Desert Ridge lost yet another high school football game on Thursday following the dismissal of starting quarterback Gunner Brewer. The outside drama surrounding the program made the loss look even worse.
Reporters were not allowed inside the stadium because of a petty media ban!
It will be interesting to see whether the high school football coach chooses to address the situation or if he plans to remain silent. His lack of accountability (thus far) speaks louder than words.
Desert Ridge dismissed starting quarterback Gunner Brewer.
Desert Ridge High School is located in Mesa, Arizona. It enrolls approximately 2,200 students in Grades 9-12. The Jaguars compete in Division 6A of the Arizona Interscholastic Association in the East Valley region. Their football team, which has not had a winning season since 2019, lost four of its first five games to begin the 2026 season.
That led to a bizarre situation in Week 6. As the story goes, starting quarterback Gunner Brewer called an audible at the line of scrimmage to close out the second win of the season. He checked out of the play that was called by head coach Miles Smith and handed the ball off for a first down. Desert Ridge defeated Cienega by a final score of 14-12.
Brewer was never told that he could not change a call, and was permitted to do so under the previous offensive coordinator. That is apparently not the case under the new staff.
Smith took issue with the audible and kicked him off of the team. If that was not weird enough, the head coach called a team meeting on the Monday after the game. He took a vote on whether Brewer should be allowed back. At least 12 players voted yes.
Smith did not care. The coaching staff stood by its decision to remove Brewer from the roster and told the 12 players who raised their hands that they were welcome to leave if they did not agree. So they did! 12 players (five seniors) walked out of the meeting and will now be suspended for the rest of the season because they left.
There is another wrinkle to this saga. Desert Ridge head football coach Miles Smith is the son of former NFL head coach Lovie Smith. His dad got into a bizarre altercation with parents as a direct result of Brewer’s controversial ouster.
The high school football program banned the media from their most recent loss.
No matter how the Jaguars fare in their next two games, the rest of the 2026 high school football season will be overshadowed by the unexpected dismissal of Gunner Brewer. That is the only storyline that matters.
With that in mind, the school district enforced a media ban for Desert Ridge’s home game against Corona del Sol on Thursday night. Reporters were not allowed to record video on school property. Some of them were asked to leave.
Athletic director Kevin Swann turned away a reporter and photographer from The Arizona Republic. School workers informed the media that they were not allowed into the stadium. Only Kevin McCabe was allowed on the sideline.
McCabe is the self-proclaimed Dean of Arizona High School Sports. He hosts the No. 1-rated high school sports program for 98.7 on Saturday mornings. It seems like he was only allowed on the field because he agrees with Smith’s decision to let Brewer go.
Nobody else was allowed to watch. Other members of the media were denied entry.
However, Griffin S. DeMarrais of KTVK 3TV & KPHO CBS 5 was able to secure an interview with Brewer before the district spokesperson informed him that he was not permitted to film. The former starting quarterback showed up to support his former teammates even though Smith said that he can no longer be around the team.
Desert Ridge Drama
— Griffin S. DeMarrais (@GDeMarraisTV) October 16, 2026
QB Gunner Brewer says he was kicked off his high school team two weeks ago after changing a play at the line of scrimmage… after that 12 other players were suspended for standing up for him.
He added HC Miles Smith said he can no longer be around the team. pic.twitter.com/0ivzvDAGgM
To make the optics even worse, Desert Ridge has not won a game since Brewer’s dismissal. It lost 49-7 to Red Mountain last week. It lost 50-0 to Corona del Sol on Thursday. Meanwhile, the coaching staff and school administration refuse to answer questions.