The road to becoming a starting varsity quarterback for Jonah Lubno took a turn, but the junior at Campo Verde has navigated it well. Lubno took almost every snap for the Coyotes last season and led CVHS to a 7-5 record and a playoff win (over Verrado).
The 6-3, 215-pound signal caller accounted for 35 touchdowns with 18 passing and 17 more coming via the run. Lubno had just over 2,000 yards of total offense. In his first year as the Friday night starter, the game seems to have come to him well.
“Thanks to my coaching staff and teammates, I was able to adjust very easily,” Lubno said in an e-mail interview. “I felt our system and playbook fit right into my play style.”
Lubno began his high school career at Hamilton and played on the JV team during his freshman year. He left right before his sophomore year started. To avoid the AIA’s five-game transfer penalty, he didn’t play in 2024 at all.
“I used that semester to focus on getting bigger, faster, and stronger while also looking for a school to transfer to,” Lubno said.
That school would end up being Campo Verde, a school in the Gilbert District. In ’24, the Coyotes had two seniors sharing the QB job, so Lubno knew it would be open for competition in his junior season.
It’s a run-pass option offense that Lubno operates well. It can be a play fake and then a quick decision to take off. Or, Lubno can gouge a defense either as a pocket passer or by hitting the corner. The threat to run opens up more passing opportunities, particularly with the play-action. The Campo Verde playbook favors the quarterback taking control of the offense and making plays.
Lubno said his favorite play to run was the bootleg, where he fakes a handoff and rolls out of the pocket to the opposite side to run. It often involves pulling guards for protection and is designed to misdirect the defense and move the QB away from pressure. Lubno could always make something happen with that as he was lethal in the red zone.
Jonah Lubno is in and campo verde has an 11-0 lead over ACP with 5:44 left in 2Q @AZHSFB pic.twitter.com/J1YmMBLmbL
— Brett (@brettinaz) November 1, 2025
Lubno has been staying in shape this winter playing 7-on-7 club football with Alpha Recruits. While some may question the usefulness of this other sport, he sees value in it and is able to simulate scenarios that will help on fall Friday nights.
“I feel 7’s is a very underrated way for a quarterback to develop,” Lubno said. “My timing and footwork has gotten faster and I always try to make it game-like with mechanics and progressions whenever I do tournaments.”
Had some fun today at the @gottabelieveac 7’s tourney! Team played great and got some good work in!!@blake_lord03 @JudeBarclay19 @AlphaRecruitsAZ @alpha_lbu @CampoVerdeFB @coachfreemancv pic.twitter.com/Mw33cCHoMO
— Jonah Lubno (@LubnoJonah) March 22, 2026
Lubno started playing the quarterback position when he was 10 years old. While most that take snaps behind center picture themselves as passers first, becoming involved in another sport added another dimension to his game. One that involves gutting defenses with runs up the middle or towards the sideline. He can be shifty and produce chunk-yardage plays with his legs.
“Before track, I did not think I would be running as much as I did,” Lubno said. But after getting confidence in my races, I realized I could both run and pass effectively.”
While he passed on football in the fall, Lubno ran track for Campo Verde as a sophomore, competing in the 100, 200, and on the 4×100 relay team. He hasn’t been able to compete yet this spring as he’s been dealing with a bone bruise in his knee, but is hyped to get back out to the track.
“My sophomore year was my first competitive season of track and I feel it has helped a lot with my performance on the football field,” Lubno said.
In addition to the physical parts of the game of football, Lubno credits a pair of the Coyote coaches for helping him cerebrally. His leadership will be important as he moves into his senior season.
“Two individual coaches that helped me mentally were Joe Guillen (quarterback coach) and Caden Calloway (running back coach),” Lubno said. “They helped me improve my leadership and mental toughness so much. Pair that with a great group of senior leaders and that helped me improve a lot!”
The hope of playing college football is certainly there for Lubno and he plans to go and visit some schools during the spring.
Being a dual-threat quarterback, I was wondering if the signal callers at the next level that display those skills brought the most joy to Lubno. They do.
“My favorite NFL player to watch is for sure Lamar Jackson,” Lubno said. “The way he can extend plays and use his legs is unreal. Another quarterback I watched all of last season was Jackson Dart. I feel like I have a similar play style to him and enjoy watching him (especially because I’m a Giants fan).”
Unlike last year, Campo Verde will have the benefit of a returning quarterback. That should help the Coyotes as they navigate their way through arguably, the best region in 5A. Campo was one of five playoff teams in the group, joining Gilbert, Mountain Pointe, ALA-Gilbert North, and Arizona College Prep. Lubno is looking forward to the challenge.
“(I’m) very excited for my final season and ready to see how far my boys and I can get this next season!”
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