Fall sports practices have been underway at Holbrook High School since July 25, with football and soccer teams getting their initial conditioning work done. Volleyball and cross country programs officially kicked things off on Aug. 8.
At the high school two new head coaches will be leading programs this year for the fall season. Head football coach Shawn Holley steps in to head up a program that saw its first winning campaign in many seasons last year. Coach Holley hopes to get Holbrook that first elusive playoff win they haven’t experienced for nearly two decades.
Holley and his staff have several returning players from last year’s unit with experience to compete for a region title and hopefully a playoff win or two. Holbrook is still playing in the 2A Little Colorado region in football and they open their season on Thursday, Aug. 25, when they host Ganado.
Last season the Roadrunners went 7-3, sharing the region title with both St. Johns and Alchesay. This season the Birds look to claim the title outright. Holbrook is picked by some pundits to win the 2A North region title, but how far they will get into the playoffs remains a question that Holley and his staff hope to have the answers for.
Jerald Nez takes over the reins of Holbrook’s cross country program. Nez inherits a strong boys team, and looks to build up a girls team to match it. Holbrook’s boys team placed well at the state meet last year and many of those runners have returned. The girls team has some familiar faces and some new runners who will attempt to match the boys progress. Both teams will get the season started at the Hopi Invitational meet on Aug. 30.
Aaron LaRose returns as head coach of the volleyball program. Last year’s team went 5-12 missing out on post-season action. This year’s team has several returning players with experience to make a playoff push. The ladies are slated to begin their season on Aug. 29, with a trip to Flagstaff to face Northland Prep.
Tony Aguilera will once again run the boys soccer team. Last year’s team went 4-8 but four of the losses were by two goals or less. Like the other fall sports, they return multiple players with experience and could possibly give Holbrook its first winning soccer season. They get things started on Sept. 1 with a trip to Payson to face the Longhorns.
The girls soccer team is under the direction of returning head coach Victor Paz. The team started slowly with numbers, but now has nearly 20 participants going through the paces to improve on last season’s 3-10 record. They will host Page on Aug. 27. Like the boys team a year ago they had several close contests which were within three goals or less.
Kassandra Grabowski and her new assistant Mckayla Korkosz are leading the cheer squad through their steps and hope to have them in competition form by early November when the state cheer competition begins.
This season Holbrook High School will once again be utilizing GOFAN for its game admission. At this time fans will still be able to purchase tickets at the gate. Holbrook charges $6 for tickets for football and volleyball games. Soccer games and cross country events remain free.
This season fans are encouraged to purchase season passes in the following categories: Seniors may purchase a Golden Pass for $25, which is good for any and all events at Holbrook High School throughout the 2022-2023 school year. This pass can only be purchased by those 60 years of age or older. A family season pass may be purchased for $60 and is good for up to four family members for one sports season. A family year pass is $100 and is good for all sports seasons. An individual season pass is $30, and an individual year long pass is $50. All passes may be purchased at the district office from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday
Any and all season passes are not accepted for any home playoff games in any sport as those are controlled by AIA pricing.
