SEDONA — It’s been five years since the Sedona-Oak Creek School District governing board voted unanimously to shutter the football program at Sedona Red Rock High School but this fall, local coaches, community members and students are attempting to revive the program.

The high school has lost at least a third of its enrollment since the board cut the program. What was regularly a 2A or 3A athletic program with 450-plus students enrolled has now dwindled into the low 300s due to various reasons. Mostly, the Airbnb crowd has decimated the city’s rentable housing market, causing working families, and their children, to leave in droves.

With a full slate of games scheduled in the 1A conference, eight-man football in Sedona officially kicks off the season Friday at Cicero Prep.

Head coach Tony Hauserman spoke to AzPreps365.com about the immediate challenges reviving this program has presented the school.

“We had to start from scratch with acquiring new equipment, recruit coaches and players, paint the field for eight-man, and start a summer weight-lifting program,” said Hauserman, who used to be an assistant coach in the program and helped John Bradshaw, his current defensive coordinator, build the youth football program in Sedona years ago.

Hauserman said the school and the district as a whole has been “very supportive,” and have done most of the heavy lifting to get his team to this point … preseason practices.

The challenges this preseason, however, have been an entirely different concern.

For starters, not a single coach on staff has ever led a team that played eight-man football before.

“I’m sure we have a learning curve for us to catch up,” Hauserman said.

Second, player participation hasn’t exactly been what Hauserman had hoped for, with 16 players out for football this fall, three of which are freshmen, two are injured and at least two others still working on getting their 10 practices in before being able to practice in full pads.

But these challenges haven’t deterred Hauserman, his staff, or the kids, one bit.

“We are very excited about the kids we do have. Our team leaders Keldon Caine, Steel Sturgen, Vincent Smith and Miguel Villelagas are shining examples of what high school athletes should embody,” Hauserman said. “All of them are dedicated, of high moral character, and are developing into excellent football players. I am proud to coach this fine group of athletes.”

In speaking with the Sedona Red Rock News on a Facebook video Aug. 16, Sedona-Oak Creek Unified School District Superintendent Tom Swaninger said he was “unbelievable excited” to have football back in Sedona.

“Friday night lights! … A good crowd in the stands. Athletes on the field. Coaches doing their thing. I think it’s great for our student athletes, our student and our community,” Swaninger said. “It’s tough to have a real, legitimate high school, without football, and we have that now.”

The Scorpions (0-0, 0-0 1A North) finished 2-8 in their last season under the lights in 2019 before the SOCSD Governing Board terminated the program in May 2020.

Hauserman said his group is starting with the basics.

“Our expectations are to learn how to play tackle football well enough to be able to compete in our first year. To build our program and have everyone who doesn’t graduate, come back and play next year with experience,” Hauserman said, adding that he can’t say enough good things about the support they’ve received.

“This is really exciting to be a part of rebuilding this program and giving our kids the chance to play high school football.”

Kickoff on Friday at Cicero is set for 7 p.m. The Scorpions first home game since a 37-8 loss to Antelope on Nov. 1, 2019, will be against 2024 state finalist Bagdad on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.