Why Desert Christian High School started a football team [Video]

TUCSON, Arizona — How serious is Desert Christian High School about starting football?

The team chaplain assists with practice. JD Reyes is the brother-in-law of head coach Jason McKibben, who is the Eagles first head coach for a high school that began back in 1986.

“Sports in general is such a great opportunity to develop the guys into strong individuals,” said McKibben.

One individual is wide receiver Tyson Dobbins, who practices as if he isn’t new to football.

“I was a basketball player,” said Dobbins. “I wanted to try a new sport.”

Dobbins and about two dozen others are playing their first season in Class 1A. It’s eight-man football, something new for quarterback Cooper Payne.

“It’s just tackle football at the end of the day,” said Payne. “Just go out and compete.”

“There’s a lot of space so you can do a lot of fun things with the ball in …