CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Aztecs road to seventh straight league title may be a bumpy one
How often in sports do you even talk about winning seven straight titles? The rare “Seven-peat.” The 1960’s Boston Celtics won eight in a row. The John Wooden Era UCLA basketball teams won seven titles in a row, but that’s about it. No team in the NFL, MLB or NHL has ever won seven titles in a row.
That’s what the Palm Desert High football team is trying to do this year as they vie for another Desert Empire League title.
But for the first time in recent years, there is some doubt about the Aztecs. Most of the starters from last year’s team and the head coach are gone. There are only seven seniors on the roster for new coach Rudy Forti this year and only three of those are returning starters. It’s safe to say the rest of the Desert Empire League smells blood in the water.
But a place where that doubt doesn’t exist is in the Palm Desert locker room.
“We break out that phrase ‘seven-peat’ a lot,” said senior linebacker Dawson Johnson. “We use that energy. Nobody’s been doing it like we have. And we know it puts a target on our back a little bit, too. But we all just need to buy in, players, coaching staff, trainers, fans everybody. Just because we’re young doesn’t mean we can’t win.”
The offense
That nasty opponent “graduation” has been tough on the Aztecs. The 2022 team had some special skill position players in quarterback Brady Clemmer, running back Demetri Chester and receiver Cameron Theiss. That senior trio accounted for 53 total touchdowns and more than 90% of the total yards gained. Replacing them will be difficult.
There are two players vying for the quarterback spot in sophomore AJ Rivera and junior Connor Orfield. Coach Forti is using practice and scrimmages to determine which player looks more comfortable running the offense with
confidence before he picks an openingday starter.
During the six straight title run, the Aztecs have almost always had a workhorse back. Look for Stetson Stansberry to get that role to start the season. Stansberry is a junior and did have 16 carries and a touchdown for the Aztecs last year. Look for John Reardon (splitting time as WR and RB) and even Dawson to contribute in the backfield as well. The receiving corps includes returning players Daniel Yi and Jonah Toland. They’ll rely on a mostly new set of linemen to give them time to operate.
Defense
Coach Forti thought at the very least he would have the returning Desert Empire League defensive player of the year in Daniel Herrera back, but Herrera will attend high school in Iowa in preparation for his college career at Iowa State University. That will be a large hole to fill in the defense which also was hit pretty hard by graduation.
Dawson re-shaped his body, adding on muscle to move from cornerback to linebacker, where he is getting Division I looks due to his rare combo of size and speed. He will be the anchor to the Aztec defense. Junior Zach Gibbs will patrol one of the other linebacker spots.
A couple big bodies return for the Aztecs and will help in the trenches whether it’s on offense or defense in Deardred Robinson and Dorian Ariciniega. Last season’s record: 8-3, 4-1 Coach Rudy Forti: First year at Palm Desert
Coach Forti says
“I was a head coach back in Texas, but it’s been a while and I always had in the back of my head I’d like to get back to that position,” said Forti, who last was a varsity head coach in 2012. “It’s exciting, but I’m pretty even-keeled, so I try not to get too worked up because if I lose my stuff it kind of trickles down to the players. I remember my first year here (assistant coach in 2017) no one was picking us to win the league and we did. I have tons of trust in my staff, and I’m not going to say that we’re going to win the league again or any guarantees, but I think we’re going to compete every day, every game. We should be OK.”
Our prediction
It’s usually unwise to bet against a six-time champion, and the history of success does mean something, but this year is going to be an uphill climb for Palm Desert.
There will likely be some growing pains on offense as the skill position players get comfortable with each other and learn coach Forti’s rhythms and game-calling. The defense will be looking for new stars to emerge as well.
Throughout the Aztecs’ six-year streak, each team had something to hang its hat on. A bellcow running back, an elite defense, loaded offensive and defensive lines. This team doesn’t have that heading into the season. Certainly players can emerge and become those things throughout the year, but it will be something we’ll need to see first before we can count on it.
I have faith in Forti as a coach and the program as a whole, but the road to a seventh straight league title might be a bumpy one.
Predicted regular season record: 3-7