Eagles welcome new football coach

Looking to build upon recent success, Boulder City High School has named former Desert Pines offensive coordinator Bubba Mariani as their new head football coach.

Replacing the beloved Chris Morelli, who led the Eagles to the postseason before his departure, Mariani is excited for the opportunity, not only for his first head coaching job, but to continue the winning culture previously instilled.

“It’s been a dream of mine since I was little to be a head coach,” Mariani said. “I come from a big family of coaches and I’m excited to finally get my opportunity. I don’t feel the pressure of succeeding Chris because he did such a great job with this program. Now it’s my job to continue and build upon that success and make it my own.”

Coming to Boulder City from Desert Pines, where they’re known for a high-flying offense in the 5A classification, Mariani said he intends to air it out with the Eagles more than what they’ve done in the past, but remains reserved to form his offensive scheme around what fits the team’s personnel best.

“I want to throw the ball quite a bit more than we have in the past,” he said. “After analyzing our team this summer, our strength this season is going to be at wide receiver and quarterback. If we were to run a double wing or a power I, we would be doing a disservice to the talent we have. We’re going to build our offense on a year-to-year basis based off of what fits our strengths as a team and our personnel best.”

Known for putting points on the board during his tenure with the Jaguars, Mariani envisions a program that is successful year in and year out.

When asked what success looked like to him, Mariani, whose DNA is lined with competitive spirit, said he wants to be the game-opposing team’s circle on their schedule.

“Our goal isn’t just to build a program that wins games,” Mariani said. “We want to be a program that is capable of competing for a state championship every year. We don’t just want to beat the big three Moapa Valley, Pahrump and Virgin Valley. We’re not striving for just a week-four victory. We want to establish that we’re the top team in the 3A and have our opponents circle us on their schedule.”

Bringing back multiple key players from last season’s 8-3 team, Mariani knows he’s in a good position to start his tenure with success.

Looking to make this team his own and take it to the next level, Mariani will get his first opportunity on Aug. 18 when the Eagles host Sunrise Mountain.

“We have a really good team coming back,” Mariani said. “I believe we have all the pieces to make another playoff run. We’ve been together all summer, working on our new schemes and bonding as a team. Now it’s just a matter of going out there and doing it.”

Contact Robert Vendettoli at BCRsports@gmail.com.