Matthew Hanshaw left an Arizona high school football program with 200 players to take over one with a total of 68.
The move this season from Phoenix Pinnacle, where he was an assistant under Dana Zupke for nine years, to head coach at Chandler Seton Catholic doesn't change how Hanshaw coaches.
He said he learned a lot about how a great culture is built at Pinnacle, a 6A team. And he feels he can do the same at the smaller 3A school, where some players might have to play on both offense and defense.
"It's how I treat these guys every day," Hanshaw said. "How I lead this program. I think our scrimmage we saw that. We had good energy at our first scrimmage. It's all about our standard and our culture every day."
Hanshaw will get a better idea of how
good his first Seton team will be on Friday night, Aug, 21, when the Sentinels host defending 3A champion Eagar Round Valley in the season opener for both teams. Last year, Seton opened in Round Valley with a loss. Their season ended in the first round of the playoffs, also at Round Valley.
Hanshaw, who was the offensive coordinator at Pinnacle will be calling the plays for Seton.
He's given the keys to the offense to senior quarterback Brady Hayes, who suffered an injury that derailed his junior season. Hayes didn't start the first five games last year, all losses, before starting Week 6 against El Mirage Dysart. Seton won the game, but Hayes suffered a season-ending broken collarbone. He's recovered and hoping to have a big season in 2026.
"We've been preparing all summer with this game circled on the calendar," Hayes said. "We know we're coming back. We played them twice last year, obviously not beating them. We're playing the state champions first. We're bringing the energy, everything we've been preparing for."
Hayes added: "I think we're going to shock the state."
Linebacker Nicco Granado, 5-foot-11, 202 pounds, had 43 tackles as a junior last season. He realizes the Sentinels are going to have to contain Elks' running back Brody Crick, who ran for 1,193 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior and 821 yards and 10 TDs as a sophomore.
Granado is moving from outside to inside linebacker.
"I think we definitely have a good shot against Round Valley," Granado said. "Coach Hanshaw has been leading us great in the offseason and so far to start this season. Defense has come together. And that's a big part of stopping Round Valley, stopping their run game."
The transition from a public school to private has been smooth for Hanshaw, who also teaches government and personal finance. He was a public-school teacher for 15 years.
"The private-school sector has been great," Hanshaw said. "Coming from Pinnacle, being at a big 6A school, how things get done, my biggest thing I tell these guys every day, 'I want to bring that big-school atmosphere to the private, Catholic, 3A setting that we have at Seton. It's going to make us very special."
Receiver/defensive back Patrick Connelly likes the leadership of this team.
"We're going to set the bar high to do well this year," he said.
Hanshaw will open up the offense with a faster tempo, similar to the 2012 Seton team that went 13-1 and beat Lakeside Blue Ridge for the state championship under Rex Bowser with his wide-open offense.
"He was an empty (backfield) air-raid guy,'' Hanshaw said. "I'm not an air-raid guy, but I'm closer to it. We're going to be up-tempo. We're going to go fast. We're going to do a lot of similar things."
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. 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: New Seton Catholic football coach wants big-school feel for team
