2022 prep football preview: Imperial Tigers

Coach David Shaw says it will come down to how bad his guys want it

The Imperial Tigers finished last season with a record of 6 in 4, but this year Coach David Shaw says it's more than just about winning games.

"I know you are going to be on that field before you know it, playing a real game, that is the storm,". That is what the tigers' head coach told his team at practice.

That real game will be on Friday against the Cibola Raiders in Yuma.

Coach Shaw says his guys will be ready.

"My focus is if we get better each day and we play hard the victories will take care of themselves, we gotta do the little things which lead to the big things, and that ultimately leads to victories," he said.

The big things as coach said are winning as many games as possible and making it back to the playoffs.
Coach Shaw says this season, his guys will be put to the test.

​​​"I would say offense, we need to score more points, on defense we played well but obviously we lost five games but on that end, we need to keep building and getting better," he said.

Coach Shaw says he's looking forward to watching his team play, but most importantly, he knows what this means for seniors.

"I told them to enjoy the moment, work hard, and be a leader on and off the field," he said,

One senior is preparing to do just that.

"Make playoffs, have a good league game a good league streak, try to win games and hopefully go far in the playoffs," Aiden Shields, offensive linebacker for the tigers said.

But Aiden knows, there's light at the end of this tunnel.

"I feel excited and kind of sad, it will be the last time playing under Friday night lights, but it's all good," he said.

All good for a tiger like Aiden means going out and playing his heart out.