Can Andy Litten turn around another football program at Mesa Mountain View?
Andy Litten drove 24 miles each spring day from Scottsdale Horizon, put on a red Mesa Mountain View shirt, and got to learn about his new football players.
This is another coaching change for the Toros with renewed hope.
Since now-deceased iconic coach Jesse Parker built it from scratch in the mid-1970s and won state titles in the '70s, '80s and '90s, the program has seen six head coaches come in. Bernie Busken won three state titles in the second half of the '90s. Tom Joseph took them to their last title in 2002.
Chad DeGrenier, now at Mesa, tried to get Mountain View back to elite status. So did Mike Fell, who is now leading Tempe McClintock's program. Then, the Toros went back to roots, hiring former Toros championship quarterback Joe Germaine, who led them to their last state title under Parker in 1993.
Germaine did good things, but the Toros still weren't able to break through with any kind of substantial playoff run. He's now at the new American Leadership Academy school in Mesa, leading that football program.
Now comes Litten, who led Horizon to a 5A state title in 2021 and ended the school's 27-year championship drought, in his first season there.
If he pulls that kind of magic this fall, it would be Mountain View's first title in 22 years. It's been a long time, and competing in the top conference (6A), it's even harder — although it opens up a bit now each postseason due to the Open playoff taking the top eight teams from the big conferences.
Litten sees great facilities, great families, an administration committed to winning, and feels anything is possible.
"It's been kind of nice to see those kids (at Horizon) finish and make the transition here," said Litten, whose last day teaching at Horizon was Thursday.
Right now he's just trying to get to know his Mountain View players, using spring practices and June to install his schemes and putting players in the right spots. Several have jumped out, including linebacker Beckham Barney, who had 114 tackles, four sacks and four forced fumbles last year.
On offense, quarterback Brady Goodman (2026 class) and wide receiver Mikey Sumko (2025) figure to lead. They could pose as one of the best dynamic duos in the state.
Sumko has picked up college football offers, while everybody is just now getting to know about Goodman, who is 6-foot-4, 205 pounds. Just by seeing how he's worked in the spring, Litten is reminded of another quarterback he once worked with.
Nicco Marchiol, now at West Virginia, was quarterback at Hamilton when Litten was the offensive coordinator. That team reached the Open final in 2020 and Marchiol was The Arizona Republic's Player of the Year as a physical quarterback, who didn't mind trying to run over defenders as much as he passed over them for touchdowns.
"Good arm, moves well," Litten said. "He reminds me right now of a version of Nicco Marhiol. He's got a good release. He can move."
Ready to break out big
Goodman has been waiting his turn with Jack Germaine ahead of him. Germaine had a history of torn ACLs during his high school career. When he was out the second half of the 2-8 season in 2022, Goodman, as a freshman, played three games, completing 27 of 50 passes for 330 yards and ran for 26 yards on five carries.
Goodman got into all 11 varsity games last season, throwing 59 passes, completing 35 for 490 yards and three TDs.
Now he's set to be QB1.
"I think I can run the ball a little bit, more than we have in the past," Goodman said.
Sumko said that Litten's offense is somewhat similar to Germaine's, but there are changes.
"We've got new plays, so we're trying to get used to that," said Sumko, who had 43 catches for 812 yards and six TDs on an 8-3 team that lost to rival Mesa Red Mountain 20-14 in the first round of the 6A playoffs a week after beating Red Mountain 28-21 in the regular-season finale. "We're installing that. We're excited to see how it turns out."
When Horizon went 12-2 and won 5A in 2021, Litten unleashed quarterback Skyler Partridge, who passed for 2,557 yards and 33 TDs, with two receivers catching at least 10 TD passes. Horizon had a great tight end in Matthew Klopfenstein, who had 10 TD catches and signed with Baylor. Cole Linyard had 11 TD catches, and had a game for the ages in a 38-28 championship win over Salpointe Catholic with 15 catches for 189 yards and a score.
Litten will see if he can find the right pieces to surround Goodman and Sumko on offense to make his first year at Mountain View memorable.
"We're super excited," Sumko said. "We have a great team that works hard. Great coaches who get us to work. I think we can do some great things this upcoming season."
Embracing change
Litten is ready to get them going on a campus that has two full turf fields and won't have to worry about space and with a weight room that he calls "life-changing," and one of the biggest, if not the biggest, scoreboard in the Valley.
"The kids are really excited about being here," Litten said.
Litten knows about the Mountain View past. The scoreboard has Jesse Parker's name on it. The field is named after Parker. But it's a different high school world in 2024 with players changing schools and open enrollment making certain programs destination schools.
"You want to honor the past and embrace the traditions and cultures," Litten said. "You ask people to embrace change and accept who you are. That's what I did at Horizon. And that's what I'm trying to do here."
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Andy Litten has won state titles. Can he do it at Mountain View?
