Sabino begins defense of its 3A state title Friday night against visiting Coolidge with mostly a cast of different players than when the Sabercats scored 68 points against Surprise Paradise Honors in late November for their first championship in 25 years.
Prolific quarterback Cam Hackworth, running back Mason Cade, the Berryhill receiver brothers (Savaughn, Shamar and Romeo) and linebacker Jack Skaggs are no longer around. Hackworth, Cade. Savaughn Berryhill and Skaggs graduated while Shamar and Romeo transferred to Peoria Centennial.
Longtime Sabino offensive coordinator Sly Lewis is also now at his alma mater, Pueblo, serving as the head coach.
Sabino coach Ryan McBrayer and most of his staff remain, however. That continuity and McBrayer’s determination to see the operation through this season provides the hope the revamped Sabercats need.
“The best thing about Sabino and being here so long is a lot of great names have come through this program,” said McBrayer, a Sabercat alum. “Those guys coming here to put on the purple and gold are itching to make their own name. They have the Cams, the Berryhills, the Mason Cades, the Skaggs — all these guys who played a vital role in the 2023 championship, but all of these guys are itching to make their own name and legacies.”
.@SabinoFootball1 coach Ryan McBrayer is one of the top young coaches in the state after leading the Sabercats to their first state title in 25 years last season. As is the case with elite coaches managing personnel, young talent is developed into state-championship caliber.… pic.twitter.com/g8bM8tShQN
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 15, 2024
One of them is freshman quaterback Bodhi Sanford, who has a background of playing with the Tucson Falcons of the Tucson Youth Football & Spirit Foundation. Sanford already has decent size at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds.
He is entering what has turned out to be a quarterback factory at Sabino from Alex Bell to A.J. Skaggs to Hackworth.
ATTENTION SABINO FOOTBALL ALUMNI!!! Miss being close to the action? We will now have football alumni seating in the west endzone for all home games. See you on Fridays! ***must check in with security at north entrance*** pic.twitter.com/O3FBrH0XRI
— Sabino Football (@SabinoFootball1) August 23, 2024
The top five passing yards in a season at Sabino have all come in the previous seven seasons:
- 3,871 (Southern Arizona record) — Hackworth, last season
- 2,720 — Hackworth, 2022
- 2,495 — Skaggs, 2019is
- 2,428 — Bell, 2017
- 2,174 — Hackworth, 2021
Class of 2026 talent who is next in a line of top prospects to play for @SabinoFootball1 – RB/LB Zachari Haley. pic.twitter.com/PN68WfDwzH
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 15, 2024
— Another promising young talent is junior running back and linebacker Zachari Haley, whose playmaking skills will be valuable, especially after being an understudy to Cade and the Berryhills the last two years. Also keep an eye on receivers Brit Roberson and Max Trainer who will likely get a bulk of the passes with the Berryhills in Phoenix.
.@SabinoFootball1 is coming off a 3A championship season led by alum @Coach_McBrayer, who is entering his eighth season as head coach. #TUSDMediaDay pic.twitter.com/3EGkUWkSpQ
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 18, 2024
— Tanque Verde, which advanced to the 2A quarterfinals last season, is in a similar position as Sabino this year losing more than 20 seniors from last year’s historically good team.
Jay Dobyns left the program in very good shape for Jeff Bollnow last season and Bollnow’s organization and interpersonal skills with Tanque Verde allowed for him to get the most out of his team.
Tanque Verde coach Jeff Bollnow is in his second year leading the program after the Eagles went 9-3 and won a state playoff game for the first time in program history. TV lost more than 20 seniors but Bollnow remains confident of how well his team will perform this season, pic.twitter.com/3u8Xmmc36w
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 15, 2024
Tanque Verde set a school record with nine victories, going 9-3 and the Hawks won a state playoff game for the first time in the program’s 18-year history.
The Hawks lost running back/linebacker Gavin Gilbert, who rushed for 1,397 yards and 15 touchdowns and recorded 137 tackles, 28 for loss.
— Catalina begins the Andy Fetsis Era on Friday with the long bus ride to Suprise, where the Trojans will play Highland Prep. Fetsis took over the program after Greg McKinstry II left to coach at Catalina Foothills.
The last time Fetsis coached football was at Pusch Ridge as an assistant in 2017, when his son Christian was a senior quarterback who led the Lions to the 3A state championship game.
Fetsis is a first-year head coach in football, as is Benson coach Chris Rasmussen, who was in Tyler, Texas, where his wife had an internship at a hospital there before moving to Arizona.
Rasmussen, who hails from Reno, Nev., encountered serious medical issues when he was the defensive line coach at Tyler Junior College. He was first diagnosed with potentially having ALS because his legs were weakening among his neuropathic symptoms. Six months later, more tests revealed multifocal motor neuropathy, which involves weakness in the limbs without sensory problems. After more tests, an MRI revealed an edema in his back that was pushing on his vertebrae and pinching nerves between the lower discs in his back.
New Benson coach Chris Rasmussen has overcome medical problems to lead the Bobcats. While serving as an assistant at Tyler (Texas) JC, he was first diagnosed with potentially having ALS because his legs were weakening among his neuropathic symptoms. Six months later, more tests… pic.twitter.com/MMeP18EaM2
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) June 6, 2024
After undergoing a laminectomy, he is regaining strength in his lower legs and is improving through rehabilitation. He applied for the Benson opening immediately after seeing it was available. He mentioned his family wanted to move west closer to home.
Benson opens its season Friday at Phoenix Shadow Mountain.
— The Jeston Lotts Era at Willcox also begins Friday at Arizona Lutheran. Lotts coached Parker to the 2A semifinals in 2021 and the quarterfinals in 2019 before joining Eric Hjalmarson’s staff at Willcox in 2022 and was on the staff there the last two seasons.
Hjalmarson is now at his alma mater Blue Ridge.
Lotts, a counselor at Willcox, was 61-40 in his 10 years at Parker.
— Desert Christian, a 1A independent this season, will play its first football game in school history on Friday night with a game at Bagdad. Jason McKibben, the head coach, has not served as a football coach before. He is a former Sahuarita quarterback and defensive back (Class of 2012) who is an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel of Tucson.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23
3A CONFERENCE
Coolidge at Sabino, 7 p.m.
2A CONFERENCE
Phoenix Christian at Tanque Verde, 7 p.m.
Willcox at Arizona Lutheran, 7 p.m.
Catalina at Highland Prep, 7 p.m.
Benson at Shadow Mountain, 7 p.m.
1A CONFERENCE
Lincoln Prep at San Manuel, 7 p.m.
Fort Thomas at Baboquivari, 7 p.m.
Desert Christian at Bagdad, 7 p.m.
St. David at Cicero Prep, 7 p.m.
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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 in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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