Chris Eaton
Tucked away in the northeast corner of the Valley, the Fountain Hills Unified School District has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. The elementary school is named for nearby McDowell Mountain while both the junior high and high school take the name of the town known for its impressive fountain that can shoot water more than 500 feet into the air. It has the feel of a small town, but not that far from the city to be able to call itself rural.
The varsity football team, known as the Falcons, has made the playoffs in 18 of its 32 seasons, but has been in a bit of a drought. The last postseason appearance for FHHS came in 2018 and the most recent playoff win happened back in 2010. The ’24 campaign went identical to the one from the previous year as the Falcons defeated Kofa and Bourgade Catholic to begin things in August before going winless the rest of the way.
Despite the record from last season, there is buy-in into the system from the players as head coach Peter Schermerhorn enters his third season at the helm.
“The interest and excitement about football continues to grow throughout the school,” Schermerhorn said in an e-mail interview. “More kids are signing up and participating in offseason activities.”
This year’s team will have to replace one of the school’s all-time greats in receiver Sam Barnard. The senior excelled on the field as a four-year varsity player. He set school records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Last season, Barnard led the Falcons in each of those categories with 70 catches for 1,250 yards and 18 TDs.
Barnard ranked #4 in the state in receiving yards, regardless of classification and was also #5 in total return yardage. He had 767 yards on special teams with 642 coming on kickoff runbacks. Surprisingly, he’s still looking for a college home where he can play this fall.
And he’s not just limited to football. Barnard is a three-sport athlete (basketball and baseball). He was recently named the 2A Central Region Defensive Player of the Year on the basketball court. The Falcons completed a 23-8 season and played for the 2A state championship last weekend.
“More than Sam’s production on the field, he has been a great leader, role model, and representative for Fountain Hills athletics,” Schermerhorn said.
While Barnard was racking up yards in the passing game, the offense needs to find some balance. The Falcons rushed for just 23 yards per game and scored only four touchdowns on the ground. Schermerhorn said the team needs to become better at running the football and stopping the run on defense.
Defensively, 10 of the 14 Fountain Hills players that reached double digits in tackles will return, including leader Connor Davies. The 6-1, 230-pound linebacker had 81 tackles with 15 resulting in a loss along with three sacks.
Schermerhorn is excited to see the growth of the defense heading into next season.
“Connor will lead that charge,” Schermerhorn said. “We will have an emphasis on our physicality and speed to the football. We return a lot of guys that saw action on that side of the ball.”
Davies, who carries a 3.78 GPA, is a National Honor Society member. He made Second Team All-3A East Region last season. He’s preparing for the coming year in multiple ways and is seeing gains.
“I have spent all offseason so far in the gym, working out with my team, and trying to lead by example in between my other sports,” Davies said in an e-mail interview. “I have been attending camps led by college coaches to enhance my skills as a linebacker and feel my coverage skills, knowledge of the game, and footwork have improved significantly. Finally, I have been working hard on my overall speed by running with chutes and believe I have increased my capabilities to track and attack.”
While the season does not start for another five months, Davies is gearing up for the camp circuit this spring and summer, including ones at Arizona State and Northern Arizona. He went to his first camp and found things to improve on to meet his desire to play at the next level.
”I prepare (for the camps) by working out, doing conditioning, and working on my leadership skills,” Davies said. “I have lowered by body fat while gaining some weight. And, I have been trying to lead by example more.”
Outside of football, Davies has dabbled in other sports, competing in wrestling, baseball, and soccer. This spring, he is on the golf team (Division III has it as a coed sport at this time of the year) for the first time. His plan for his senior year is to be a 3-sport athlete with football, soccer, and golf.
Davies said the team has been putting in a lot of hard work thus far in the offseason. He’s enjoying the recruiting process and the prospect of possibly playing in college. However, the immediate objective is to have a winning season to break that six-year drought.
“My goal is to help lead the team to the playoffs,” Davies said. “My coaches are amazing and I really am looking forward to a winning season!”
According to the AIA website, Fountain Hills played just three JV games and one freshman game last season. The varsity roster contained 44 players. Schermerhorn said he anticipates the team’s numbers growing again this offseason and the Falcons are planning to play a full varsity and JV schedule.
Word on the street is there’s some talent coming up through the ranks at the middle school (youth football) level to help in fielding a JV roster. With the Scottsdale schools just a half hour away, the key is making sure they round out their high school careers with the Falcons. In addition to that, last season’s roster had just eight seniors. A total of 36 underclassmen will return.
“The emphasis now is to make sure we retain all those (freshmen) and to add some athletes to that group that can help us on the football field,” Schermerhorn said.
Another factor that will help FHHS is being dropped to the 2A level in the new realignment. It makes sense from an enrollment standpoint as this fall’s numbers revealed a count of 409. The other sports at FHHS are in the 2A Central and football will be joining the new 2A Metro 3 Region with Bourgade Catholic, Camp Verde, Chino Valley, Cortez, and Scottsdale Christian Academy. While that group of five combined for a record of 23-27, Camp Verde and SCA were playoff teams with Scottsdale Christian repeating as 2A state champs. Schermerhorn is excited about the move to the 2A.
“We will be playing against schools that have similar enrollments,” Schermerhorn said. “Also, our travel won’t be as challenging. It’s tough to be on a school bus for three-plus hours to away games.”
Schermerhorn came to Fountain Hills from Michigan, where he won seven conference championships and got his teams into the playoffs 16 times. He was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame last year.
One of the mentors to the program the past few seasons is Gary Zauner, who is renowned in coaching kicking, punting, and snapping. Zauner spent 11 years as a college special teams coach, including stops at BYU, San Diego State, and New Mexico. After that, he was a special teams coordinator in the NFL for the Vikings, Ravens, and Cardinals for a total of 13 years.
The turf field at Fountain Hills High School (installed in 2023) will be hosting a pair of camps this spring. On Saturday, April 26, Gametime will be hosting a combine for both boys and girls. The girls’ combine is open to those in the classes of 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 and will start at 9 a.m. Testing will include a timed 40 and there will be specialized position drills and 1-on-1 matchups. The boys’ combine is for the class of 2026 and 2027 only and will begin at 2 p.m. College coaches attending include Arizona Christian, Minot State, Western New Mexico, and Ottawa. For more information, or to register, click on https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-gametime-rc-boys-girls-combine-tickets-1243075134189?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-source=cp&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing
The following Saturday (May 3), the PSR Big Camp series will take place. It will feature competition and college coaches. A recruiting seminar is also included in the event. For more information on this camp, or to register, click on https://psrbig.com/
Reach Chris Eaton at gridironarizona@yahoo.com or DM at @gridironarizona with story ideas.
