St. Mary’s football has a lot to be excited about. And one of those reasons is head football coach Jose Lucero. Lucero is going into his second season as the Knights head coach. The St. Mary’s alum lead his team to a 6-3 record in the COVID-era. That is not an easy feat, but Coach Lucero did it, and there is so much to build off of for next year.
Coach Lucero told Sports360AZ that it was a “dream come true” to return to his alma mater and be the head football coach. But the why? Lucero admitted that he and his wife both attended St. Mary’s. They bleed green and white; he also admitted that he bought into the philosophy of what St Mary’s is all about, and that is “doing more with less and focusing on team football.” Lastly, his faith is very important to him, so he wanted to “be apart of a Catholic school and Catholic community”. As for Coach Lucero’s philosophy well, he brought over in his words, “discipline and accountability and doing your job.. those were the number one things we stressed all year.”
Now, the Knights eye the 2021 season. 2020 was all about laying the foundation for the program, and now it’s time to build off of the momentum that the Knights have. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and they are hungrier than ever in 2021, ” the kids got a little taste of success, and they enjoyed it, and they are ready to go out and work for another year.”
At the helm, they have 2022 QB Nick Martinez leading the group, ” he’s a very smart kid, he’s a good vocal leader, and he brings some toughness to the position. We are excited for him to take this team as far as he can go in his senior year.. he will be a kid that leads from the front. He was a big key as to why we could open up the offense last season.”
Running back/ wide receiver Anthony Pacheco had a breakout junior season. Coach Lucero expects big things from him going into his final campaign, ” coming into his senior year, he’s going to be playing more of a true receiver position, we think.. we expect to give him the ball, move him around and get him the ball in space.. he’s got good natural hands, big strong, physical kid. We expect a lot out of him next year.”
All eyes on the Knights in 2021.
