TUCSON, Arizona — How serious is Desert Christian High School about starting football?
The team chaplain assists with practice. JD Reyes is the brother-in-law of head coach Jason McKibben, who is the Eagles first head coach for a high school that began back in 1986.
"Sports in general is such a great opportunity to develop the guys into strong individuals," said McKibben.
One individual is wide receiver Tyson Dobbins, who practices as if he isn't new to football.
"I was a basketball player," said Dobbins. "I wanted to try a new sport."
Dobbins and about two dozen others are playing their first season in Class 1A. It's eight-man football, something new for quarterback Cooper Payne.
"It's just tackle football at the end of the day," said Payne. "Just go out and compete."
"There's a lot of space so you can do a lot of fun things with the ball in your hands," said Dobbins.
"It's a different way of football," said McKibben. "Kind of like arena football."
The Eagles on their first game, 42-20, over Desert Heights Prep. Their new field is ready for play, but parking isn't, so the Eagles are currently playing home games at their elementary school.
"It's going to be real exciting to play on this field," said McKibben.
It's on land that is actually new to the high school, as Desert Christian will have its middle school and high school at the same location. It's something they are constructing while simultaneously starting a football team.
"It's a long process, but we're just at the beginning stages of it," said McKibben
