For Drew Neighbors, football is much more than just a sport. It’s a family.

The two-way starting senior has been a member of the Saint Mary’s football team since his freshman year, after making the switch from baseball which he had been playing since he was a little boy.

“Baseball didn’t go as I wanted it to go freshman year, [but] I’ve always wanted to play football,” Neighbors said.

The 5-foot-6-inch tackle always had dreams of playing football, but his father, an athletic trainer, was afraid to have him play contact sports until seventh or eighth grade. Football also posed a large financial burden.

“We were not in a position to afford football, but we knew early on that he was going to want to play football,” says Tony Neighbors, Drew’s father.

“As early as I can remember he loved contact. He craved it.”

In order to get that contact that he craved, Drew would often wrestle and box to the point that it even made his family, especially his little sisters, a little uncomfortable.

However, Tony made sure to teach him the importance of good sportsmanship.

“When we were done, I taught him to shake hands, and once we shook hands that was the end. No cheap shots,” Tony said.

Drew’s father describes him as a great kid who always works hard, doesn’t shy away from the physical work and got “glowing reports from every single one of his teachers and still does.”

However, life hasn’t been so easy for the Neighbors family. Over the summer, Drew’s mother, Stephanie, passed away following an illness. 

While both Drew and Tony admit life has been difficult since her passing, the family is learning to adapt.

“Since his mom, my wife, passed, things have been as good as can be expected. We all work to make sure each other feels loved and special,” said Tony.

Tony said everyone in the family has taken on a new role since his wife’s passing. Drew has three siblings — two younger sisters, both at Saint Mary’s — and a younger brother who goes to Our Lady of Mount Carmel School.

“Drew is working hard in football and school and holds down a job, all while balancing a social life, but we all have our roles,” Tony said. “We’re a team but I understand that they have to grow and move on.”

Drew says he has learned to adapt, but it’s hard “because there are no phone calls or texts or just the motherly love that we all need.”

But Drew has found comfort in football, which has become a safe haven for him. Drew attributes his favorite part of being on the team to his teammates.

“We all grind and try to work for the same goal and that’s just to win by any means necessary,” said Drew.

Tom Britain, former Saint Mary’s head football coach, recognized the hard work and dedication that Neighbors brought to the team this year, saying, “Drew has had an excellent season in spite of this loss and has been a rock of consistency not missing a single practice and rarely leaving the field.”

Drew plans to attend Mesa Community College. He’s unsure what he wants to major in but is thinking either sports medicine or going into the heating, ventilation and air conditioning field.

His father has one wish for him.

“I just want him to be happy and healthy,” Tony said.

Drew isn’t planning on pursuing a football career in college, but his father doesn’t think he’s ready for it to be over. Football has taught him how to grow and learn and be even better, but schools have not contacted him about any potential recruitment.

Still optimistic, Tony believes that he will land somewhere great.

“We've done well over the many years letting God lead the way,” said Tony.