Roy Lopez accepts Sunnyside football coaching job

Roy Lopez, who helped put Tempe Marcos de Niza football back on the map in the late 2000s, said he has accepted the head-coaching position at Tucson Sunnyside.

He said his first day with the team was Monday.

Lopez served as an assistant coach at Gilbert Mesquite after leaving Marcos de Niza in 2013.

Lopez's youngest child, Roy III, who was a two-way lineman at Mesquite, will be start playing football at New Mexico State this summer.

"It's the perfect time to move," the elder Lopez said. "He's excited for me. He thinks it will be a good fit."

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Lopez, who led Marcos de Niza to the state final in 2009, is the second coach Sunnyside has selected since Glenn Posey left in January to become an assistant coach at Pima Community College.

Kevin Kuhm was hired in February to replace Posey, but, in April, Kuhm left to return to Nogales, where he will be athletic director and football coach.

Lopez knows former Sunnyside football coach Richard Sanchez, who led the Blue Devils to state championships in 2001 and 2003.

"I know Richard really well," Lopez said. "He was an all-star wrestling coach of mine. It's a great community. I'm very excited. I have to catch up. We're behind on stuff.

"I feel good about it. There is a good group of kids."

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