High school football: Youth serving well for Whitehorse

Note: Whitehorse finished with a 1-8 overall record in 2009 and a 0-3 record in 1A South region.

Young, but ready to rumble, the Whitehorse Raiders want to rebound from their one-win season last year to contend in each region game this season and hopefully make the state playoffs.

Whitehorse is counting on using its youth to rebuild a team that has had a tough time winning games the last few seasons. The Raiders faced injuries and grade issues last season, as well as just the difficulty of fielding a complete team at a small school.

"What hurts us a lot is when the seniors graduate — when you graduate six or seven for a team of our size — we barely have enough to have a team at the end of the season," Whitehorse coach Fernando Fonseca said. "The grades also hurt us. We're working with the students a lot on that this season. We want to make sure everyone has the grades to play."

The Raiders are planning to start at least half a dozen freshman and sophomores on each side of the field. Many of the sophomores acquired valuable experience playing as freshman last season.

Fonseca is particularly excited about the possibilities for sophomore running back/slot back Edgar Haskins. Haskins broke through last season as a key component in the Raiders offense and ended the season playing cornerback/linebacker on defense, as well.

"He's probably 135 pounds soaking wet, but he's got a good heart and he loves the game," Fonseca laughed. "When he gets knocked down, he gets right back up."

Brian Yazzie, a rare senior on the team this year, will return to quarterback the Raiders. Yazzie missed most of last season after getting injured when Whitehorse played Layton Christian in early October last year.

"He is back for us, which is a relief," Fonseca said of Yazzie. "With him there, at least we should be okay at the quarterback position."

Sophomore Tyrone Dee will return as offensive guard and defensive tackle to help plug holes on both sides of the line and senior Colten Lee will also provide valuable leadership for the Raiders on both sides of the ball. Lee is a running back on offense and a defensive tackle.

"Colten is a good player all-around, one of those Ironman football guys," Fonseca said. "He doesn't come off the field unless it's halftime."