The Hamilton High players celebrate on the night they earned the Minuteman Trophy.
Photo by Army National Guard
On Jan. 10,
Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) was honored on the eighth-annual MaxPreps Football Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard. The Huskies not only won the state championship but they also added to their six previous state championships. This year the Huskies finished with a record of 12-2 and because of that, the school ended up No. 45 in the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings out of 16,000 schools nationwide.
When we arrived at Hamilton High School, the JV basketball team was just starting its game. The presentation for us was set for 7:30 during the varsity basketball game halftime. Few were there when we arrived, but by the time the varsity game began, the entire school bleachers were packed. Out front handing out pens, stickers, football team T-shirts, hats and more were Specialist Daniel Guevara and Sergeant Amanda Robinson of the Arizona Army National Guard. After packing the stadium, taking up the far right side of the bleachers was the entire Huskies football team screaming and cheering on their basketball home team. You could feel the school spirit!
At halftime, Mr. Fairchild, the Hamilton High School Athletic Director, made his way to the floor. With the large Tour of Champions banner set just behind him, flanked by two Army National Guard banners, Mr. Fairchild prepared to speak. Simultaneously, the Army National Guard hit the basketball court. They came in force with Specialist Guevara, Captain John Gehring, Sergeant Robinson, Staff Sergeant Patrick Keenan, Master Sergeant Robert McMahon and Commander Sergeant Major Michael Sojourner. Also on the floor was the head football coach Steve Belles, who after seven years has a 92-6 record putting him at a .930 winning percentage.
Mr. Fairchild made the formal introductions to the MaxPreps representative, Norris Thomas, who hyped up the audience by explaining the Huskies' record, proclaiming their state championship and their national ranking in the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings poll. The audience really came to life when some of the Army National Guard representatives started throwing camouflage mini-footballs along with T-shirts. Every person in the audience was standing up, hands out, and cheering for footballs.
Thomas introduced Commander Sergeant Major Sojourner who presented the Army National Guard national ranking trophy, an award that represents dedication, perseverance and commitment to a cause, to coach Belles and the team captains. The stadium was roaring. After handing over the prestigious award, also known as "The Minuteman," coach Belles, in his soft-spoken tone, discussed how amazing his team was.
"From an early two game loss to come back and win 12 straight games showed the determination, heart and soul of the entire team," Belles said.
After hearing him speak about his players and meeting the team, coach Belles and the Huskies are true representatives of the Minuteman Trophy.
After the presentation, Belles stayed on the court with his players and took team photos, then spoke with both Channel 10 and Channel 3 News. He shook all of our hands and thanked each of us for taking the time to be there. It was a magical evening and certainly demonstrated why coach Belles has such a strong team and incredible winning record.
