Mingus Union football alumni return to Bright Field

For one night it was Marauder versus Marauder at Mingus Union in an event that brought the Mingus football family closer together.

On Friday night Mingus Union hosted its annual alumni game. Among other match ups, alumni Marauders faced off against the current high school teams with the past meeting the present and future.

“It was a good night,” Mingus head football coach Robert Ortiz said. “We had about 30 alumni come out. We just scrimmaged our varsity, JV. It’s a good interaction between our alumni and our current football teams to get a good time. And most of them never met each other, so that’s good to get to know each other and kinda go from there.”

The games were the Marauders’ first action since they took a break for the 4th of July and then coached at their annual youth camp.

“They scrimmaged pretty good, maybe a little rusty, we had two weeks off, we had the youth camp, so it’s the first time we’re lining up but we’ll be back at it next week, so we’ll be ready to roll,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz was impressed with the alumni Marauders’ showings.

“Both of the alumni teams actually looked to be doing pretty good,” Ortiz said. “We split them up as pretty evenly as we could and everyone looked like they were having fun, that’s pretty much what this event’s about.”

With more alumni playing this year, they were able to split them up into two teams based on what year they graduated, those

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from odd years together and those who graduated in even years on a side.

“Last year we didn’t have enough to do that,” Ortiz said. “This year we did, so it was kinda nice if you graduated in an even year, you’re on an even team and odd year’s you’re odds, so it was pretty good.”

The JV also played, as did the linemen, in 7-on-7.

Assistant football coach and head baseball coach Erick Quesada took most of his alumni team’s reps at quarterback but also played some receiver on offense. Ortiz mostly coached but also played some receiver and quarterback on offense.

The alumni coaches and current players traded barbs and the high schoolers often celebrated the most when they made a play against one of their coaches.

“It’s always a fun one because all week leading up to the event the kids know what’s coming so there’s always a little smack talking going on between the coaches and the players,” Ortiz said. “‘Coach I can burn you,’ ‘can you guard me?’ so it always makes it fun and interesting like at the youth camp when it gets closer to the event the kids know it’s coming and then we finally get out here and your coaches are having fun, showing them up a little bit and then the kids get a shot and it’s right back at ‘em so it’s always a fun time.”