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SPORTS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | DECEMBER 19, 2021
TheMesaTribune.com @EVTNow /EVTNow
Brandon Large returning home to Westwood BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor
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randon Large could hardly contain his excitement as he took his family on a tour of Westwood High School. He showed them where he sat to eat lunch when he was a student at the school. He took them through the gymnasium where he participated in pep rallies and to the football locker room, where he showed them the space he called home for four seasons as a quarterback for the Warriors. He also took them to the equipment room where he named off some of his former teammates with their jerseys in hand. He also couldn’t help but go through and see where there is room for improvement in one of the Mesa district’s oldest schools. Brandon Large, a Westwood alum who spent the last But the one thing he vows to nev- nine season as an assistant coach at Higley, will now er change is the community feel take over the Warrior football program where he first made a name for himself as quarterback. (Courtesy Bransurrounding it. That was one of the key rea- don Large) sons he so badly wanted to return as head coach Eddy Zubey not planning to go anywhere for some time, Large realized he football coach at Westwood. “It means a lot to go back to where I was would have to look elsewhere. Then, the Westwood job opened. And and try to build the community that built me,” Large said. “There’s some players after speaking with him during the inwho have uncles or cousins I played with. terview process, school athletic director Some of the current coaches I’ve played Brady Pond knew he had his guy. “Coach Large is prepared for this mowith their brothers. Everybody who goes to Westwood loves Westwood. It’s like a fam- ment. And that definitely showed when he came in an interviewed,” Pond said. ily.” Large was officially announced as the “Coach Zubey allowed him to be a part next head football coach at Westwood of the process there at Higley. He was on Dec. 9. He takes over the program af- prepared and he has the passion, which ter former coach and alum Kyle Ide an- showed in the interview.” Pond has taken pride in welcoming nounced his retirement following the Westwood grads back to the school as 2021 season. Being a head football coach has always athletic coaches. Ide was one of the first to been a dream for Large. He knew one day do it. Then when Pond took over, he welhe would get his opportunity. Though he comed head volleyball coach Laurel Beismay have thought it would come at Higley ner back to the school. Others have since followed. High School, where he was part of the staff “It’s exciting to see the success he had for nine seasons. But with current Higley
here at Westwood as a player,” Pond said. “He’s already been meeting with players, coaches and members of the community to create that buzz. People are already starting to buy in to his vision with the program. It’s exciting.” Large was the starting quarterback at Westwood during his junior and senior seasons in 2006-07 under Zubey — the head coach at Westwood at the time. As a senior, he led the Warriors to the quarterfinals. He went on to play at Eastern Illinois where he was eventually beat out by current San Francisco 49er Jimmy Garoppolo. He decided to transfer to a small school in South Dakota to finish off his college career. Once complete, he linked back up with Zubey at Higley, at the time a brand new school. Zubey has been grooming Large for a head coaching gig since he stepped foot on campus with him at Higley. He gradually increased his duties on the offensive side of the ball and helped him become the head girls basketball coach at one point for more experience. While sad to see Large move on from the Higley program, he knows he’s living out the dream he had since he was a player. “It’s bittersweet,” Zubey said. “He was my first quarterback when I was head coach at Westwood. I knew this was one of his dreams and how awesome is it that
Westwood athletic director Brady Pond has taken pride in welcoming back Westwood alumni as head coaches on campus. Large is yet another who returns to the community that helped build him. (Tribune file photo)
he gets to do it at his alma mater? That doesn’t happen all the time. “One of the things I pride myself on is helping kids move on. But I want to help these coaches, too.” Westwood saw some success under Ide in his final season. The Warriors finished 6-4, their best record since 2014. Large has already started picturing what his first home game will be like in the 2022 season. He has been told there will be a celebration for him returning to his alma mater. The last time he was on campus was as an assistant coach for Higley in 2015. Westwood running back Ethan Johnson rushed for 566 yards and seven touchdowns that night, breaking a state record. Large hopes to avoid any record-breaking performances, unless it’s by a Westwood player now with him as head coach. But he knows when he walks out onto the field for the first time leading his former team, it will be emotional and something he has been looking forward to for quite some time. “We’re getting a new turf field so that’s going to open for my first game,” Large said. “I want to bring back guys I played with. It’s going to mean a lot to me to be out there on that home sideline and that home locker room. “I’m really excited about it.” ■
