, timing, footwork, speed training.
“I feel like other teams portray us as a team that wasn’t as good in the past,” Mileto said. “I think we’re going to shock a lot of people this year with our talent and guys who have been here for the past couple seasons and worked for this.”
Braaten said his goal this season is to be better than the last. The Grizzlies struggled in 2014, finishing with a 2-8 record.
Mesa Ridge fought its way to a .500 record last year, but lost three of its last four.
“I think the base goal is you want to be a playoff team,” Braaten said.
“That just needs to be the goal, whatever number (of wins) that takes.”
As teammates hoisted weights outside the Mesa Ridge weight room, Gaster tried to explain what led to losing three games down the stretch.
“I can’t put the blame on anything explicitly,” he said. “It was a lot of the attitude – guys not wanting to show up to practice. But right now, we have a lot of good things going on.
“Right now, we’re just trying to work on the atmosphere and keep things positive.”
Because of the two-year cycle, Mesa Ridge moved leagues this season and will face last year’s Class 4A semifinalist, Pine Creek, in the regular-season finale.
Both Braaten and Gaster see the new league opponent as a challenge. Over the past three seasons, Pine Creek has amassed a 34-3 record and won two 4A state titles. Playing Pine Creek at the end of the season will be a good test, Braaten said.
“There’s one thing that really needs to stick out for us. I want to show that we have heart this year,” Gaster said. “I want other teams to say, ‘Man, that was one hell of a team we just faced.'”
Senior Dante Johnson runs the ball during the Mesa Ridge High School football team’s practice at the school on Friday, June 3, 2016. Photo by Ryan Jones, The Gazette.
Senior Daniel Valdez intercepts the ball during the Mesa Ridge High School football team’s practice at the school on Friday, June 3, 2016. Photo by Ryan Jones, The Gazette.
The Mesa Ridge High School football team takes a water break before hitting the weigh room at the school on Friday, June 3, 2016. Photo by Ryan Jones, The Gazette.