Solano replaces Denton at San Luis

 San Luis athletic director Jamie Behr informed The Sun late Thursday night that Jay Denton will not be brought back as the school's football coach.

 Denton headed up the Sidewinders' football program the last three years after coming over from 3A Eloy-Santa Cruz, where he spent more than 20 years and won two state football titles and three wrestling state championships.

 Denton will retain his teaching position at San Luis. Fernando Solano, a San Luis assistant the last two years, takes over as head coach.
 Behr did not go into specifics on the coaching swap.

 "We just decided to go in a different direction," he said.

 Denton said he was told the reasons for his dismissal were that he couldn't keep a coaching staff together and that San Luis never started up a freshman program during his tenure.

 Denton, who has been inducted into the Arizona Coaches Hall of Fame, said he was informed in December that he would not return to the program. He added that it already feels strange being away from coaching.

 "It's already different. It's hard to get use to all this preparation time," he said.

 "Everything works for the best, but my handicap hasn't gotten any better," Denton, an avid golfer, added jokingly.

 Solano takes over a San Luis program that went 1-9 last year. The lone win, which occurred on Week 2, snapped a 28-game losing streak.

 Solano is a Yuma native. He played his high school football at Cibola before going on to play at Arizona Western College and then the University of La Verne, an NCAA Division III school.

 San Luis will be Solano's first head-coaching position. He was previously an assistant at Cibola for three years before joining the San Luis coaching staff as the defensive coordinator two-years ago.

 "I think I'm blessed to get an opportunity like this," said Solano, who lives in San Luis and teaches history at the high school. "People might not see it from the outside-in, but being here, I see a lot of great potential. Whatever you put into it, you're going to get out out of it, and I know there is a strong commitment from the administration, so I'm extremely excited."

 Solano added that one of his immediate goals is to establish a freshman program so there are three levels where players can learn the fundamentals.

 "I just want to get the kids interested and have them buy in to what it takes to be a football player - have them competing, working hard and learning the fundamentals," Solano said.

 "You can expect kids putting their all on the line. Even if the score doesn't show it at the end of the game, as long as they can walk out knowing they gave it everything they had, that's all I want."