4A Gila: Catalina Foothills
2021 record: 6-4 overall, 4-0 4 Gila (champion)
2022 record: 0-2
Head coach: Daniel Sainz, 6-6 second year at Catalina Foothills and overall. Sainz was an offensive line coach at Sahuaro High School under Scott McKee for nine seasons before becoming the head coach at Catalina Foothills in April 2021. Sainz was a senior center listed at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds at Santa Rita when Jeff Scurran coached the Eagles to the state championship game in 2008. Sainz’s offensive lines at Sahuaro were productive in terms of helping to generate a very potent running game. In the Cougars’ 2019 season, they rushed for 3,310 yards and three of their running backs gained at least 700 yards. Before Sainz became the offensive line coach, he served one season as an apprentice on McKee’s staff.
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Key returners:
- QB Austin Bourn, 6-2, 175, Jr.
- RB/CB Xavier Norwood-Ramirez, 5-9, 155, Jr.
- RB Samuel Delgado, 5-8, 180, Jr.
- WR Cole Revis, 6-5, 210, Sr.
- TE/DE/LB Tyler Tellam, 6-3, 190, Sr.
- LB/S Charlie Keables, 5-9, 175, Sr.
- DE/T/TE Max Tenery, 6-1, 200, Sr.
- SS/SB Kaden Kolter, 5-10, 172, Sr.
- WR/SS Dominic Parks, 5-11, 165, Sr.
- RB/CB Boden Crane, 5-9, 155, Sr.
- DT/C Izaiah Reyes, 6-1, 299, Soph.
Coaching staff:
- Head coach/offensive coordinator: Daniel Sainz
- Defensive coordinator: Eric Dupree
- Offensive line: Dean Misenhimer
- Defensive line/offensive line: Zach Singer
- Defensive line: Greg Molina
- Defensive backs: Cole Stearns
- Wide receivers: Jason Adams
Notes: Catalina Foothills is coming off a 4-0 4A Gila record, earning the Falcons the region title but coach Daniel Sainz’s team did not make the state playoffs because of power points. The 4A Conference does not have an automatically qualifier for the state tournament similar to schools 1A to 3A. … It was the school’s first winning record since 2017, when Jeff Scurran’s team finished 6-5 with a loss in the first round of the state playoffs against Seton Catholic. … Sainz spends his days as a member of the Air National Guard and credits the military experience with the U.S. Air Force for instilling teamwork and discipline with his players. … The Falcons have a recent history of producing college tight ends with Will Parker (son of former Arizona lineman Glenn Parker) moving on to Colgate and Garrick Krautz to Morehead State. Senior Cole Revis, who did not start playing football until he was a sophomore, has the body of a tight end at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds but prefers the wideout position because of his athleticism and reliable hands. … Offensive line coach Dean Misenhimer, who has a history of being a softball coach in Tucson, recently at Rincon/University, is in his second year as offensive line coach for the Falcons. His son Blake played running back at Sahuaro when Sainz was the offensive line coach. Misenhimer was a standout offensive lineman who occasionally played at fullback for the Cougars under Howard Breinig despite being 6-foot-3 and 282 pounds. Misenhimer was part of Dennis Bene’s staff at Salpointe at the outset of his coaching career. … Catalina Foothills is trying to fill the void left by the graduation of RB Yasuo Bean, who rushed 210 times for 1,554 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Bean is now at Hastings College. … Two region games to circle in consecutive weeks for Sainz — Oct. 28 at home against Rio Rico and Scurran, his former coach at Santa Rita, and Nov. 4 with a return to Sahuaro to coach against the Cougars.
Keep an eye out for: QB/RB Dane White, a sophomore who is getting snaps at running back. In the opener against Cienega, he had the most carries with 12 for 26 yards. One of the gains was 18 yards.
CATALINA FOOTHILLS
Head coach: Greg McKinstry III (first year at Catalina Foothills; 5-25, fourth year overall)Falcons compete in the 4A Kino. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Ovr | Reg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/30 | Combs | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/6 | at Yuma Catholic | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/13 | Buena | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/20 | Pusch Ridge | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/27 | Tucson | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/4 | at Sahuaro* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/11 | at Canyon del Oro* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/25 | at Walden Grove* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/1 | Pueblo* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/8 | at Mica Mountain* | -- | -- | -- |
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District
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