Alexander Olivas is an ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism student covering Cesar Chavez High School for AzPreps365.com

New changes, strong brotherhood. 

The Cesar Chavez football program is looking to move forward with the hiring of a new coach through rough times and the loss of a teammate. 

The Champions football team has gone through quite a series of obstacles dating back to spring of 2021 after most of the players and its head coach at the time left the program. Before the start of the 2021 season, William Chipley took over the reins as the new head coach of the program.

Despite being young and having a new roster, the Champions were still able to compete against tough competition while adjusting to the new changes, even making a playoff appearance in 2022. The program looked set for the future, but things took a turn in July of 2023 when teammate Christopher Hampton died in a drowning accident during a summer camp at Show Low Lake.

“Chris was always a brother, he was always very competitive,” said teammate Angel Raya. “He would joke around, but at the end of the day he always had the goal of becoming better.”

The loss of Hampton had a severe impact on the program, including the players who describe him as family and how it affected them individually.

“It was a big impact, we lost a family member, he was our brother,” said Raya. “Losing him had a big impact on all of us, but we knew we had to keep playing for him.”

All coaches present at the trip were dismissed by the Phoenix Union High School District including Chipley, Athletic Director Lenny Doerflor, and Principal Robert Grant. Since the drowning, the Phoenix Union High School District is undergoing a $50 million dollar lawsuit that’s still pending.

A few weeks after, Daniel Dodge was appointed the athletic director role after serving as the athletic director at Central High School.

Dodge explained the process of when he first came to Cesar Chavez and the things he had to help around with the program before the season.

“When I first got here one of the first things was reassuring all the coaches that I’m here to help and we’re going to move forward,” said Dodge. “There were other parts around the program in which it had to be fixed but they’ve done well in staying together.”

The Champions football program stuck together during the rough time with parents and the community also supporting the team. The Chavez community, including the team, even united together in support of Grant and called for him to be rehired by the district which eventually worked.

Grant explained how much it felt to have not only the team but the entire Cesar Chavez community support him and the football program being by his side. 

“It warmed my heart that the community stood behind me,” said Grant. “It wasn’t just the parents, it was also a large majority of my staff that demanded for me to come back.”

The football program means so much to not only grant, but to Cesar Chavez as a community and his goal for the future to help the players move forward and the program in getting better.

“It’s very popular, it’s one of our most premier programs, it’s big to all of Cesar Chavez,” said Grant. “I’m really confident soon we can compete, if we can keep the talent here and with the new coaching we have here then we can compete at the state championship level.”

In January, Cesar Chavez hired new head coach Chandler Hovik to take over the football program with hopes of being able to move forward for the future while going through a rough time.  

Hovik, according to Dodge, has been very connected with the Chavez community which is a big reason in the process of why the hiring is big not only for Cesar Chavez, but for its football program

“Coach Hovik was a Chavez alumni, he graduated from here and played football as quarterback himself and was very successful,” said Dodge. “I think it’s always neat for when someone gets to come home and take over a program and build from there.”

Hovik started off his coaching career at Cesar Chavez becoming an assistant coach before taking on the role as head coach at Central High School. He returned this year and says it’s huge for him becoming head coach at Chavez since he was a former student as well.

“It was surreal walking through the halls in the first days as head coach, doing it as a student and now doing it as a coach, it’s awesome,” said Hovik. “This is home to me, extremely blessed to be back here, there’s been nothing but love from faculty, the community, and players.”

In his first season back, Hovik understands the responsibility he and his coaching staff hold in supporting the players.

“Our mindset for myself and my coaching staff was when we came over we knew these guys have been through a lot,” said Hovik. “We had to make sure that anything they need we’re here for them.”

Hovik says that they’ll continue to honor Christopher Hampton every game and that he’ll always be with them both in their hearts and in their helmets.

“We’ll always be playing for Chris, he’s a champion for life,” said Hovik. “We’ve decided to wear decals on our helmets with his number on it, he wore number 5, so that way he’s always with us on the field and off the field.”

For the players, the brotherhood within the football program has allowed them to grow closer and overcome each hardship.

“All of us as a team have been building that love for each other,” said junior Marcus Newman. “It’s the school motto we’re champions, we had to keep going and pushing through together forward.”

The Champions football program has also displayed a great amount of perseverance and resilience while going through these tough times. The players say that the resilience displayed by the team shows to other communities across the valley how strong their brotherhood is and how it helped them push forward.

“With the conflict it shows everyone that we’re not easy, we will push through whatever,” said Raya. “We still held each other accountable and we’ll keep pushing each other through the conflicts and adversity cause we all have a goal in the end.” 

Resiliency, according to Dodge, has been a big trait that defined the football program and was impressed with how much the players have shown throughout the entire year especially during the season.

“To me it showed resiliency, it shows commitment and integrity about the program,” said Dodge. “These young men are men of character and they wanted to honor Chris and they’re doing what Chris would’ve loved, which is to play football.”  

With the new changes around the program, the team feels that they’ll make an excellent turn around with Hovik at the helm in preparation for next season and plans for moving forward.

“Obviously the discipline aspect, everything is organized, he’s a big role model for all of us,” said Raya. “Just setting things up for the underclassmen, some of us didn’t have the opportunity with disciplined coaches, it’s all about the underclassmen since they represent the future for Chavez.”