Thunderbird football builds success in neighborhood without transfers

Tucked around the T mountain in north Phoenix, among the mansions and older homes, is a buzz about football. And it's happening at Thunderbird High School.

Forget about transfers.

These guys are winning Friday nights with dudes in the neighborhood. And, on Friday, it's going to feel like a deep 4A playoff game at Phoenix Northwest Christian's homecoming in a game that will say which team has what it takes to go all the way.

The matchup is The Arizona Republic's Game of the Week.

Thunderbird (6-2) got to the 4A quarterfinals last year, losing to Oro Valley Canyon del Oro. Their only state championship game was in 2010 in 4A-II when it was all about the neighborhood.

Nothing has changed since Brent Wittenwyler passed the head coaching baton to Matthew Nalatte, who was an assistant on that 2010 team.

"We have 37 juniors and they've been successful since Day 1," Nalatte said. "They were 8-1 as freshmen. Their only loss was to ALA Queen Creek by a touchdown. They were 7-2 last year on JV playing like a 5A and 6A schedule, because we don't have any 4A teams around here who will have a JV. And quite a few of them, like (Elijah) and (Ryan) Kavalami, were (varsity) starters last year as sophomores."

So here they are, already in playoff mode, building for what they feel will be the school's first championship season in 13 years.

Last week, in a 49-28 win over a solid Buckeye team, the Titans looked like they belonged in the conversation, bouncing back from a 24-7 loss at 8-0 Yuma Catholic, which is the No. 1 seed in 4A.

Yuma Catholic, Canyon del Oro and Northwest Christian are the top three ranked teams by the AIA in this week's playoff seedings. Thunderbird is sixth, behind 7-1 Tucson Mica Mountain and 8-0 Phoenix Arcadia.

Little has been the catalyst of a Thunderbird offense that relies heavily on a pound-and-ground attack. He might not be very big (he is 5 feet 8, 160 pounds) but his ability to change speeds and break tackles makes him hard to stop, He comes into Friday with 1,123 yards and 17 TDs, coming off a career-best 222 yards and five TDs on 25 carries against Buckeye.

"Since the 2025 class, as freshmen, we always set high standards," Little said. "We were just thinking about what we could eventually do on varsity, go to state, and win as a team."

It's not about individual accolades, what a kid can do for himself at Thunderbird, how a program can get him college football scholarship offers. It's family first, and then football, and the relationships being built on and off the field.

Nalatte doesn't hesitate to say how many transfers are on this year's team: None.

That differs from the way many "destination'' schools have attracted players who don't live in the attendance area, but are allowed to transfer because of the state's open-enrollment law.

He takes pride in how Thunderbird football has always been built, a culture that feeds off the community, where there is a socio-economic dynamic of the haves and have-nots. In the end, it's about finding happiness on a team, picking each other up, and helping to win.

Related: From Maui to Northwest Christian, Tarasenko twins find success leading their teams

Senior wide receiver Brian Costa and senior twins Travis (middle linebacker/fullback) and Tyler (outside linebacker/halfback) Woods are the team's leaders, who have seen this team evolve over the years, especially in the offseason after the heartbreak 28-3 losses that ended the Titans' season at 9-3 last year.

"We're just striving to be better," said Costa, who has nine catches for 213 yards and five TDs, four of those catches for 118 yards and two TDs coming last week. "Everybody's goal is the state championship. I think we can make it there. We've just got to put in the work."

Travis Wood said the neighborhood bond, playing together on youth teams, has helped this team become a success.

"We've got a lot of guys who grew up here in the neighborhood, Moon Valley, and just growing up around each other helped," Travis said. "We spent a lot of time together growing up. It's built a bond that carried through high school."

Tyler said that last year's seniors showed how much this year's team is capable of doing.

"They were great leaders to us," Tyler said. "We knew coming into this year we had the guys, the talent to come out here and dominate. That's what we're trying to do."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Thunderbird football builds success without transfers