By Don Ketchum

For a long time, football was forgettable at Carl Hayden High.

Not anymore.

The game is fun again for the Falcons and their fans.

With the season at its halfway point, the team already has matched the amount of wins – three – than it did all of last season, the first under coach Jeremy Zimmerman.

Zimmerman had coached at the younger levels at the west Phoenix school for about six years while the varsity won a combined 3 games from 2004-2010.

“It’s halfway in the season and we are going in the right direction, but there is a lot left to do,’’ Zimmerman said.

“There is a lot of dedication and commitment on the part of the players and the assistant coaches. We do not play for wins, we play for the best performance. The score doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of whether we are approaching our potential.

“The final score is not always a good measurement. You can play well against a good team and not have a good score, or you can beat a team that’s struggling by scoring a lot of points but still not play that well.’’

Zimmerman had nearly 40 on his roster to begin the season, but that has dropped by about 10 due to various circumstances, such as some players having to attend night school and others suffering injuries. But the Falcons keep plugging along.

Players in other school districts play football almost from the day they are able to walk. At Carl Hayden and other schools in the Phoenix Union High School District, that seldom is the case. Players often don’t learn the game until they reach high school, due to various socio-economic conditions.

That is changing somewhat, with a few youth leagues sprouting up around Carl Hayden and elsewhere.

“You want to teach them as best you can, let them play and try to have some success. Once they do that, the confidence starts to grow,’’ Zimmerman said. “I had a lot of these guys at the JV level and you can see them grow and mature, you know, they think, “Hey, I can do this.’ ‘’

Support for the team is growing, as are players’ expectations for success and improvement. The older players are taking more of an ownership role with their work ethic both on and off the field, and trying to pass that along to some of the younger players.

“It’s about teaching guys, getting them to believe,’’ Zimmerman said.

One of the team captains is senior Tryshaun Hall, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound fullback-linebacker.

“He has done a real good job for us,’’ Zimmerman said.

The coach thinks he has a possible star in junior receiver-defensive back Amadou Gueye, who scored four touchdowns against Phoenix North last week, including receiving, rushing and on defense with an interception.

Zimmerman believes the 6-3, 180-pound Gueye is one of the fastest players in the state.

“He was on the varsity last year as a sophomore, but he was a little timid,’’ Zimmerman said. “Now he has played more, gained more confidence and is starting to realize his potential.’’

Carl Hayden travels to face Tolleson on Friday night (Sept. 28).