The Queen Creek High School football team is rounding out its off-season preparations ahead of its opening game against San Joaquin Memorial in California.
Queen Creek plays in the 6A conference against some of the largest schools in the area. Last season the team went 8-2 in the regular season, finishing first in its region, before falling to eventual state runners-up Chandler High School in the first round of playoffs.
They open the season Sept. 3 in Moorpark, Calif. against one of California’s top teams, San Joaquin Memorial out of Fresno. Last season San Joaquin went 10-1, making California’s division one playoffs and earning a state top-35 ranking on MaxPreps.
“We’ll have our hands full. They’ll have played a couple of games before us, so we're going to have to be mentally dialed in and mature,” Queen Creek’s head coach Travis Schureman said. “It's just a great, great opportunity for our community and our kids to be able to go and showcase all their hard work and what they've done, out of state. It's a great opponent, it's a great atmosphere and so we're just grateful that we've been given this opportunity to try to go and see how we can do against an out-of-state team.”
Along with all the preseason preparation, facing tough opponents early on can often be a great way for coaches to learn about their team before the season is in full swing. After the team’s opener in California, it’ll face off against the defending Open Division State Champions in Saguaro High School, a two-game stretch in which Schureman expects to find out a lot about his team.
“It's good to play high-quality opponents because you know who you are, right? It lets you know right away what you need to work on and what are the things you need to do,” Schureman said. “So, week one and two we'll know exactly who we are and where we stand and to be a great team, you have to play those teams at some point. So, we might as well play them and see what happens.”
While the start of the season won’t be easy, the team can look back on last season as a model. They started the season 6-0, winning four of those games by over 10 points. Now, with a full off season of preparation behind them, the team is hoping it can replicate last year’s hot start.
Similar to the test of the tough opening games, the preseason is an opportunity for a coach to learn about the team and for players to learn about each other, Schureman said.
“Going into spring and then summertime, it's just crucial for the kids to get to know each other and to find those missing pieces that, you know, have left and kids have graduated…It's crucial to find out, when you get the pads on, who’s going to step up and who's going to be a guy. Then who just, you know, wants to be out there, to be out there,” Schureman said. “I think you find out, A, if you are a good team and how your teams bond together. And then you find out about what kind of athletes you have as well.”
Many of the players have been on the team for all four years of high school, which means by the time players are juniors and seniors on varsity, they already know the expectations and what it will take to win. Schureman said longtime players have a major role in holding teammates accountable and teaching younger teammates.
While Queen Creek has a lot of veteran experience on the roster, there are some positions up for grabs ahead of this season. Two key positions, running back and quarterback, will both have a new face.
“We lost our running back and our quarterback who were two big parts of what we did last year. They were difference makers, so we'll have to find a way to replace those two guys because they were good. But we have a great quarterback battle going on right now and so it'll be fun to see kind of where that plays out when it's all said and done,” Schureman said. “We'll have some new guys up front, but we have kids who are working hard and trying to do the right things, so, we'll know here in about three weeks when we get to put some pads on and kind of see who rises to that occasion and who doesn't.”
That all starts with the mentality of the players, something that extends off the field. Like all teams, Queen Creek’s goal this year is to make playoffs and then a State Championship run, Schureman said, but more than the wins and losses the coaches are focused on developing players into leaders off the field just as much as on.
“At the end of the day, we want our kids to play at a high level on every play. We want students to work hard in the classroom and to be respected in the community for the things they do on and off the field. Our goal is always playoffs and to make a deep run…but on top of all those things, we want to make sure that if a teacher knows you're a Queen Creek kid, that you're someone who's respected, you're doing the right things. You're a leader in the classroom,” Schureman said. “And so, if those things happen throughout the year and we win a few football games, that's great as well…I'm a firm believer if you do all the right things, what's supposed to happen, will happen.”
The many hours and months of preparation all lead up to Queen Creek’s opening game, out of state, against San Joaquin Memorial on Sept. 3. Fans can catch the team’s first home game the following week, Sept. 9 against defending State Champions, Saguaro.
