Sinagua Football

This page is still going. It is not dead. In fact, expect an update on the Mustang History book this offseason.

Who has information on this year's reunion schedule? This is 2021, so I suppose, for the sake of Sinagua Football, I'd be asking for information for the classes of 1991 (30th), 1996 (25th), and 2001 (20th)

Flagcoco published its first football preview magazine this morning, just in time for tomorrow's doubleheader at Cromer Stadium.

When I started Flagcoco and was curious about Sinagua Football, I wrote a bad history of the program on flagcoco.com. After looking through Jim Stalnaker's stat books and the yearbooks and the Daily Sun articles, I realized that I needed to not just rewrite that history, but to change the local narrative.

So I did. And it's in the preview.

https://www.flipsnack.com/flagcoco/2020-football-preview.html

Here's something the Mustang folks will get a kick out of. This is from the upcoming all-football preview, which will be published in late-September. It will be the first time in 25 years we'll have CITY RECORDS published. You'll be surprised how many Mustangs will be in the record book.

I've been doing a lot of Flagcoco stuff this summer. Last week I published the second edition of Coconino's Black Book. I'm busting my butt to get the online edition of Bob Oberhardt's Eagles on the Mountain published by the end of the month. Since the first game of the upcoming high school season has been pushed back to October 2, I'll have a month to do our first all-football preview. After that, I'll have no more excuses and can devote time to the Sinagua Football project.

To give you some idea of what it will look like, here's this year's Black Book.

Coconino Black Book 2020 A history of Coconino Varsity Football, as told through narrative, statistics, and images

The 1984 Flagstaff Eagles were the last team from Flag to win the football state championship.

The team that's gotten the closest since then in this one: the 1998 Sinagua Mustangs.

That's a team that went 11-2. After a 31-0 loss to Agua Fria in the opener, the Mustangs went on a tear, sweeping the rest of the regular season and heading into the playoffs with a 9-1 record. After a solid 25-14 against Mountain View in the first round, they shocked the state with a 44-14 throttling of top-ranked Cactus and earned a place in the 4A semifinals, where they ultimately lost to that same Agua Fria team, 20-6.

No team from Flag High or Coconino has gotten out of the second round since '84.

If we're going to put together a book about a football team, especially a team that hasn't hit the gridiron in a decade, details are essential. I have stat books and access to pictures, and there will be a handful of big-picture stories written, but to make this something the Sinagua world can appreciate, there's a handful of things we need.

Like, the fight song.

That's why I've put this page together. I'll work such matters from my side, but if you know Sinagua's fight song, or anything else that might be of interest to this project, this is the page for sharing it.

Let me start by shattering one of the most sacred myths in town.

As of this writing, Sinagua's Jeremiah Miller is the all-time leading rusher in the history of Flagstaff high school football.

It's not David Winsley, who, when he graduated from Flag High in 1986, was the all-time leader in rushing yards in the history of Arizona high school football. Bob Oberhardt lists his total at 4,880 yards. Miller graduated in 2000 with 5,020.

Miller had one distinct advantage Winsley didn't have. Miller played varsity football as a freshman. Winsley wasn't allowed to. Winsley played in an era when local freshmen played at the junior highs instead of at Flag High and Coconino.

Do not let this revelation undermine Winsley's legacy. He was indeed the greatest runningback in Arizona history based on his yardage. He ran for over 2,000 yards not once, but twice. He played for two state championship teams at Flag High. He won every statewide accolade available at the time. He went on to Arizona State and made a name for himself by rehabilitating himself after knee injuries that would have decimated a lesser man, and he was able to come back in his senior year and lead the Sun Devils in rushing.

But in retelling the story of local high school football, the record needs to be set straight. There's more than one way to determine such things, but In terms of most yards gained, Jeremiah Miller can lay claim to being the greatest runningback in Flagstaff history.

Greetings! This is Russell from Flagcoco, and I welcome you to this page, dedicated to the memory of Sinagua Football!

I am in the process of putting together an online book, celebrating the history of Sinagua Football. I hope to have the first edition published by Memorial Day, 2020. I have many of the old stat books, I have a good handful of pictures, I'm doing research, I've talked to those who made Mustang Football what it is, and I'm eager to put it all together to create a publication Mustangs everywhere can appreciate and enjoy.

My hope is to get as many alumni involved as I can. The more we have to work with, the better a publication this will be. I'm looking forward to your input as I post here and relay our progress.

My intentions are threefold:

1--To ensure Flagstaffites never forget the two decades in which the Sinagua Mustangs played varsity football,

2--To complete the picture of Flagstaff's high school football legacy, and most importantly,

3--To change the narrative concerning Sinagua Football. Truly, this time twenty years ago, the best prep football played in Flagstaff was being played at Sinagua, and I will prove it through statistics and stories.

This is a work in progress. It will not be 100% complete when the first edition is published, but it will provide a solid foundation we can build upon. By Memorial Day I hope to have something you'll like, and in the years to come we will add more and more.

By all means, if I post something here you like, let me know. If I get something wrong, let me know. If you have something to offer, as in an anedcote or picture, let me know.

And if you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about or what this project will look like, I encourage you to Google "Coconino Black Book".

I look forward to getting to know you. Whether you're a player, coach, cheerleader, fan, graduate, or like me, just a kid from Flagstaff looking for a different way to look at his hometown, I look forward to hearing from you and seeing what you have to offer.