Anthony Remedios is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Paradise Valley High School for AZPreps365.com.

Injuries will always affect a football team in one way or another. But what defines a team is how they respond to them and adapt to the challenges they are dealt. 

As if the last-minute schedule changes, among other challenges, due to COVID-19 in 2020 were not enough, the Paradise Valley Trojans face new challenges in 2021 after all three of their quarterbacks suffered broken collarbones in the first three weeks of the season.

“This is my 24th year coaching high school football, and I don’t think I’ve ever had on my team a single collarbone (broken),” ninth-year head coach Greg Davis said before the Trojans (1-2) play host to Ironwood (1-2) on Friday night. “I’ve played against teams that have had collarbone breaks, but the fact that we’ve had three in a row is just a really weird deal.”

In spite of the injuries, Davis admires the resiliency of his team. 

“We have a great group of seniors who keep battling hard and finding a way to compete,” he said.

“We handle adversity well,” senior linebacker Tyerese Toney said. “We were down in the North Canyon game 14-13 at halftime and came back 44-30 and we won [in Week 1 on Sept. 2].”

Toney does not let the team’s injuries affect his mentality and continues to focus on blocking and his other assignments on the field to help the team be successful. 

Historically, the Trojans have always struggled with numbers within their football program and 2021 is no exception. There are 28 athletes listed on the varsity roster, and the injuries force them down to only 25. About 45 athletes are available within the program as a whole, according to Davis.

The shortage of student-athletes within the program surely is a challenge, compared to their opponents who typically have 50-55 players on the sidelines of a varsity game. But the Trojans make up for it by dedicating extra time in the offseason to prepare and stay in shape. 

“We had a lot of lifting in the offseason and early in the mornings,” senior offensive lineman Chris Rayas said.

Rayas also noted that most of the team plays both sides of the ball, on offense and defense, as another way to make up for the shortage of players. 

Rayas joins two others as returning starting linemen and has also been named as one of the team captains along with Ryan Deonise, Niko Isakov, and Armando Nieves. 

“We’re just a big family. Out of practice, we’re always hanging out,” Rayas added. “At the end of the day, we’re all family. We just [support] each other and push each other in the weight room too.”

“Through practice, we’re vocal and try to get our guys hyped,” Toney said. “If they mess up, we just tell them ‘Next play, let’s do it right’ and try to get them to do their job.”

Although he is not officially a team captain, this is Toney’s third season as a varsity starter for the Trojans.

Paradise Valley will be looking to get the win in its final non-league game against the Ironwood Eagles before starting conference play on Oct. 1. The Trojans will host the Eagles at 7 p.m. on Sept. 24 at Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix.