Taking pride in the program

Week after week at 4 p.m., about 30 football players take the field at Navajo Preparatory School.

They drown themselves in sweat, blood and sometimes tears as they work endlessly for one thing - recognition.

"Mostly our school is based on girls' sports," Navajo Prep quarterback Christian Guoladdle said. "We've been trying to change it to have a better outcome for boys' sports. We're just trying to get it started off with football since this is the first sport to come around."

For years the Class 2A football team has been in the shadows of the state-champion girls' basketball and volleyball teams. But for the last two seasons they've shown they can shine too.

With the help of on-and-off coach John Gutierrez, the team has landed on their feet as they've built a 4-0 record so far this season. Their latest victory came last weekend when they defeated the Class 3A Tohatchi Cougars, 46-16, in Tohatchi.

Gutierrez said their winning streak is simply due to the team's hard work.

"This year I think the boys are working really hard and bought into the program we're trying to establish, so they're doing a good job," he said. "We had a good team last year. We had a couple of talented players, they did a good job ... we were 7-3 and barely missed the playoffs in the tie-breaker."

Gutierrez was the head football coach for Navajo Prep in 1999, 2000 and 2002 when the team made the playoffs. Gutierrez is also a baseball coach who coached at Bloomfield and Navajo Prep.

Gutierrez said the team's goal is to go back to the playoffs and get the recognition they deserve.

"My philosophy is we got to try to get a team that would win some games, and take pride in the football program here and I think that in the last couple years they have and I'm just hoping we can keep it going for next year," he said.

"I don't think 'Prep has been to a playoff game since 2002, and we'd like to see that happen and try to win the district," he said. "That would mean a lot to the school and the boys."

Accomplishing their goals seems doable for the players.

Aside from Guoladdle, senior fullback Anthony Nelson has made big contributions to the team.

Nelson scored an important touchdown against Tohatchi that put the Eagles up 18-16 just before halftime, and followed with a two-point conversion.

It was Nelson's 5-foot-9, 200-pound frame that broke through Tohatchi's defense. Later in the game Nelson had a 90-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 40-16 lead in the fourth quarter.

Nelson said the team's efforts have little to do with winning and that's what makes them successful.

"Our goal is not to win," he said, "it's to play as hard we can, to play without regrets."

"All of us put in hard work," Guoladdle said. "We try to work every week. We focus on playing game by game. We just want to do our stuff right and do it well."

Guoladdle was mostly a basketball and baseball player until he decided to give football a try for the first time this year.

Gutierrez said he continues to improve every game.

Gutierrez praises his linemen.

"The linemen have made a big improvement over the last year," he said. "They're hard workers, they really are. Each week they do work hard and I'd like to see them continue that until the end of the year."

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