Building a dynasty

“It’s a great way to have these kids playing at a much more elite level of competition while also having a ton of fun and enjoying themselves in the process,” Trujillo said.

Trujillo has been coaching the Rock Springs All Stars for six years but plans to step down as both president of the league and as head coach of the All Stars after next season comes to a close. After not dropping a single game this year, it was Trujillo’s fourth All Star team in the last six years to finish its season undefeated.

“This was one of the best All Star teams I have ever coached. There was a lot of talent, and the kids put it together and were very coachable,” Trujillo said. The coaching staff included Garth Hamblin, Mel Carlsen, Sean Miller, Teno Trujillo Jr., Gunner Hamblin and Carter Mcburnette.

In the five-game season, Rock Springs opened its schedule by traveling to Riverton and beating Riverton’s All Star team 42-12. On the same day, Rock Springs made the short trip to Lander and defeated its All Stars by a final score of 53-0. Week 3 on the schedule was a game against Green River, where the All Stars won 39-7. The final two games were against Cody and Gillette’s A team, where the All Stars ran through them with scores of 39-14 and 18-6. This highly talented group got to play its final two games at War Memorial Stadium, the home of the University of Wyoming football team.

This season was also the first time that Teno Trujillo had at least two girls on the team — Tiana Nez and Kira Mcaninch. The first girl to ever play for the All Stars was Maggie Smith two years ago.

“These girls were very talented and very coachable. Nez was our second- and third-string quarterback, while Mcaninch was our second- and third-string defensive end, and they played very well,” Teno Trujillo said.

At the end of the season, Teno Trujillo and his coaching staff gave out awards to kids who stood out and turned in solid efforts each and every week. Both Nez and Mcaninch received Iron Girls awards for having a terrific season. Team members who earned Mr. Football honors included Sam Thornhill, Connor Politi, Kaiden Rasmusson and Karson Searle. Outstanding Offense awards went to Landen Smith, Billy Peterson, AJ Keelin and William Bybee. The final award of Outstanding Defense belonged to Andre Hilton, Sam Eddy, Keyshawn Brown and Owen Taft.

“Each player did an outstanding job this year, and I couldn’t be more proud of the whole group,” Teno Trujillo said.

Next year for Teno Trujillo’s final season as head coach, he plans to take his new group of All Stars back to Laramie for the Snowy Range Showdown, along with a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a tournament that starts Thanksgiving Day.