Buena Football 2026 Preview, Players and Schedule | Top 25 Public HSFB
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2026 Teams to Know Season Preview: Buena (AZ)
Buena's junior-heavy line is its biggest and strongest in five years, while Jax Kraus anchors the front eight and an improved secondary opens against Cienega.
Top 25 Public HSFB8/28/20265 min read
Buena returned to the Arizona playoffs last season and finished 7-4. That was progress. The question for 2026 is whether the Colts can turn the same physical identity into a team that stays in the bracket longer.
Chris Determan has experience in every part of the formation, but the biggest reason to believe this group can take another step is up front. Practically the entire line is now made up of juniors who moved into varsity roles, and Buena believes the unit is bigger and stronger than any Colts front of the last five years. Bryce Larimer is the OL/DL anchor. Behind that group, Jax Kraus, the region's returning leading tackler, controls the front eight from middle linebacker. The secondary is stronger too, with Tariq Howard, Lucas Portis and Hutson Johnson giving Buena an improved group on the back end.
Team Snapshot
Team: Buena Colts
Location: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Head Coach: Chris Determan
2025 Record: 7-4
2025 Finish: AIA state playoff first round
Returning Starters: 6 offense, 5 defense
From Playoff Team to Playoff Problem
Kraus is the center of Buena's defensive plan. He controls the front eight from middle linebacker, gets the defense aligned and gives the Colts a proven finisher at the second level. Larimer supplies the power directly in front of him as the anchor on both lines. That inside pairing gives Buena a physical foundation, while the improved secondary behind them gives the defense more answers outside.
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Buena's junior class is not waiting on 2027. Practically the entire line moved up together, giving the Colts more size and strength up front than they have had in five years. Larimer is the centerpiece, but this is a full-unit storyline. If that group handles varsity speed as well as it has handled the physical work, Buena can control games instead of asking Kraus and the defense to keep rescuing them.
Newcomer Jaylen Ward is another reason the rotation could feel deeper. On a roster with 11 starters back, he does not need to carry the plan. If Ward becomes one more dependable option, Buena can spread snaps and pressure across a group that already understands how it wants to play.
That confidence gets its first public test Friday night against Cienega. The opener should tell us quickly whether the junior line can transfer its size and strength into clean early-down football and whether the improved secondary can make Buena harder to attack outside. If both show up immediately, the Colts will look much closer to the team they believe they have become.
Players to Know
Jax Kraus, MLB/FB
Kraus is the region's returning leading tackler and one of Arizona's top returning linebackers. He is Buena's middle linebacker and the anchor of its front eight, the defender responsible for keeping the box organized and finishing plays. Kraus also works at fullback, but his offensive role is limited. His greatest value is carrying Buena's physical identity on defense. He recently committed to Morningside.
Bryce Larimer, OL/DL, Junior
Larimer is a returning varsity lineman and Buena's anchor on both sides of the ball. The junior benches 375 pounds and brings freakish strength to the point of attack. Offensively, he can create movement for the run game. Defensively, he can occupy blockers and keep Kraus clean at the second level. That partnership gives the Colts a clear identity through the middle of the field.
Tariq Howard, DB
Howard is part of a secondary Buena expects to be substantially better in 2026. His athletic ability gives the Colts a matchup piece on the perimeter and another way to affect the game across multiple phases. With Portis and Johnson emerging beside him, Buena has more options and flexibility on the back end than it carried into last season.
Lucas Portis and Hutson Johnson, DBs
Portis and Johnson complete a defensive-back group Buena expects to be one of its biggest areas of improvement. Their emergence gives the Colts more options behind an experienced front eight. If the secondary holds up in space, Kraus can stay aggressive downhill and the defense becomes much harder to attack from sideline to sideline.
James Lesueur
Lesueur brings another experienced skill option to a returning offense that should play faster from the opening week.
Giovanni Henderson
Henderson adds another familiar option to Buena's experienced 2026 rotation.
Charlie Crouch
Crouch's experience helps Buena enter the season with defined roles rather than an August search for answers.
Jaylen Ward
Ward is a newcomer with a chance to deepen an already experienced rotation without being asked to carry it.
Complete 2026 Schedule
Aug. 28: Cienega
Sept. 4: Skyline
Sept. 11: at ALA Gilbert North
Sept. 18: at Tucson
Sept. 25: Marana
Oct. 2: at Highlands
Oct. 9: at Vista Grande
Oct. 16: Casa Grande
Oct. 23: at Canyon Del Oro
Oct. 30: Ironwood Ridge
Biggest Question
Can Buena turn 11 returning starters into a team built for more than one playoff night?
The answer begins with the junior line. Buena has not had this much size and strength up front in five years, but that advantage has to become consistent blocks, manageable downs and control late in games. If Larimer and the rest of that group make those details repeatable, while Kraus keeps the front eight organized and Howard, Portis and Johnson stabilize the back end, the postseason ceiling rises.
Bottom Line
Buena should enter 2026 expecting to return to the playoffs. The more interesting question is what happens once it gets there. The Colts are bigger and stronger up front than they have been in years, with Larimer anchoring a junior-heavy line, Kraus directing the front eight and Howard, Portis and Johnson leading a much-improved secondary. That combination gives Buena a real opportunity to take the next step, and the first evidence arrives Friday night against Cienega.
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