2023 High School Football

2023 football: 50 top Southern Arizona seniors — Buena receiver/safety Adrian Bonilla


Today marks only 46 days until the kickoff of the 2023 Southern Arizona high school football season with games scheduled Aug. 18. AllSportsTucson.com is listing 50 of the top seniors in Southern Arizona during this stretch. This is not a ranking. This is a list in alphabetical order. We acknowledge more than 50 quality seniors will play on high school fields locally this fall and we will report on them accordingly.

Adrian Bonilla, 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, was a 2022 first-team All-5A Southern selection as a defensive back by AZ Preps 365, which compiled a vote of coaches. He joined his brother Andres Bonilla, a junior running back with the Colts, with the first-team selection honor. … Adrian compiled 77 tackles, including two for loss, with four interceptions, five pass deflections and a fumble recovery last season. He also had seven receptions for 139 yards in a touchdown in an offense that is built around the run. … He had a career-high 16 tackles in a victory over Mountain View last season. He also registered 12 tackles, one for loss, in a win over Ironwood Ridge. His two interceptions were key to Buena beating Tucson as well.

“I am expecting big things from Adrian this year,” Buena coach Joseph Thomas stated in a text message. “He has worked hard this off season so far and is gearing up to pick up where he left off last season. He was one of our top tacklers last years and led the team in interceptions. This year, I expect him to be in the mix of the top athletes in the state in tackles and interceptions! He’s loves to hit and make plays!”

Buena’s Adrian Bonilla averaged 19.9 yards per reception last year in addition to tallying four interceptions as a safety (Buena photo)

BUENA

Head coach: Joe Thomas (38-47, 10th year at Buena; 49-66, 13th year overall)

Colts compete in the 5A Southern. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
DateOpponentW/LBueOpp
8/30at Fairfax------
9/6Ironwood Ridge------
9/13at Catalina Foothills------
9/20Tucson------
9/27at Pueblo------
10/4at Casa Grande*------
10/18Desert View*------
10/25at Marana*------
11/1Sunnyside*------
11/8Cienega*------

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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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