New Kirtland Central football coach looking to build team into contenders

KIRTLAND

Travis Clary has been around long enough to know how organizational changes affect people.

As the new head coach at Kirtland Central High, Clary wondered what kind of response he would get in taking over the Bronco football program.

“The one thing I like about these kids is they’re willing to get out there and put in the work,” he said of the squad of 59 players. “You know, I’ve been around programs to where they’re hesitant when a new coach comes in, whether it’s a positions coach, a coordinator, or a head coach.

“These boys have really jumped into what we’re teaching them,” he added. “They’re willing to trust us as a coaching staff and do what’s asked of them.”

Clary enters his first year as a head coach, but he’s learned from the best. Last year, he assisted Jeff Dalton at Farmington High with the Scorps reaching the Class 5A state semifinal game.

He started his coaching career with Farmington in 2006 and stayed there for 11 seasons, training under Randy Jackson, Gary Bradley, and Dalton.

In 2018, he assisted Greg Jenks at Kirtland Central for three seasons before he assisted Dalton for one more year.

“Don Lorett and Randy Jackson got me into coaching,” Clary said. “Don was a Farmington High baseball coach and AD. Don was influential in getting me to give coaching a try. I’m glad he did because I found something I love.”

Clary inherits a program that made the 4A state playoffs and a team that finished second to Bloomfield in District 1-4A.

That team finished the year at 5-6 overall behind the play of 2022 KC graduate Zakk Thomas, who rushed for 1,537 yards on 184 carries and 17 touchdowns.

“Of course, he was a big loss,” Clary said of Thomas. “But we do have some kids that are rising up. Tyler Joe has been really good stepping in at cornerback. We expect some big things from him.

“We’ve had several baseball, and basketball players come out and doing really well at the skills positions. They’re stepping in those positions.”

Clary also cites players like corner Diovanni Pinto, quarterback Tyler Joe and running backs Byrle Matthews and Demusico Edsitty as top prospects.

“Diovanni is our corner, and he’s doing very well as our secondary,” Clary said. “He’s really coming to his own in learning the defense in terms of coverage.

As for Joe, the KC coach said his projected quarterback is picking up the offense by leaps and bounds.

“Our running backs are doing well too,” he said of Matthews and Edsitty. “They had some success against our defense in practice. As a defensive-minded coach, that’s not the funniest thing, but they are doing very well. They’re some of our hardest working guys on the team.”

Clary is also excited to see senior kicker Kyler Joe in action.

“The other day last week, and we were working on some kickoffs,” he said. “He was kicking from the opposite 30-yard line into the end zone, so that’s over 70 yards.

“That is always nice when you’re the special team’s coach, knowing you have a kicker that has that kind of a leg.”

Like his roots, Clary said the KC squad would employ an air-raid approach, a system he learned from Dalton at Farmington High.

“You’re gonna see some similarities with that,” he said. “You know, we’re going to be spreading it out, passing the ball around just like Farmington has.

As the defensive coordinator, Clary said there are going to be some similarities with what he ran at Farmington High regarding defensive fronts and coverage.

With nearby Shiprock opting to go independent, the District 1-4A will feature four teams this year, with Aztec, Bloomfield, Gallup, and KC being in the mix.

“Both Aztec and Bloomfield are going to always be well coached,” Clary said. “You know, both staffs do really well of getting their kids prepared. And their kids have bought into their programs.”

Clary said the district race is going to be interesting.

“It’s gonna be fun to watch to see how all that develops,” he said. “It’s going to come down to who’s the most prepared, who is willing to go that extra mile to get the job done.”

The Broncos open the season at Silver on Aug. 19, a team they lost to during the 2022 state playoffs by a 40-9 count in the opening round.

Clary said that game would give his squad a clear picture of where they stand.

“It’ll be good,” the KC coach said. “You know, Silver has been a really solid contending team the last several years. They do well in the playoffs, and to come out the first game with them, we’ll be able to gauge right away with where we’re at and where we need to grow because Silver is gonna be well coached.”

The nondistrict schedule includes games with Thoreau (Sept. 1), Montezuma-Cortez (Sept. 9), Grants (Sept. 24), Shiprock (Sept. 30), and Pagosa Springs (Oct. 7).

“We’re a little young, and I expect some growing pains from that,” Clary said. “You’re gonna see some growing pains with having a new offensive philosophy and a new defensive philosophy. We’ll be going through that, and as a staff, we’ll do our best to minimize that as much as we can.”

Clary has six assistants on his staff and they include Brian Dowdy, Jerrold Golbe, Jerry Golbe, Jesse Foutz, Jordan Heslop, and Val Rodriquez, with Dowdy serving as offensive coordinator.

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