Dylan Wolfswinkel is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesa High School for AZPreps365.com

MESA, Ariz. — The “Carry On” tradition at Mesa High is more than just two words for the school and the athletic department.

“It’s a great reminder that even when times are hard, all you can do is carry on and do the best you can,” Mesa football player Joe Haynie said. 

The tradition started back in 1932, when star quarterback Jiro “Zedo” Ishikawa died the day before a big game against Gilbert High. Before he died, he had one final message to his teammates and coaches and it was to “carry on.” 

Little did Ishikawa know that Mesa would use his words as inspiration and a motto to this day.

For Brian Ishikawa, Jiro’s relative, the tradition isn’t just words, it’s a representation of family being honored years after his passing.

“We have a relative that was 17 years old who died tragically in an accident, but he's remembered years later,” Brian Ishikawa said.

Brian has learned about his relative through old yearbooks and articles that the family has kept over the years. His legacy has been more than just his death. For his family, it’s about the type of person he was.

“He was friendly to everyone,” Brian said. “He would help people out with their studies and that type of thing.”

The tradition has been kept beyond his family though, as it has been passed through generations of students and faculty at Mesa.

“It's just neat that a high school has two words that basically encompasses what that school is all about,” Brian said.

Mesa has continued this tradition through school assemblies, athletic events and the school’s fight song. Athletic director Jack Francis has ensured that incoming students learn about “Carry On.”

After athletic events, the team and students come together to sing “Carry On,” their fight song. 

Francis has worked at multiple high schools and says that Mesa is the first school that feels like a community.

“Coming here was different,” Francis said. “The way the community reacts to things we do is a little bit different.”

One of the ways the community is different is through the annual cemetery cleanup.

All of the athletic department and some clubs at Mesa all come together the weekend before the first football game to help clean the cemetery that Jiro rests in. Francis said that they load multiple school buses of students in the early morning for the endeavor.

At the end of the cleanup, Brian and his twin brother share their words of wisdom. They tell the students what Jiro meant to the community and how he would tackle adversity.

Brian says that seeing the students partake in the cleanup reminds them that Jiro isn’t just inspiring him and his family; he’s inspiring and reaching to people who have never met him.

“Carry On” has remained a way of life to the athletes at Mesa, especially this past offseason with the coaching change the football team experienced.

Francis recalled this moment when the team had uncertainty about going in a new direction of leadership at the head coaching position. With the sudden change from Jeremy Hathcock to Ryan Felker, the team had to adjust quickly.

The team was hesitant, but they knew that prior teams at Mesa had gone through worse versions of adversity, so they carried on.

“Carry on isn't when it's easy,” Francis said. “Carry on when things kind of suck, and we're gonna have to kind of get through this together.”

For Haynie and his teammates, they use “Carry On” as a way to persevere throughout the season as they continue to reach for their goals.

A message left behind by a 17-year-old football player has grown into a defining principle at Mesa, one that will continue to live on.

Brian hopes that future students at Mesa will continue to use Jiro’s message as inspiration and to remember the meaning behind the two words, especially when they are going through a tough point in their lives.

“Everyone in their life is going to face tragedy or they're going to face defeat, and you just have to remember to persevere, to stay strong, to keep your head up, and get up,” Brian said.