Arizona Western College football coach Tom Minnick had a vision when he took over the program.
The fourth-year coach admits that vision has become reality much quick than he anticipated.
Arizona Western College (11-0) will try to close the final chapter on a magical season at 3:30 p.m. Saturday when it takes on No. 2 East Mississippi Community College (11-0) for the NJCAA national championship in the El Toro Bowl at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Yuma, Ariz.
The bowl game will be shown live locally on My Mississippi. A radio broadcast can be heard on WFCA-FM (107.9). A video stream also will be available through the EMCC web site.
Through the efforts of the NJCAA, iHigh.com, and Arizona Western College’s Matador Sports Network, a live video-streamed broadcast will be available online at www.njcaatv.ihigh.com
After posting a 5-5 mark in Minnick’s first season, Arizona Western College has won three straight Western States Football League championships. The Matadors have finished in the top 10 in each of those seasons, capped by this season’s first undefeated season and a school-record 11 victories.
“We might be a little ahead of schedule,” Minnick said. “We had a vision when we took over this program. Things had really gone downhill. When we arrived, the players needed a reason to believe. It was all about building some confidence. They needed to see that we could compete.”
In 2009, Arizona Western College went 9-2 and won the school’s first WSFL title. It also was ranked in the NJCAA top five for the first time since 1972 and played in a bowl game for the first time since 1998. Arizona Western College finished sixth in the nation after losing to EMCC 27-24 in the Mississippi Bowl in Biloxi.
Last season, Arizona Western College went 10-2, repeated as WSFL champions — the first back-to-back conference championships in school history, and was ranked No. 1 in-season for the first time since winning the 1972 national championship. The 19 wins in the past two seasons were the most victories by the Matadors in a two-year stretch since 1980-81.
Arizona Western College lost to Blinn College 31-27 in the CHAMPS HOT Bowl in Copperas Cove, Texas. Bowl MVP Reggie Bullock became the first Arizona Western College player to earn national NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Matadors finished ninth in the final rankings.
“Last season was the motivational factor behind this season,” Minnick said. “We let a game get away against Glendale. We played them at home and didn’t play well. Our kids learned you have to play hard every time you play. That really has been the difference with this year’s team.
“They have responded to every challenge. Our focus and our attention to detail have been outstanding. We will need all of that and more when we play Saturday.”
Arizona Western is averaging a nation’s best 50.5 points per game. Its average margin of victory is 38.7 points per game.
Arizona Western College clinched the league title Nov. 5 with a 14-7 victory at Snow College. Its second closet margin of victory was a 32-point win against Mesa C.C.
Arizona Western has scored 42 or more points on 10 occasions. The Matadors have topped 50 points six times, 60 points twice, and 70 points once.
“Our offense is about timing,” Minnick said. “We are primarily a running team. That means good blocking is essential to our success. We have been fortunate from a turnover standpoint. Our offense does a good job of sustaining drives. Our defensive unit is underrated because of the number of points we score. However, they do a good job of making plays and giving the offense short fields.
“Our offensive unit has a lot of confidence. They know it is usually a matter of time. When we are at our best, we usually can wear the other team’s defensive unit down in the second half.”
Sophomore Damien Williams, a San Diego native, is the catalyst. He leads the nation with 1,786 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns, and has topped 100 yards in all 11 games this season. He has rushed for 200 or more yards twice, including a season-best 271-yard night in a 55-21 win at Scottsdale C.C.
“This has been a fun ride,” Williams said. “To be able to play for the national championship is icing on the cake. We worked so hard during the offseason. Our goal all along was to play in this bowl game. We knew things had to fall right to play for the national championship.
“Fortunately, we did our part and everything fell into place. We feel blessed and are excited about playing Saturday.”
Arizona Western College has rushed for 2,776 yards this season (247.8 per game). Freshman quarterback Cameron Coffman, a native of Peculiar, Mo., is 125 of 203 for 1,926 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“Primarily, we are a run-first team,” Minnick said. “Damien is one of the hardest workers on our team. He is a tone-setter and has really emerged as a team leader. Cameron has played steady at quarterback. He has really grown up throughout the season.
“We have to run the football, though, to be successful. We like to control the clock and have long drives. When you are playing a quality offensive unit such as East Mississippi, the ability to move the chains and keep their offense off the field will be even more important.”
It didn’t take long for Arizona Western College, which opened the season No. 5 in the nation, to realize it had a chance to compete for the national championship. The Matadors moved to second in the first ranking in October. An upset loss by No. 1 Blinn College the first weekend of November allowed Arizona Western College a chance to play host to the national title game.
“You really can’t pay attention to the rankings,” Williams said. “We knew the only thing we could control was our record. Everybody begins the year wanting to be in this position. It was up to us to go out and back our ranking up. We knew had the talent. It was a matter of staying humble, staying focused, and being ready for the challenge that was ahead each week.”
Arizona Western hasn’t a won bowl game since 1972, when it defeated Fort Scott (Kansas) C.C. 36-8 in the El Toro Bowl to win the school’s only national championship in football.
“We have been close the last couple of years,” Minnick said. “The other team has made a few more plays in the fourth quarter. This year, it is all about finishing. Since we have not played a lot of tight games, I look forward to seeing how our guys respond in the second half of a close game.”
In its first run, the El Toro Bowl had two national championship games in a five-year run from 1968 to 1972. Arizona Western College officials brought the bowl game back to life 18 months ago.
“It is all about timing,” Minnick said. “For this season, at least, everything has fallen just right.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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