David Medina is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Corona del Sol for AZPreps365.com

Corona Del Sol is ready to make a push for the 6A playoffs in 2020 after an offseason of uncertainty due to COVID-19.

Corona del Sol finished the 2019 season with a 4-7 record and a 2-3 record in league play. The Aztecs’ head coach Jon Becktold, in his fourth season at Corona, is ready to see his seniors make a run at the 6A playoffs.

“We have high expectations for a lot of our players, especially our seniors who have been in the program for four years,” Becktold said.

The Aztecs bring back an experienced team, with eight starters returning on both sides of the ball.

Corona senior Quade Swearingen will once again be the starting quarterback. Swearingen threw for 2010 yards, 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while completing nearly 55% of his passes during the 2019 season. Swearingen also rushed for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior Jake Schmitt, who made the 6A all-conference 2nd team during the 2019 season as a linebacker, will be ready to pick up where he left off. Schmitt finished the Aztecs' 2019 season with 94 total tackles, 2.5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery. Schmitt also plays tight end and had 24 receptions, 391 yards and five touchdowns. 

“We want to be better than we were last year, we want to win more games than we did last year, get into the playoffs, and for our seniors to make a run in the playoffs,” Becktold said. “That’s what we’ve been preaching the last four years.

“I think all three units (offense, defense, and special teams) are going to improve."

Having a majority of the starters returning looks promising for the Aztecs, and they also made sure not to forget about the special teams unit. The Aztecs hired Ken Olson, one of the best special teams coaches in the state of Arizona. Olson is a former coach at Desert Vista High School and that may not even be the most impressive thing on his resume. Olson is a former kicker for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills. He also kicked for the Arizona Outlaws and Washington Federals of the USFL (United States Football League). 

Becktold said he believes a certain factor caused by COVID-19 was the hardest part of the offseason for his players. 

“For the players, not knowing if they’re going to get to play, but they still show up every day," he said. "Usually they have a schedule, they know when they're going to be practicing, they know when they're going to play, but when there’s all these shutdowns and pushbacks, all these rumors that they hear, but I don’t think they are going to believe anything until we play next Friday. Uncertainty, I would say, is the hardest thing on these kids right now.”

Becktold said there isn’t a specific game he is looking ahead to on the schedule. He just wants to get back under the Friday night lights, starting with the opener against Desert Vista on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.

“We want to be a little better than we were the day before,” Becktold said.