JoJo Sanchez returned from Idaho State to assist at Nyssa last season.

It wasn't long ago that JoJo Sanchez dominated at linebacker for Nyssa's football team.

The 6-foot, 245-pound Sanchez was the defensive player of the year three times in the Eastern Oregon League, the last time in 2018, when he was the 3A defensive player of the year.

Now the 22-year-old Sanchez, who joined Nyssa's staff last season after a college career at Idaho State, will be setting the tone for the Bulldogs once again. Only this time as the head coach, replacing Lance Lovitt.

“Going into my junior and senior year at Nyssa, I was like, 'I want to be a head coach one day,'” Sanchez said. “I got the opportunity. It came sooner than I thought.”

Sanchez is hoping to return the Bulldogs to their winning ways. During his junior and senior seasons, they went 15-4, won one Eastern Oregon League title and made the 3A quarterfinals both years. They have gone a combined 7-14 in the last three seasons, including 3-5 in 2022.

“I'd like to get back to where we're winning the majority of our games,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez's brothers, Sebastian and Daniel, played for Nyssa's 2011 quarterfinal team. As a freshman with the Bulldogs, Sanchez had teammates that played for the 2013 state runner-up.

“Growing up, I was able to watch the 2011 team play together and play hard,” he said. “They set an example for me in what Nyssa football was about. And then watching the 2013 team, they just showed that a bunch of kids from a rural town in eastern Oregon can be successful in football.”

Last season, Sanchez was the defensive coordinator for the JV team and the run-stop coordinator for the varsity. He worked with the defensive coordinator, Jaime Moreno, in game-planning.

This year, Sanchez will be the defensive coordinator and Moreno will call offense. Moreno was the offensive coordinator at Nyssa during the career of Sanchez, who also played running back.

“With Jaime coming back and being the offensive coordinator, and me taking over the defense, we understand where Nyssa football has been,” Sanchez said. “And we want to get back to that level. It's exciting to be able to do this with a coach who inspired me, mentored me, growing up. He's a big-time role model and mentor. I know he'll be able to help out a lot.”

Sanchez said he also expects Lee Long, Nyssa's coach from 2009 to 2020, to be a resource. Long will continue to coach Nyssa's middle school program.

“He's a great guy and he gets along with everyone,” Sanchez said of Long. “Just getting those kids ready at the middle-school level will be a really big key to having long-term success.”

The Bulldogs will return about a half-dozen starters on each side of the ball. They have a deep senior class that includes dual-threat quarterback Nacho Neri, who became the starter late last season after two other players suffered injuries.

Increasing turnout will be a point of emphasis for Sanchez. During his playing days, the Bulldogs had about 65 in the program. Last year, the number was around 40.

“We had less kids the last two years than any time I can remember,” said Sanchez, who is finishing up his Idaho State university studies degree online and aspires to be a PE teacher.

Five years older than many of his players, Sanchez knows he must command respect.

“Last year, just being able to show them my knowledge of the game, that I know what I'm talking about, allowed them to see all of that,” he said. “I was able to gain respect that way.”

As a player, Sanchez was able to dissect plays quickly and blow them up. His intensity rubbed off on his teammates. Now he has to find a way to motivate his players from the sideline.

“When I was playing, I'd go and rally the guys, and it was more by example,” he said. “That was my thing, someone is going to get hit. Just being intense with everything, getting downhill, was one of my big successes. I know that I'll have to be more of a vocal type of leader to get these kids rallied up and ready to go.”