It's game night.
Mesa Desert Ridge plays host to Tempe Corona del Sol in a 6A football game Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. MST. This is the second game for the Jaguars since their starting quarterback was dismissed from the team and 12 players subsequently were suspended.
A few items to know:
After news that Desert Ridge football coach Miles Smith kicked starting quarterback Gunner Brewer off the team, 12 teammates supporting him were suspended.
Desert Ridge is 2-5 under first-year coach Smith, who is being assisted by his father, Lovie Smith, a former NFL coach. Corona del Sol is 5-1 in coach Eric Lauer's second season in charge of the program.
Lovie Smith was front and center in a recent viral video on the situation.
The situation
Desert Ridge quarterback Brewer was dismissed on Oct. 5, three days after helping lead the team to a 14-12 win at Vail Cienega. Gunner's mom, Marie, said the removal stemmed from changing a play in the game.
Miles and Smith and athletic director Kevin Swann have not returned messages from The Arizona Republic this week.
In favor of their quarterback, 12 players walked out during a team meeting after a coach told them to leave if they didn't like the decision to remove Brewer from the team, according to a parent. Five of them are seniors. All 12 players were subsequently suspended for the remainder of the season.
Brewer, a senior, had completed 101 of 203 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns with eight interceptions in six games. He ran for 359 yards and six scores in 42 carries. He also played his junior year when the Jaguars went 0-10 and he passed for 343 yards and three TDs in seven games.
Brewer was late for a practice the week of the Mesa Westwood game. His mom Marie said it was due to a car problem. He sat out of the first quarter of that game as discipline, she said. Desert Ridge lost that Sept. 25 game 56-20.
With Brewer dismissed and the 12 players suspended, Desert Ridge lost last week's game to Mesa Red Mountain, 49-7.
Another perspective
A parent of a player who still is on the team told The Republic on Thursday, Oct. 15, that he supports coach Miles Smith in his first year taking over a program that hit rock bottom last year.
“He came into the beginning of the year and said he was going to make changes that were going to be uncomfortable for the boys,” he said. “But that’s part of changing the culture and building a program to get back to a winning status.”
He added that his son is still growing and learning. He said advice he gives his son is that as long as criticism is constructive, it’s important to accept it.
“You may not always like it and it may not always make you feel good what you’re being told. But you have to be receptive and open to it.”
The parent said he's not trying to add fuel to the fire.
"I'm trying to advocate for the other players who are affected by this, not just the ones who chose to walk away and the quarterback that was dismissed because of his actions," the parent said.
He said he talks to his son about how there are going to be growing pains.
"You don't always like the decisions, but you have to embrace it, because if you don't, it's not going to get any easier or any better," the parent said.
(This story will be updated. Check back soon.)
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Desert Ridge football to tee it up amid unrest, controversy. Updates