Longtime MV football coach Bryan Begay earns 100th victory

WINDOW ROCK – A pass deflection late in the contest earned Bryan Begay, the head football coach at Monument Valley, his 100th career victory on Friday night.

The Mustangs (2-3) defeated the Kingman Bulldogs (3-3) in a scintillating finish as MV got the go-ahead score from junior Jayden Tsosie with under two minutes left.

Tsosie completed a successful jet sweep that earned the Mustangs a hard-fought 20-16 victory in Kayenta as the football team honored all veterans, including the Navajo Code Talkers.

“We had Armed Forces Night and there was a big crowd and that played a big factor in the win,” said Begay, who has a career record of 100-77. “I always tell the kids it’s always hard to win when you’re the visiting team. It’s the fans, the environment and that eerily feeling because our kids bring a different energy when it comes to home.”

Last year the Mustangs commemorated Breast Cancer Awareness Night. For this year recognition, Begay sat down with Monument Valley athletic director Steven Young, and they came up with honoring the Armed Forces as the MV players donned special made jerseys designed by David Dahlke on Friday night.

“The Navajo Code Talkers played a significant role of why we’re here today and why we have our freedoms,” Begay said. “We wanted to honor them and so we pieced together the uniforms.”

At halftime, four families of the late Samuel Tom Holiday, King Paul Mike, Paul A. Parrish and Richard B. Singer Sr. were honored.

After that special presentation, MV broke a scoreless tie with senior Isaiah Kescoli scoring from four yards out for a 6-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, MV quarterback Angelo Tso threw a 12-yard pass to senior wide receiver Preston Evans. A successful two-point conversion from senior Trent Tall earned the Mustangs a 14-0 lead heading into the fourth.

The Bulldogs, however, erased that deficit as Kingman scored a pair of touchdowns in the early going of the fourth. The visiting team also tacked on the two-point conversions that gave them a 16-14 cushion.

“We gave them a short field twice, and that was how they scored,” Begay said.

The Mustangs got one of those TDs back when Tsosie found the end zone with the go-ahead score with under two minutes left, which was set up with a nifty pass from Tso to Drake Chee Barnell.

Kingman had one last go, but the Bulldogs were denied as MV batted the ball awhile while the visiting team was trying to complete a fourth down conversion.

“When our kid deflected that pass and the ball hit the ground that was a surreal moment for me,” Begay said. “I mean, we just got our 100th victory as a staff. You know, my assistant coaches, Herb Barnes and Jason Franklin, have been with me since Day One.

“When we took over this program 18 years ago we rebranded it and we’ve never looked back,” Begay added. “We’ve had multiple region titles, multiple playoff appearances and two undefeated (regular) seasons. We built a team that is very well respected on the Navajo reservation and throughout the state of Arizona.”

The longtime MV coach also credited his other coaching staff, who played under him in years past. His assistants include Levaughn Hunt, Andrew Cutler, Daniel Widmaier and Fred Tagoai.

“My success is their success,” Begay said. “I also have to thank my players. They stuck with us because they knew we were on the right path. A lot of it has to do with rebranding the program.

“We basically used an old philosophy, hózhó, which is based off the teaching from head coach Ed Tano,” he added. “It taught the boys to play for their school, themselves and for each other.”

Looking back at his career, Begay is happy that the Kayenta Unified School District took a chance on him when he was hired 21 years ago. He started as the middle school physical education teacher, and he coached the JV football program for one season.

The following year Begay moved up to coach at the high school level as he worked his way up heading the JV program before he was named the head coach before the start of the 2006 season.

“It basically took 18 years to accomplish this,” Begay said of his milestone. “We worked our tails off to get here and I want to thank my family, my loved ones, the amazing Mustang fans and all my football players from the past, present and future.”

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