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THE MESA TRIBUNE | AUGUST 7, 2022
TheMesaTribune.com @EVTNow /EVTNow
Dobson football building strong foundation BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor
B
ill Godsil takes pride in his Dobson High School football program. It was the job he wanted in 2019 and was ecstatic to get the opportunity to lead a program in the 6A Conference and with a rich history. The Mustangs won a state title in 1987, when some current Arizona high school football coaches were on the roster. Since then, however, the program has struggled to find its footing. Since that state championship season 35 years ago, Dobson has made the playoffs seven times. The last time the Mustangs finished the season with a winning record was in 2007. Last year’s 4-5 record was the most wins in a single season for Dobson since 2016, when former coach George De La Torre led the Mustangs to a 5-5 campaign. Godsil knew turning around the program wouldn’t happen overnight. But the work ethic from this year’s senior class is making him start to believe a new foundation with a winning culture will begin to be laid this season. “It goes back to my philosophy of brickby-brick, laying that foundation and making sure you have a good, strong foundation to build things up. That starts with the culture of the program,” Godsil said. “When we got here the culture was not right. The kids were in disarray because they had gone a few months without leadership. Coming in, that was the main focus.” Dobson was one of the first programs to head up north to its annual football camp this summer. The Mustangs went in early July, a time some programs take off in preparation for camp toward the middle and end of the month. Godsil said this year’s camp was an eyeopening experience for him as a coach getting to know his players and their goals. This year’s senior class is determined to begin changing the narrative of Dobson as a doormat in the East Valley. They want to win. They want to make
Dobson seniors Jordan Legg and Jashawn Kinney are two of the players leading the way in changing the narrative for the Mustang program. They no longer want to be seen as a doormat in the East Valley other teams can walk all over. They want to lay a new foundation centered around success. (Dave Minton/Tribune Staff) the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades. “Year one was all about learning how to compete. We saw some good progress
Since arriving at Dobson in 2019, coach Bill Godsil has tried to lay a new foundation brick-by-brick, which has become the team motto. COVID set the Mustangs back a bit, but now they aim to have one of their best seasons in years.(Dave Minton/Tribune Staff)
with three wins with a difficult schedule,” Godsil said. “Then COVID. This has been the toughest rebuild I’ve been a part of. But now we are moving in the direction of learning how to win.” One of the most notable experiences at camp for the senior class was carrying around a large battle rope to every meal, workout and team meeting. Godsil called it the bonding rope. It was heavy, meaning they had to work together as teammates to get it from destination to destination. The concept seems simple, but it made a difference. It taught them how to work together and the importance that each player has on the team to carry their own weight. It became a rally cry of sorts for the team, one that carried over to conditioning workouts the week after they returned from camp. On a blistering hot morning while running sprints, they often yelled out, “hold the rope!” “The rope is one of the bricks to our foundation,” senior quarterback and star kicker Jordan Legg said. “If someone isn’t doing the right thing, we remind them to carry the rope. We are going to build more bricks on top of that as the year goes on.”
A major part of Dobson’s new foundation is centered around trust. Legg, being the quarterback and a 4.5-star kicker, has to maintain trust with all of his teammates, especially those blocking for him every play. The seniors grew close from the time they were freshman. They entered the program together and bonded from afar throughout the pandemic. That time apart brought them closer together. They set out to quickly get back on the right path to turn the Dobson football program around as juniors. But now in their final year, they aim to further set up the younger kids below them for success. They know it may not come with a championship or even a deep run into the postseason. But a winning record and a trip to the playoffs would put the program on the right track moving forward. And they would take pride in accomplishing that in their final year. “Of course, we want more wins but just getting that winning season, to me, it shows we fully bought in to what coach is trying to do for us,” senior running back Jashawn Kinney said. “If we do that, I’m going to be the happiest guy. For us, for our program, changing what it used to be is almost like winning the championship.” Dobson’s future looks bright with a large group of incoming freshmen and upgrades to facilities. But for now, Godsil and his players are focused on the present. The Mustangs’ schedule is lighter than in recent years. It no longer features powerhouses like Chandler or Hamilton. But even if it did, they would give their all every down. That’s the mindset that has been created at Dobson. Even when others doubt them, the players always have faith in themselves. Now, they await the moment when they can finally start proving that this is no longer the Dobson of old. “We want to change what this used to be,” Kinney said. “Hopefully, we can come back and see the younger guys turn this into a playoff school that can’t be joked around with. That would be huge for us.”
