Yellow Jackets break training camp

Mike Sciacca

Like clockwork every winter, monarch butterflies migrate to

Huntington Beach Central Park and Norma Gibbs Park, where they

cluster together in eucalyptus groves to spend the winter months.

Every August for the past 17 years, a particular species of Yellow

Jackets have swarmed Surf City, where they come to build strength and

stamina for a demanding fall.

They come from Lakeside, Ariz., a small town southeast of

Flagstaff, surrounded by little lakes. At 7,000 feet in elevation,

the town is marked by stately pine trees. It is known as a recreation

destination for residents of Phoenix and Tucson and for having the

No. 1 elk habitat in the world.

It’s also home to some pretty good football.

That’s the city -- population 15,000 -- where the Blue Ridge High

School Yellow Jackets reside, and its football program has been a

dominant force in the state’s 3-A Division under head coach Paul

Moro.

For 17 years, Moro has brought his team to Huntington Beach for

its preseason no-contact camp -- a week that most high school

football programs refer to as hell week.

Moro has been involved with Blue Ridge’s football program for 26

years -- 21 as head coach.

The Yellow Jackets -- all 50 players and the coaching staff --

returned to Lakeside Saturday, after spending a week working on

offensive and defensive schemes at Central Park. School began

Wednesday at the 800-student campus.

While in Surf City, the Yellow Jackets went through physical

training from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. on the beach, then headed to the park

for their afternoon workout session.

During the previous four years’ training, Blue Ridge had held its

summer camp at Golden West College.

“This all started in 1987, when I told the football team that if

they won a state championship, I’d take them to the beach,” explained

Moro, whose team had overnight sleepovers during their week’s stay in

his friend’s backyard, as well as the backyards of a few other local

residents. “They won it, and we’ve been coming ever since.

“The beach is just a great place for the kids to visit. They work

very hard, and we’ve been blessed with tremendous success.”

Moro grew up mostly in Scottsdale, but has ties to Surf City. He

lived in Huntington Beach for 10 years, graduated from Huntington

Beach High in 1970 and was a two-time All-Sunset League, All-Orange

County and All-CIF linebacker.

He later played at Orange Coast College and Long Beach State, and

coached as an assistant at OCC and Yucca Valley High before

returning to Arizona, where he joined the Yellow Jackets’ program.

Since the 1987 season, Blue Ridge has won 10 state championships

and 90% of its games. In 1996, the program had a 63-game win streak

snapped, which Moro said was, at the time, the ninth-longest such

streak in prep football history.

Moro said the Yellow Jackets open their season at home the final

weekend of August against Fountain Hills.

“This is my second trip out here, and it’s a great place to hold

camp,” said Garret McCloud, a senior running back and linebacker.The

17-year-old was nursing an ankle sprain and sat out last Thursday

afternoon’s workout, lounging in the shade of a nearby pine tree,

watching as his teammates went through their drills.

“By being away from home like this, it helps us get focused and

ready for the season,” he said. “It helps us get the right attitude

and become disciplined.

“But we’ve had fun, too. The beach is great, and there are a lot

of hot girls here.”

As has been the case in the departure from Huntington Beach of

each of the 16 previous Blue Ridge teams, Moro and his coaching staff

took their players to the same Sizzler restaurant in Huntington Beach

for one final meal -- the steak and a shrimp eating contest.

Afterward, they began the long bus ride back to Lakeside.

“Everything we do is about tradition,” Moro said. “This trip to

Huntington Beach is part of that tradition. We love coming out here,

and we’ll be back again next year.”