A lone win and nine losses punctuated one of the worst records in Brophy Prep football history.

 

The majority of schools Brophy lost to went on to play in the state playoffs, including eventual 6A Conference state champion Chandler.

 

“Brophy has been a strong football contender for so long that the schedule we had the last few years was arguably one of the toughest in the state,” says Athletic Director Bill Woods. “We certainly weren’t one of the best 16 teams in the 6A, but we didn’t play anybody lower than that.”

 

In addition to the difficult season, long-time coach Scooter Molander stepped down after 13 years.

 

The void he left in the program was not easily filled, according to Woods.

The head coaching position had at the beginning of the hiring process over 100 applicants. Once the applicants had passed a screening process, a few were brought in for interviews.

 

Brophy’s eventual choice, Jon Kitna, didn’t show up until late in the process but had an impressive coaching pedigree and approach to the game.

 

On paper, Kitna immediately stood out from the rest of the candidates.

 

He had been an NFL quarterback for 14 years prior to taking up coaching. “When you play quarterback in the NFL, you are a coach. The quarterback has to understand everything from defense to special teams,” says Kitna.

 

Kitna compiled a 45-20 record at two schools before coming to Brophy, including turning around a school that had two straight losing seasons. “In a very short period of time, coach Kitna was able to turn programs from being a little bit down to up and that’s what we were really looking for here,” says Woods.

 

Kitna’s coaching philosophy was the next thing to separate him from the rest of the potential coaches.

 

Kitna doesn’t like to talk much about wins and losses because he views it as distracting from a larger purpose of the game. He believes the best way to build a football team is focus on building men of character and integrity.

 

“Every chance you get to coach is a chance to work on your craft as a leader and a motivator of men,” says Kitna.

 

He emphasizes the importance of the game as a tool for building players to strive for their potential.

 

Kitna also has a firm belief in Brophy’s ability to bounce back and learn from the struggle of last season. “Brophy is not a broken place,” says Kitna.

 

Over his first three weeks as head coach, Kitna has shown that Brophy certainly isn’t a broken place with many new and returning players coming together to post a 2-1 record.

 

Brophy Prep will continue building and face Copper Canyon this Friday at Phoenix College at 7pm.