Lakeside Blue Ridge at Sahuarita marks the official start of the 4th Annual Coaches for Charity Kickoff Classic this Friday.  Tucson High at Sahuaro and Nogales at Canyon del Oro round out the event next Thursday.

The head coaches and selected players of five of the teams made themselves available at a press conference held Wednesday afternoon at the Doubletree Hotel in Tucson and Blue Ridge coach Jake Belshe made himself available via Skype along with his quarterback Spencer Hall and running back Nathan Miles.

Belshe is taking over for Paul Moro who retired after building power program that included 318 victories and 13 state championships in his 30 years with the Yellow Jackets.

Moro blanked Sahuarita 21-0 at home last fall and eventually finished 12-2 and a Division IV title. This time, however, Blue Ridge will have to make the trip down to Sahuarita.

Blue Ridge will travel early Friday morning according to Belshe.

"We are going to try to treat this game like any other game," explained Belshe. "We will be going one step at a time and are excited about traveling down to Tucson for the 'Coaches for Charity' game. It's an excellent opportunity to play a great team like Sahuarita."

Hall sees himself playing baseball at the next level but still wants to build upon the legacy he helped build at Blue Ridge and Miles is working to help the "younger guys" on the team experience what he has experienced.

Sahuarita head coach David Rodriguez brought along 6-foot-4 senior lineman Eugene Santa Cruz to meet the media.  Santa Cruz has already been offered by Pima but Arizona State is more than interested in the huge interior lineman.

"Family."

That's how Santa Cruz described Sahuarita. "They are my brothers before practice, during practice and after," explained Santa Cruz. "We believe in each other."

Santa Cruz is part of the first group of seniors brought together by Rodriguez several years ago and they have made a name for themselves.

For more info on Coaches for Charity please visit coachesforcharity.org

 

Sahuarita head coach David Rodriguez. (Andy Morales)