On Saturday, the Imperial Valley Knights football team will be initiating its third season of existence with a game against the East Valley Ravens, out of Chandler, Ariz.
Semi-professional football first came to the Valley back in 2010, when the Southwest Blitz left Yuma for greener pastures.
They found it amid the alfalfa and lettuce and were renamed the Imperial Valley Knights.
Their first season was a little rocky but last March the Knights defeated the San Diego Thundercats, 29-21, in the Las Vegas Bowl. Two weeks prior, they had already crowned themselves Great West Conference champions.
“It felt great to win,” said Knights head coach Sean Johnson. “To play such an established team like the Thundercats was a great honor. It also put us on the map. We were ranked 28th out of 117 teams throughout the nation in Minor League 2A football.”
Johnson credits that rise in status for spreading the word and bringing some 60 hopefuls out to try out for the Knights this summer.
With returners like Hector Ayala and Rashad Jones leading the charge and assistance coming from former Central Union football coach Kevin Bird, Johnson likes his team’s chances against East Valley, although he knows a victory won’t come easily.
“They’re known for their defense,” he stated. “We got a little bit of a late start practicing this year, and I’m anxious to see how we react to that.”
Kickoff is at 4 p.m. at Imperial High.
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