Charlie Hall, Phoenix football

When was the last time Phoenix won a football game? Head coach Charlie Hall won’t flinch in blurting out exactly how many days it has been for the Pirates.

For history’s sake, it will be 1,784 days between Phoenix’s last victory on Oct. 19, 2019, over McLoughlin/Griswold until the Pirates kick off at home against Brookings-Harbor next Friday in the 2024 season opener.

“But who’s counting?” Hall adds with a wry chuckle.

If the Pirates have anything to say about it, such a count won’t be needed before too long.

“I know the thing is how everyone says I just want to win the one game,” said Hall, “but we have visions of a possible winning season. That’s kind of how we’re going into the season. We’ll obviously take the one-week approach, but I’m pretty positive and optimistic about what we’re going to do this year.”

Phoenix has good reason to carry such hopes in Hall’s second season at the helm. There is more continuity across the board between coaches and players as it relates to the systems being run, and there’s more overall varsity experience than in recent seasons.

The Pirates boast nine returning offensive starters, and half of the defense is back to see about snapping a losing streak that has extended to 33 games. Phoenix hasn’t won a conference game in an even longer stretch (34 straight losses), dating back to Oct. 20, 2017, against Klamath Union.

“Our kids are coming off a summer camp experience with more confidence than they ever had,” said Hall. “We’ve got a chance to get off to a good start and there’s no telling what that’s going to parlay into.”

A year ago, the Pirates lost in overtime against Brookings-Harbor, and Week 2 opponent — Harrisburg — is coming off a two-win campaign with a roster largely comprised of underclassmen.

Guiding the hopes for Phoenix will be an offensive line that returns almost entirely intact and a host of playmakers led by quarterback Payton Turner, running back Cody Martin and receivers Tobias Akpan, Wyatt Dean and Sidney McQueen.

Akpan, who suffered a leg injury during last year’s basketball season, was Phoenix’s leading receiver a year ago. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound target initially healed from his prior injury but suffered a different setback recently, leaving his debut likely not until Week 3.

“Tobias Akpan was probably our MVP last year as a receiver and defensive end with his length and speed,“ said Hall. “He’s arguably one of the top players in our league and maybe hopefully in the state from a 3A standpoint.”

Martin was fourth in the 4A 100-meter dash last spring in 11.18 seconds and gives Phoenix some game-breaking potential at running back. His early status is also in question as he recovers from illness.

“Clearly his speed is something that gives us a great chance to have explosive plays on offense, and he gave us some of that last year,” said Hall.

After taking snaps for the first time last year, Turner returns with more of a footing when it comes to nuances of playing quarterback.

“This year he’s much more experienced and much more confident so I look for much improvement in that area,” said Hall. “Because of that, we’ve been able to expand the passing game. He understands more so it’s a bigger playbook and there’s more things that we can do.”

Phoenix struggled to finish drives and get the ball over the goal line a year ago — scoring 97 points in nine games — and there has been extra emphasis put on execution in those must-have moments.

“The red zone is something that was critical,” said Hall. “It was a lot of things with just our lack of experience and lack of physicality, and it’s a mental thing when you’re learning how to win and how to be successful and how to not shoot yourself in the foot when the pressure’s on.

“We’ve put ourselves practice-wise in those situations with some goal-line scrimmages or third-down scrimmages so we know how to deal with that better and when we get in those situations games we’re not just panicking.”

Phoenix’s linemen average around 200 pounds across the board, led by returners Angelo Thom, Diago Vaca, Aaden Reyna and Dawson Ford, and Hall said they have shown good athleticism and growth in understanding their blocking concepts.

Senior linebacker Derek Corder leads a defense that is experienced and athletic in the trenches and boasts a secondary with good size at cornerback in Dean and Caiden Darcey.

An added bonus this fall will be the inclusion of sophomore placekicker and punter Louis Alcantar-Ochoa, who has a soccer background.

“It gives you some chances because he can kick 40-yarders,” said Hall. “It can erase some of the mistakes on offense if you’ve got a guy that can kick three points every once in a while.”