Jackson Mchaney is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Valley Christian for AZPreps365.com.

At Valor Christian in Colorado, Kirk Sundberg was a part of a five-time state championship program in his eight-year tenure. When he joined Valley Christian last year, he inherited a team that had gone 3-7 in the 2017 season.

In his first season, the team flipped the script winning nine games and reaching the state semifinals. “The biggest factor has been preparing like coach (Sundberg) said,” said running back Tony Gomez.

They are all listening in Chandler.

“Having this past offseason was really significant,” said Sundberg. “Coming into the first year the guys didn’t know what to expect from the coaching staff, from the new program, from the new philosophies.

“They were excited, they committed, they sacrificed, and that allowed us to have a little bit of success, and you know success tends to build on itself.”

 It’s still building.

After making a deep, unexpected playoff run last year, the Trojans are looking to win their first state title since 2009.

“We really want the championship,” said running back Caden Majercak.

Although the air around Valley Christian has changed since Sundberg’s arrival, he credits his past mentors and present partners. “I owe a lot to the coaches that I learned from in Colorado, and I just wanted to bring some of that here,” said Sundberg. “I have a really good core of coaches that were here already, too.”

Sundberg has felt supported since he arrived and that’s meant everything since day one, “The community, the administration, and the school have been eager and excited to support this program,” said Sundberg.

The Trojans are off to a 4-0 start and are looking at a matchup against the team that stood in their way last season. Northwest Christian beat the Trojans twice last season, including the state semifinal, journeys to Valley Christian Friday.