"These kids are by their lonesome unless we pitch in," Mike Regalado Sr. says, shaking his head. "Those rich schools get whatever they want, no questions asked. We cannot get money from the district for anything."
Phoenix Union High School District athletic director Dan Arredondo says he's keenly aware of Carl Hayden's struggle in football.
"I know it's very demoralizing," says Arredondo, who was an assistant coach for the Falcons in the 1970s, "but success breeds success, and they've been in a losing mode for so long. The drop-off rate for football players between the freshman and senior years is very high at Hayden. Kids have to find jobs, or quit school, or get into other things, some of them not good things. I think it's a sign of the times that inner-city schools--make that high schools in general--just don't have as many students in athletics."
National statistics give credence to Arredondo's point of view.
The National Federation of State High School Associations reports that in 1977-78, more than one million boys played high school football. In 1991-92, that number had decreased by about 8 percent, to 912,945.
That was less dramatic than the 22 percent drop in overall sports participation by boys during that time, from 4.4 million to 3.4 million.
The number of girls playing high school sports decreased by 7 percent in that same span, despite federal legislation banning discrimination against female athletes.
Carl Hayden principal Kino Flores says he can't speak to the national statistics. But he has a theory to explain some of the football team's woes.
"Parental support is a very important factor," Flores says. "We don't have it like in Mesa or Ahwatukee, where mom and dad work 9 to 5, then hop in their van and go to the game. We have so many instances of kids where there's only mom, and she's working. Some of those mothers have done remarkably well in keeping their boys on the straight and narrow."
Roy Moody's mother, Carol Moody, fits into that category. Her husband, an Air Force lifer, left her and her two young sons years ago. She works two part-time hospital jobs and is constantly on the run.
"We've gone through some slim times, but we're not quitters," says Carol Moody, a 36-year-old native of New York City. "My whole life is my children and my work. Sometimes, I get very down because I'm not doing better for them. Roy seldom asks me for anything, but I want to do it the correct way for him at graduation--rings, suits, the whole thing. I just don't know if I can."
Carol Moody says that hers is a "reality house," in which hard truths are confronted head-on.
"No baby stuff allowed," she says. "Roy gets a little temperament at times, gets it from me, probably, but I stay on him. He's not wild. He be boring, thank God."
Sports are a vital part of Roy's life, and that's good, Carol Moody says.
"But I keep tellin' him, 'Don't go building your hopes up around football, son. You wish we had a better-running car? Get yourself an education, then you can buy anything you want.' I'm sure my neighbors hear me loud and clear. And now I've got a determined young man on my hands."
@rule:
@body:The 1993 season wears on for the Falcons.
It hasn't fulfilled the expectations of Coach Somo, who had been repeating "Nowheretogobutup" like a mantra as the season approached. It looked as if he had reason for his upbeat attitude--other than the hope that springs eternal in every coach.
About a dozen Falcons attended a summer football camp in Holbrook, the first time in memory any Carl Hayden players had done such a thing. Mountain View's coach, Jesse Parker--the Bear Bryant of Arizona high school football--ran the weeklong camp.
Somo had been hopeful the strict fundamentals and mental discipline Parker insists upon would carry over to the season. He's seen seniors such as Jonas Johnson, Alfred Stell and Mike Woods improve their play. He's also had some magnificent new athletes on this year's team, most prominently James Juniel, a senior wide receiver trying organized football for the first time.
But as the season winds down, things haven't worked out for the best in terms of wins and losses. The Falcons have been close in some games, but have been unable to get over that awful losing hump.
Somehow, though, a few rays of hope have slipped through. Somo has been playing several underclassmen with solid potential, including a freshman running back named Ty-Juan Swasey. A 170-pound speedster who's not afraid of contact, Swasey is the kind of youngster Coach Somo wants desperately to keep interested in football--Carl Hayden football.
"We've lost kids like him to other schools for years," Somo says of the free-spirited youth his teammates call "Ty-Wonderful" or "Ty-Wanda." "If we can find a bunch of other kids who want to play ball. . . ."
Somo allows himself only a few seconds to dwell on the fantasy of a championsip future: "As for now, I'd really just love for these kids to win a game. One game."
With two games left in his high school football career, Roy Moody has already put his experience into perspective. "I love the guys," he says, "but this losing is killing me." This sensitive young man cries unashamedly after each loss. Then he showers, gets dressed and leaves with his head up.
