Zubey’s Zoo
13 years ago Eddy Zubey stepped on campus at Higley High School.
Little did he know at the time, said destination on the corner Recker and Pecos Road in Gilbert would become his long-time home, both on the field, and off.
“The community, the people, the kids, the families,” Zubey told the “Zone Read” about what makes Higley special. “The area has been so supportive of what we do.”
What he’s done is win a whole lotta games, 93 and counting, including a 5A State Championship last winter. We’ll get to that later.
The bigger picture for Zubey, beyond the wins and losses, has been working with young men and watching them mature mentally, emotionally, and physically from the time they arrive at Higley until the moment they walk across the stage and receive their diploma.
“Seeing kids develop, not necessarily in the football sense, but the accountability sense,” he explained. “The responsibility [of being a student-athlete]. Having a kid who never shows up on time, forgets his shirt, can’t do this, can’t do that. To see them become fully bought in to your program and what you ask them to do. It really has nothing to do with the football aspect.
“Just seeing them grow and mature and have that light go off in their head. That’s the greatest feeling. Knowing you made a difference in these kids lives to help them become productive citizens.”
Zubey’s path to Higley is as unique as his long flowing locks which apparently will be making a return this winter.
A former junior college transfer linebacker at Arizona State under the late Bruce Snyder, Zubey’s first local high school job was at Maryvale, before serving as a graduate assistant at ASU for four years under Snyder, and then Dirk Koetter. He would then be, coincidentally, Steve Campbell’s defensive coordinator at McClintock for two seasons before leaving to become Westwood’s head coach in 2006. He would then spend three years leading St. Mary’s before leaving in 2011 for Higley, taking over for Jim Beall who retired after the 2010 season.
Here’s the moment that @HIGLEYFOOTBALL head coach Eddy Zubey won his 1st state title 🏆
The Knights beat the Cobras 41-21, after scoring 35 unanswered to win 1st title in program history. @Sports360AZ pic.twitter.com/9kNNBilCd3
— Jordan Spurgeon (@spurge_) December 10, 2022
“It was crazy,” Zubey said in reflection. “That whole year.”
The Knights were coming off a two-win, COVID season in 2021, which saw the majority of Zubey’s staff leave the program for head jobs or coordinator positions at other schools. The previous year they were elevated to 6A and placed in the death pool known as the Premiere Region due to their previous success in 5A, despite their enrollment not fulfilling 6A status. After the 2020 season, Higley appealed their region and were placed in the 6A Fiesta, still playing with a 5A enrollment.
Despite being realigned back into 5A play, Higley’s 2022 roster entered the season with very little success at any level – freshmen, JV, or varsity.
“We weren’t winning,” Zubey bluntly said. “So I had to come in that January [of 2022] and sell it as a dream to our guys. Nobody transferred out. They all stuck together. To me, that was my best coaching job ever. I had go in and sell this dream to guys who had never really won before.”
What followed that fall was an 11-win, state championship season which included the school’s first ever win over rival Williams Field, and Zubey’s good friend, and former ASU teammate, Campbell.
“The rest is history,” Zubey noted.
— Higley Football (@HIGLEYFOOTBALL) December 10, 2022
The run to the school’s first state championship was just as surreal for the players.
“It was definitely a crazy and exciting experience,” senior Daxen Hall said to the “Zone Read.” “It was something you always dream of doing in high school and it was probably one of the happiest moments in my life. I was super close with the seniors last year as well, so it was crazy just winning with my brothers that I’d do anything for. But even after winning state, I was looking onto [this] year.
“I wanted to feel [that] moment again as a senior.”
Today was a fun day at Higley!! Last day before Spring Break and the Boys picked up their 2022 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 💍
Thank you to all our parents, admin and supporters! You all made this year special! pic.twitter.com/IOlZm2poCZ— Higley Football (@HIGLEYFOOTBALL) March 10, 2023
Higley is 5-1 entering their game Friday at Notre Dame Prep. Horizon, Desert Mountain, and the usual regular season finale against Williams Field await.
Zubey knows his team will be battle-tested and ready heading into the playoffs.
Look out 5A, Knight school may be in session again next month.
Just Do It
It started about a year ago as an innocent single sentence in a group chat.
“We should go to the Ryder Cup.”
Of course, that text started a brush fire reaction from myself and my three friends who wondered if a European trip over 6,000 miles away was feasible – even 14 months away.
I don’t share a lot of my personal life in this column but I was reminded by my friends who would accompany me to Rome that life is too short to simply talk about pursuing a “bucket list” event. Of course, there were some speed bumps along the way. I waited a bit too long to book the flight so myself, and my girlfriend, weren’t able to get on the same outbound flight from Phoenix to London (where our 11-day excursion would begin).
Then there was my passport “issue.” Truth be told, I lost my old one which I last used over 20 years ago. After unsuccessfully sifting through every box in the house, I apparently applied at the same time as well, everyone. While my new passport arrived in plenty of time before our trip, there was always the thought in the back of my mind of my application getting “delayed” with a paid in full vacation sitting on my credit card statement.
Whatever initial trepidation I had about traveling to the other side of the world for the first time since 1999 was put to rest after touching down in London. The next stop was Paris, then Florence, then Rome, and finally breath-taking Sorrento, the most picturesque city I’ve ever seen.
Oh yes, the Ryder Cup.
Spending a day watching the world’s best golfers compete in uh,”friendly competition” was everything our group hoped. Not only was Rome’s Marco Simone Golf Course in pristine condition, the event was extremely well-organized and the staff more than happy to accommodate, despite being citizens of the “opposing team.”
I guess my “moral of the story” is to not be afraid to check off a bucket list initiative – regardless the size of the box.
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Eric Sorenson
A Valley native, Eric has had a passion for the Arizona sports scene since an early age. He has covered some of the biggest events including Super Bowls, national championships and the NBA and MLB playoffs in his near 20 years in local media.