By Richard Smith

Independent Newsmedia

Just when it seemed time to retire the old “Mountain Ridge football is a sleeping giant” narrative, the program is at least yawning and rubbing its eyes.

Credit the Mountain Lions’ 4-1 start to new head coach Doug Madoski and his ability to mesh with a largely holdover staff, certainly. But also give due to a group of players that was tired of defeat, entering this fall with 16 straight losses.

Madoski does.

“One of the things I’ve said to so many people since I got here was that I was surprised to see an 0-10 team so willing to go to work. We got the three wins but two of those three came down to last-second plays. Even in the loss, we fought all the way to the end. It’s a testament to these guys and their willingness to battle,” Madoski said.

Mountain Ridge finished the non-conference season against Tolleson on Sept. 20.

As much excitement as this caused at a school that has not witnessed a four-win season since 2013, everyone involved in the program knows how much tougher the back half of the schedule is.

Laveen Cesar Chavez visited Sept. 13 and gave the Mountain Lions their only loss. The Champions built a 35-21 halftime lead and 51-28 advantage after the third quarter, but Mountain Ridge battled back in it before falling 58-48.

Once again, Madoski could not fault the effort. But the game showed how far the program still has to go — and how much difference a full offseason of preparation should make.

“Coach Alcantar at Chavez does a great job. Those guys are really physical and they kind of bully you around a bit. We’ve got to improve our strength and conditioning if we want to compete with those kind of teams. It was that way not just at the varsity level, but the freshman level and JV. We’ve got to establish ourselves more,” Madoski said. “That’s not shocking to anybody. We did the best we could this summer and coach (Kevin) Schmidt did a heck of a job rolling it out there. We’re at least a half-year behind. Coach Schmidt is already getting ready for when the season is over. We’re going to try to build it from the ground up.”

For now the team is doing its best with undersized linemen. Junior guard Sean Sisco (6-1, 280) and senior offensive tackle Desmond Lott (6-2, 243) are exceptions.

But senior left tackle Sebastian Kupis, lovingly dubbed “Seabass,” is closer to the norm. Kupis is listed at 5-11, 185 which teammates said may be generous.

“He has a heart behind him and does what he has to do. And I feel like our whole team has that. We’ll fight to the last down,” senior quarterback Keegan Stancato said.

It is much the same on the defensive front four. Senior end Jackson Rossi (6-3, 202), junior end Hunter Ramage (5-10, 195), sophomore defensive tackle Vincent Burgo (5-7, 219) and senior Joseph Urias (6-0, 221) do not leap out physically or statistically.

But this group often sacrifices their stats to allow senior linebacker Tommy Ellis (60 tackles in four games) and junior Deryk Leverage (36 tackles) make stops.

“Deryk Levarage next to me — it seems if I’m not making the tackle he is. All of our guys up front are definitely undersized but they’re doing their best to hold guys up. If they’re not there, there’s no way I’m making plays,” Ellis said.

That defense will be pushed to the limit in the next three weeks against three region foes ranked in MaxPreps top 20 in the state, The Mountain Lions host Scottsdale Chaparral Sept. 27, then travel to Liberty Oct. 4 and Pinnacle Oct. 11.

While grit, unity and relentless effort is getting the Mountain Lions far, each side of the ball boasts a difference maker. Ellis was one of few known quantities entering the season as a third-year starter.

Stancato showed promise in the second half of last football season but was better known as a baseball player and committed to play that sport at the University of Portland in August. He has done an admirable job moonlighting as a quarterback thus far.

Through four games, he was responsible for the bulk of the Mountain Lions 1,368 yards of total offense. Stancato had 962 yards passing and 148 yards rushing.

Madoski said the coaching staff has tailored the more expansive offensive concepts used at Scottsdale Community College to this team, like shortening routes. Owing to the late start, a small percentage of the scheme is in and coaches spoon feed a little bit more each game.

Stancato said the major difference this year is the ability to switch gears depending on the opponent.

“It’s nice to know we have a game plan going into every week. Every defense is different and you’ve got to know their best players. Week by week we change what we need to execute for every team we play,” Stancato said.

Stancato also has a natural top target in his twin brother, Kyler. While Kyler Stancato shows off his arm as a Mountain Lions pitcher and is committed to play baseball at Washington State, he also has some serious wheels (17 catches, 326 yards, five touchdowns).

Senior Triston Sliva and junior Cole Mitchell help move the chains.

“Triston Sliva is a kid who’s done pretty good at one of those outside receiver roles. He started last year at safety and moved back into that role last week and still played receiver. He did a heck of a job,” Madoski said.

Senior tailback Jay’von Thompson may be the most surprising emergent offensive force of all. He carried the ball a total of five times last season.

Early this year he has provided a needed counterbalance to Stancato. Thompson has 251 yards on 36 carries and 161 yards on eight catches, plus an 80-yard touchdown on a kickoff return against Cesar Chavez.

“It’s fun for sure, but it’s a team effort. We can all do it. If they weren’t here I wouldn’t be able to do as good as I have,” Thompson said.

Even a month before the season Thompson seemed to be ticketed for a change of pace or third down back type of role. But the 5-7, 146-pound scatback has held up well enough to take double-digit carries in the first three games.

“Jay’von has done a really good job for us as a running back. He’s dynamic and can do a lot of different things,” Madoski said. “He hadn’t been real durable, was the conversation with some coaches going into this year. Obviously there were concerns about his size and what would 15-20 touches per game do to him long term. But he’s handled it well.

”Like many of his teammates Thompson may be undersized but effort is not a question.

This group sensed something was different during camp in Prescott in late July.

"There was one night at camp where we had every excuse in the world to say, ‘We’ll cut this practice short.’ The weather was terrible. The lights went off. The sprinklers came on. We pulled trucks out into the parking lot so we could finish our conditioning. We were begging our coaches to make us keep running more. I think that moment was pretty special. In my three years on varsity, there’s not been a group like that,” Ellis said.

The opening win at Mesa Skyline led into three straight home games. The community was paying attention and got to see two thrilling wins decided on the last play against Tempe Corona del Sol and Avondale Westview.

Even the Cesar Chavez loss was a wild game with the aforementioned kickoff return touchdown, two Mountain Lions pick sixes and a fourth-quarter rally. The buzz is back on campus for the first time in these players’ careers.

“We even brought pep rallies back. We haven’t done that in years,” Eliis said.

While the results have not been there for a long time, Mountain Ridge has more advantages than a typical downtrodden program. An active booster club provides the team with solid financial backing, the student section is usually packed and the Mountain Lions have a now-commonplace tie to a local youth football team.

Given a reason for hope, these foundational pieces are coming to the forefront.

“The support here has been amazing from the parents, fans and administration. It’s been absolutely unbelievable from a support standpoint. I’d been in Maricopa (community colleges) since 2001 and I’ve never had support like this. That’s not negative toward Maricopa, I’ve just never had a group of people that will do whatever it takes to be successful,” Madoski said after the Corona del Sol win.