The idea of it was laughable about six months before the 2023 season started, but that only makes the feat that much more remarkable.

As the third season of AIA-sanctioned girls flag football starts Monday, Campo Verde is one of the favorites for the 5A state championship. But take a minute to reflect on the humble beginnings of the program.

And humble is being polite.

The Coyotes started their first season in the spring of 2023 when the sport was still a club.

And just barely at the corner of Quartz St. and Germann Rd.

The roster topped out at 12 and finished with eight after four players ended in walking boots. That was two more than wins for the 2-6 Coyotes during their club season.

With the first official AIA season just four months away, coach Brian Coger wasn’t sure if he had enough players and if he would keep coaching.

“Thinking back to that early start it is hard to think about where we are now,” the Campo Verde coach said. “That first season was definitely a learning experience and, in all honesty, made me question whether I wanted to really stick with this.”

Some of the players had similar thoughts.

“Honestly, it’s unbelievable,” senior Katie McCann said. “We barely had enough players to play a game. We didn’t know what to expect that first year because everything was still new to us. Most of us had walking boots on after the year.”

Not only did the boots eventually go away but so did the restrictions, indecisiveness and newness of the sport. Everything actually turned after a 21-17 loss during the 2023 fall season to Eastmark.

“It was looking really bleak,” senior quarterback Izzy Pap said about the freshmen year. “We didn’t have the mental toughness yet. Brian did a great job of cleaning the slate, and his leadership in that was amazing in that.

“Even at midseason we didn’t think a state championship was a possibility. We played undefeated Eastmark really close, and we had a different scheme that game and after that we never lost again.”

The Coyotes were flying high after a humble beginning and continue to be one of the top programs. (Photo courtesy of Brian Coger.)

From there, Campo Verde won eight straight games including knocking off teams – Higley and Canyon View - in the semifinals and finals the Coyotes lost to in the regular season.

“Those loses were nuggets of gold,” Pap said. “We don’t go on that streak if we didn’t play that tough schedule and learn to get up and learn from them.”

It’s hard to fathom – even for those who were there for all of it – how a team went from just eight active players a few months earlier, to losing 35-0 to Canyon View in the first week of the season to topping Canyon View 14-13 eight weeks later in the 5A state title game.

“It was low-key crazy,” McCann said. “When the ball got knocked down (on the final play) we went crazy. We started winning and it never stopped.”

The quick transformation was just the beginning.

Campo Verde has become one of top programs in the state. After winning state in 2023, the Coyotes lost in the state semifinals last season to Canyon View and now has developed into one of the top programs in the state.

Nearly 50 players tried out this year and the program has both a varsity and junior varsity team this year. A preseason coaches’ poll has Campo as one of the top teams in the state regardless of the classification.

So, what does it mean for this season, especially for those seniors who have been here from the start?

“We’ve gone from having no hope and let’s just have fun,” senior linebacker/tight end Serena De Rosa said, “to being a top team. We took last year’s loss personally and we’re coming for that ring this year.”

The talent to repeat is there behind players like Pap, senior athlete Myla Robertson and senior center/punter Maddie Zionts and the desire to eliminate the difficult 16-13 loss to Canyon View has been a driving force all offseason.

Additionally, the Coyotes received reinforcements behind two high-profile transfers in quarterback/athlete Amaya Romero (65 passing touchdowns at Mountain Pointe last season) and wide receiver Claire McMahon (100 catches at Basha last season) to bring expectations right where they belong – championship mindset.

“We are going to be pretty balanced,” Coger said. “We have an explosive offense and a stingy defense. We know what’s at stake, and what we can do.”

It’s a long way from two wins and eights active players back in the spring of ’22.

“It was tough,” Pap said of last year's three-point semifinal loss. “It drove me to be a better athlete, to be better prepared for my senior year. I was a little complacent last year after winning state and I was on top of the world.

"It taught me no one is untouchable, and it really focused me on making sure we don’t feel like that again.”