Sports360AZ
By Kennedy Wilkerson
Not many teams find themselves competing in a state title game, but for the third-straight year, the top-ranked Thatcher Eagles will compete for the 2A State Football Championship.
The work put in every week, all comes down to one to one final Friday night under the lights.
“No one is going to hand a title to us,” head coach Ramon Morales said. “It is something our guys know they will have to earn.”
Winning back-to-back titles isn’t easy, and going for a third is even more rare. But the Thatcher Eagles have confidence in the foundation they have laid to build a championship season on.
“We are very aware that it is hard to do. In order to accomplish it, we try to keep it one week at a time.”
That very foundation has been built around their senior veteran leadership and experience.
“Our seniors have grown up playing together since youth football and that has been a big contributor to their success the past few years,” Morales said.
The group of athletes have stuck together throughout the years, creating an unmistakable bond. A bond that has created enormous success in a small, rural Arizona High School.
“The biggest takeaway from this season is knowing these boys have my back throughout my life and I will be there for them too,” Senior Quinton Turley said.
The group of 21 seniors will take the field one last time together when Thatcher faces the third ranked Round Valley Elks, Friday afternoon at Campo Verde High School in the 2A State Championship.
“Only the best teams get to play in the biggest games. We feel like we have earned the right to be here, but we know we will have to execute our best football against a really good opponent who is well coached,” Morales said.
