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Vandal football prepares for season

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The Miami Vandals football team held their Vandal camp July 25 to the 27 and was well attended with over 30 students. The team spent three days and two nights together with a vigorous schedule and some team bonding activities. 

Coach Brandon Powell is back at it in Miami with plenty of help from coaches that have stepped up to invest in student athletes. Heading the defense is a former Vandal, Ray Rocha.

These coaches, all having other jobs, some even travel from the valley, are putting in a lot of time for the players. The hope is to try and change the culture that the kids need to be putting in the work and effort to make a winning team.  As a football coach, losing isn’t what you strive for, but as long as the players give it their all on and off the field, Coach Powell can handle it. If the loss comes from not putting in the time on the field or in the gym, that’s a different story.

The junior varsity team has seven games scheduled for this season, which will play a big part in building this football program.

As far as the copper kettle game, the vandals will have all season to prepare. They hope  to keep the kettle at Miami this season. Coach Powell has plenty of years on both sides of the rivalry to know what it means to win and lose that single game. Pushing it out to the end of the season allows the athletes to compete all season without the feeling of defeat hanging over them. The Copper Kettle game is one of the longest rivals in the history of Arizona and for many people of the community, one of the only football games attended in the season.

The Vandal season kicks off with a home game on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. against Scottsdale Christian.