Teams search for answers at Monument Valley 7-on-7 as football season approaches

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

KAYENTA

Sixty-two days remain until the start of the 2026 high school football season in Arizona and New Mexico.

Special to the Times | Truman Begaye
Tuba City senior Darrel Crump catches a pass over a defender during Monument Valley High School’s 7-on-7 invite in Kayenta on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday afternoon, a dozen teams from across the region gathered at Monument Valley High School for the 18th Annual 7-on-7 Passing Tournament and Big Man Challenge, hoping to gain an early glimpse of what their teams might look like when the lights come on in August.

Under a cloudless sky in Kayenta, programs from Arizona, New Mexico and Utah tested themselves against unfamiliar opponents while evaluating new starters, who replaced the seniors that graduated this past spring. The teams were also looking to build chemistry during one of the area’s longest-running summer football events.

Teams traveled from as far away as Prescott Valley, Arizona, as Bradshaw Mountain High School made its annual summer trip to Kayenta.

“We love the competition that participates in this event,” Bradshaw Mountain head coach Bob Young said. “We get to see teams from New Mexico and Utah, which is good because we get tired of seeing the same teams in our area.”

To read the full article, please see the June 25, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.

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