The brotherhood

Brandon Tauscher arrived to a sunken ship.

That's what he tells people anyway when asked about the Pirates football team he inherited at Valley High School.

He arrived nearly three years ago in Sanders to a football team that didn't quite understand the concept of teamwork or the difference between offense and defense.

Today, however, and after some time working to revamp the entire football program, the Pirates have the No. 2 rushing team in Arizona regardless of class.

No respect

"When I first came, I was told they had talent," said Tauscher. "But I got a lot of blank stares when I talked to them so I knew there was still a lot of learning that had to take place."

Most did not know their role on the team and so had not made a place for themselves.

"Back then, the players were the coaches," said senior Jake Yazzie, quarterback and running back. "We were always pushing each other around, arguing and there was no chemistry at all."

Players called their own plays in the huddles and showed no respect for each other or the coaching staff. The coaches eventually felt defeated.

"There was just no trust between the players and they weren't relying on each other to get the job done," said Russel Stanberry, third-year assistant coach and former University of Puget Sound football player. "It was extremely frustrating."

In addition to having no team chemistry, the Pirates were averaging only about six hours of practice, while many schools across the reservation were putting in at least 10 hours per week.

A brotherhood

In an attempt to revamp the entire football program, the boys started with their attitudes.

"There used to be an emptiness to the team," said Yazzie, "but now, there is a sense of brotherhood on the team. We treat each other like we treat our families."

To address the individuality ever present on the team, the coaching staff began using two words: your brother.

"We had to create a family among the boys," said Stanberry. "We told them, 'If you don't trust your brother on the field, there is no way you'll play to your potential.'"
The boys bought into the idea of forming the bond.

"Our performance depends on how well we help each other as a family," said senior Conner Lee, a running back. "We're not as good if we don't work together. We even take that back to our families because were told to respect our families."

As the team began to mesh, Tauscher introduced them to an offensive play that has helped the team to gain rushing yards in numbers unheard of by the Pirates.

Jim Thorpe offense

The offensive play was invented in the early 1920s for Olympian Jim Thorpe, an all-around player who could run, pass and punt. The play is most commonly known as a single wing formation that later became the inspiration for the "shotgun" offense.

"It looks easy to stop," Tauscher said, explaining the play, in which all but the wingback, fullback and tailback are lined up nearly shoulder-to-shoulder ready to block for the backs. The snap is then pitched into the backfield keeping the defense guessing their next move.

In last Friday's game against Greyhills, the Pirates rushed for 335 yards on 60 carries, bringing their season rushing total to 3,081 yards in nine games.

The Pirates are currently 6-2 in conference play and rank No. 15 in Arizona's power rankings. The top 16 will make the state playoffs.

The most recent trophy the Pirates won is dated 1986 and as far as anyone at the school knew, the football team has only made three trips to the state playoffs in the schools history.

Against Greyhills, senior Reuben Garcia led the team on offense, running 22 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Senior captain Connor Lee led the team in tackles on defense with 12 and added one interception.

The team's numbers from throughout the season make them statistic leaders in rushing yards among Arizona high schools.

A team trip

The concept of brotherhood and confidence needed to run the Thorpe offense had much to do with their trip to Orcas Island, Wash., over the summer.

"We thought it was a stupid idea," wrote Brody Billy, a senior, in an essay after their one-week trip to Washington.

Tauscher presented the idea of taking the team for a two-day, 30-hour bus ride off the reservation to his home state for a game against a non-Native team. The trip was also to help the boys bond.

It was no vacation getaway, mind you.

To raise money for the trip, the team and their families sold hot dogs at basketball games to planned song and dances across the reservation. They raised $25,000.

"The trip was basically supposed to bring the team together and work as one," Billy wrote. "...We totally lost focus on what we were supposed to do...I was feeling ashamed because we worked so hard to get there...."

Their game against Orcas Island High School was a shutout as the Pirates were sent packing, 54-0.

"We put in so much work to get here and we got hammered," recalled Tauscher. "They just so happened to be one of the very few teams who knew the (Thorpe) play.

"But I was glad they experienced it," he continued. "'You might work as hard as anybody or even more and not get it, but you have to deal with it and not give up - that's what they learned."

An important lesson

After the game, the team sat through an emotional two hours and took away an important lesson.

"...Some players were crying," Billy wrote. "We got embarrassed and crushed. Our coaches tried to show us that there is more out there than just little Sanders.

"They showed us that we can make it out in the real world and that Sanders is just a little speck on Earth. We think Sanders is hard, but once we started to see how the real world is, I can't imagine how I used to think such a thing."

Team building continues in the 7th period sports psychology class designed for the boys to keep the chemistry flame burning. They continue learning about each other and strengthening the bonds that later help them on the field. They spend five days a week for an hour and a half watching films of their games, learning from their mistakes and working to perfect their offense and defense. Even class work is assigned to motivate them and get them thinking beyond football.

"In that trophy case is many moons of history," says Tauscher, pointing to the display case in the high school. "Where do you fit into all that history?"

Tauscher presents the players with the day's assignment - to glance into the trophy case filled with tarnished trophies of those who came before them from past cross-country, volleyball and wrestling championship teams. They then write an essay.

"I went to the case and all the trophies are so old," said senior PJ Joe, a linebacker and guard. "I just felt like I wanted to put a trophy in there too. All the hard work we put in, we should be able to."

"I want them to be aware of the bigger picture," Tauscher said of assigning essays. "We talk about football in terms of what they will face in life and they shouldn't quit.

"We're the Pirates and I arrived to a sunken ship," he added. "They pick each other up now and know that if they rely on each other as family, they will do well. They came a long way."

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