Desert Oasis High School football players Branden Peterson, Ryan Knipp, and Austin Cooper before the 2015 Season.
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 | 2 a.m.
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“Future” is a word Brad Talich has basically exorcised from his vocabulary.
Sure, the veteran high school football coach hopes this season is the start to a long and fruitful journey at Desert Oasis. But, unlike other coaches who take over at historically downtrodden programs, he’s not fixated on building a contender in the next three or four years.
Talich wants the Diamondbacks to contend immediately.
“Any time you start a program, a lot of guys will make a mistake and say, ‘we’re going to build off of our freshmen team or younger kids but I’ve never really taken that philosophy,’” Talich said. “What I want to do is, I want to provide them with an opportunity to be successful for the seniors. What we’re trying to do number one is get that class to enjoy the game again.”
It’s understandable if the Desert Oasis seniors haven’t had a blast on the field so far in their careers because it’s been spent mostly with opponents blasting them. In the last three years, the Diamondbacks have gone just 8-21.
Talich’s plans for a turnaround consist of leaning on his most experienced players for leadership at almost every position group. Senior Austin Cooper, a 6-foot-4 230-pound tight end and defensive end, will fill the role among the receiving corps and the defensive line.
Senior Zion Jones, a 5-foot-10 170-pound safety, will lord over the secondary. Senior Ryan Knipp, a 5-foot-11 200-pound middle linebacker and guard, will be another fixture.
The players are giving rave reviews on the new regime.
“You get out there and feel like you’re a kid again,” Knipp said. “The coaches are really hands-on and they really want you to understand. They’re not going to move forward until we know what we’re doing.”
Two expressions Talich is using a lot are “consistency” and “stability”. They’re two characteristics he hopes his team exhibits on the field, but also what he wants to bring to the program.
It’s something Desert Oasis has sorely lacked in employing six coaches in the eight years since the school opened.
“Coach Talich has brought us together a lot more than past seasons,” Cooper said. “We’ve become more of a family than ever, and the drills he has us doing in the weight room, he’s pushing us harder. We’re just trying to get to where we need to get this season.”
Desert Oasis finding success wouldn’t be without precedent. Before the descent over the last three years, Desert Oasis had winning records in every season from 2009 to 2011.
And more importantly, Talich has a history of changing programs’ fortunes. Coronado had endured losing seasons for four straight years and six of the last seven before he arrived and led the Cougars to the Sunrise Region championship game immediately.
“Kind of the same game plan,” Talich said in comparing Desert Oasis to his last job. “We’re really focusing on ourselves, getting better, getting the kids to understand the game a little bit and what we expect from them.”
One of the hallmarks of Talich’s time at Coronado was a highly innovative offense. To reach the same heights at Desert Oasis, he’ll need major contributions from junior Brannon Flowers and senior Branden Peterson.
They’re two explosive receivers though the former will also transition to quarterback this season.
Arbor View and Centennial are entrenched as the two powers in the Sunrise Northwest, but it’s wide open for the other two playoff spots behind the pair.
“All we talk is about winning,” Talich said. “When you’re taking over a program, you can’t focus on the younger kids so I’ve kind of adopted this senior class and we’re going to take them where they want to be. They have some good talents, and we have a schedule that provides us possibly an opportunity to achieve some success.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
