He helps a lot of kids from boundaries, bringing them in and doing what he can do to get them to college, and education is what he's here to do. He's a really good coach. – Cottonwood sophomore wide receiver Eli Reynolds, on head coach Mike Tidwell
MURRAY — Cottonwood High School has changed a lot over the past 5-10 years. The Colts used to be one of the most competitive teams in the state, and Cottonwood was the home to a lot of the state's top recruits. Then a coaching change and some other unforseen events pushed Cottonwood to the back end of the region.
This is no fault of the current team or coaching staff. Second-year head coach Mike Tidwell came to Cottonwood from Woods Cross not really knowing what he was getting himself into. "It's a challenge. I came into this with a lot of low numbers." Tidwell is playing 13 or 14 varsity guys on any given Friday night.
"Coach Tidwell was thrown into a disaster with no help from anyone. A bunch of kids with no gear and all that and he's been helping us a lot," said sophomore wide receiver Eli Reynolds. "He helps a lot of kids from boundaries, bringing them in and doing what he can do to get them to college, and education is what he's here to do. He's a really good coach."
The transfer rules have put a damper on Tidwell's program as he's still waiting for approval for a couple of his guys to play varsity. But the Cottonwood program is more than just the Cottonwood boundaries. There are many who live outside the boundaries such as those who attend the AMES charter school who make huge sacrifices to be a part of the football program.
"Coach has been picking me up every day for school in West Valley," said freshman linebacker Junior Hemuli. "Coach Tidwell is probably one of the greatest guys you'll ever meet. He does a lot for us. He goes through a lot every day. He helps us, takes time for us. He loves us all and does it all for us."
Running back Omar Mberwa is originally from Kenya and came to Utah as a refugee. Mberwa also lives outside the Cottonwood boundaries and gets a ride from coach to school most days. "He's one of the kids that comes from a rough background," said Tidwell. "Mberwa is one that really doesn't have a way to school unless he gets a ride. He lives out of boundaries like most of the kids here."
Tidwell sometimes has to leave his home at 4:30 in the morning to pick all the players up that need rides to get them to school on time for their 6 a.m. practice.
Injuries have really derailed the Colts this season. Three-star wide receiver recruit Nela Pututau suffered a leg injury, an ACL tear, during fall camp that will keep him out of playing his senior year at Cottonwood. "Even though I'm hurt, someone else will step up and take my spot and we're just all brothers," he said. Pututau also gets picked up for school by Tidwell.
"It's great to see how (Pututau) has handled the injury and how he's turned it into a leadership role and even to the point where he says he wants to be a coach one day," said Tidwell.
One of the players, junior safety Andrew Williams, is going through an incredibly tough time, and Tidwell and the team are supporting and loving him.
"I lost two brothers this year. My best friend died in July and I'm playing for him and his family and I'm playing for my family and my little brother," said Williams, whose brother passed away unexpectedly. The team is honoring Williams' brother by wearing a sticker on the back of their helmets with the brother's number "67" as well as writing it on their arms. "If it wasn't for Tidwell, I probably wouldn't have come back to play. He made me realize it's not just for me, it's for my family and everyone we lost."
"It's just another thing you go through as a head coach where you get so close to these kids that you start to treat them as your own," said Tidwell. "And you start to feel the same emotions they feel, and I can't even pretend to feel what he's feeling, losing his brother."
Mberwa lives far from Cottonwood High School, but being able to play for Tidwell brought him to the program. "I wanted to be a part of Cottonwood and I came here and found something better than football, I found Tidwell," said Mberwa. "What he did for me, I couldn't ask for anything more. Tidwell faces challenges every day. It's not just about football with him, it's about everything else."
Tidwell has his own hashtag for his team: #DCTG, which stands for "Don't cheat the game." He says it's more than just practicing and playing football. It's talking about obeying your parents and doing your school work, and it's really caught on. "A lot of them have jumped on it. They break the huddle with it and they realize that it's not just football, it about life and how they become better people and how to become better citizens in society."
It's no secret that Tidwell is a players' coach. He wants the best for them and for the Cottonwood program. He says that coaching at Cottonwood has been difficult but the kids make it all worth it.
"I came to Cottonwood because of Coach Tidwell and the coaching staff as well as the college recruiting that goes on here," said Damien Sio, a linebacker from West Valley City. "I never thought about leaving Cottonwood."
"Damien is a fantastic young man. He optimizes why I coach," said Tidwell. "He's the reason I want to see kids go from a certain background and end up somewhere else. I want to see him go to college, and if football is the way to get there, then so be it."
Hemuli could have chosen to go and play with his brother Sione Lund at Brighton High School but chose to stay at Cottonwood. "I wanted to start here and I wanted to end here and I'll forever be a Colt."
Hemuli is just one example why Cottonwood is on the rise. Already starting at middle linebacker, the freshman is showing that Cottonwood has a bright future.
"I'm proud of this team and proud of this program. Our goals are to build these numbers up and provide a positive experience for these kids and to bring Cottonwood to what it used to be," said Tidwell.
"We can build this up. All my brothers and I can build up Cottonwood. We're here to play," said Reynolds.
Nathan Harker is a sports writing intern currently enrolled at Brigham Young University majoring in broadcast journalism. Nathan can be reached at nathan.harker32@gmail.com or via Twitter @n8_harker.