2023 High School Football

The Mooney Team High School Football Report: Sahuarita routes Cholla, remains undefeated in region play 

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In his first year at the helm, Sahuarita head coach Jake Allen is turning around a program that went 3-26 the past three seasons. (Kevin Murphy/All Sports Tucson)

Rasheed Martin threw three touchdowns, Sahuarita’s defense held Cholla scoreless and the Mustangs won 40-0 to pick up their third-straight win in region play on Friday, moving to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in 4A Gila.  

“The boys played really well tonight,” Sahuarita head coach Jake Allen said. “The defense played outstanding, and special teams is coming together. So, we’re starting to be a three-phase football team, which is awesome to see.”

Martin was 8 of 15 for 128 yards and three touchdowns. William Thwaits had seven carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. Benjamin Cordero and Alden Fox led the team in tackles with nine and seven, respectively, and Trent Hubble had five tackles and a sack.

Sahuarita took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter behind two touchdown passes from Martin to Raul Velez and Wyatt Butler from 17 and 27 yards. The Mustangs extended their lead to 26-0 by halftime off a 14-yard touchdown run from Thwaits midway through the second quarter and a 27-yard touchdown pass from Martin to Carlos Martinez.

The Mustangs added to their point total in the second half with a rushing touchdown by Austin Salcido in the third quarter, and an interception by Alden Fox set up a 4-yard touchdown run for Matthew Nain in the fourth quarter.

What a difference a year makes. Sahuarita lost at Cholla 30-15 to move to 1-6 at this point in the schedule last season. The Mustangs would finish 2-8.

Allen took the job at Sahuarita in January, replacing Jake Price, who went 3-26 in three years at Sahuarita. Allen’s tenure at Pueblo included a 6-4 record in 2022 in the highly competitive 4A Kino region.

He incorporated eight coaches from his Pueblo staff with five coaches from the previous Mustangs coaching staff.

The coaching staff soon wore T-shirts that read “Sahuarita Grit.” The word “football” was omitted on purpose. Allen and his coaches began instilling the grit mentality in January when the offseason weightlifting program began, and the philosophy continued into long summer practices.

Martin says the deep coaching staff this season is a big reason for the improvements the Mustangs have made.

“I like the fact that we have such a big coaching staff to where they can specifically work on people,” he said. “They have specific jobs for people. So, I feel like we’re better and we also know each other more.”

Allen credits the team for buying into the mentality he and his coaching staff have been preaching.

“Grit is on everything. It was a little shell shock at first for them. They bought into it,” he said. “So, we’ve challenged them mightily in practice, and they responded to it. So, I think that’s the biggest thing is they’re just responding to the challenges we put towards them.”

Sahuarita has pulled off three consecutive wins over Empire, Rio Rico and Cholla to open region play after losing three straight non-region games to Phoenix-Deer Valley, Maricopa, and Flowing Wells. Martin went down with an injury during the Deer Valley game before returning gainst Empire.

“I’m happy with the order of the season,” Allen said. “We had some really tough teams up front, and it showed us our weaknesses. The kids didn’t quit., they’re attitude never changed and they believe in each other. Now we’re starting to get some confidence and momentum. I’m just happy for the boys. They’ve worked so hard. They’ve done everything I’ve asked of them since we got here in January. So, I’m just happy for them tonight.”

Thwaits said the three-game winning streak has given the team a level of confidence it never had last season.

“I thank Coach Allen and this new coaching staff for everything they’ve done. I mean, they’ve really helped us all out,” he said. “They’ve made football fun. They’ve made it an excellent experience, they gave us some confidence, and they turned this place around. They turned the ship around. I thank them every day for that. I’m grateful.”

While Allen acknowledged the 40-0 win over Cholla was a great win on the scoreboard and a step forward for the program, he still thinks the Mustangs need to clean some things up to be at its best in the three 4A Gila games remaining on the schedule against Rincon, Amphi, and Douglas.— specifically the four times Sahuarita came up empty in the red zone Friday night.

“We did not play near perfect tonight, and we have some good teams left on the schedule,” he said. “We’re hoping those last two homes games against Amphi and Douglas are big games with region title implications. So, not looking over Rincon next week at all, we’re just telling them wake up tomorrow, and this win is gone. Enjoy it tonight because we’ve got to get back to work. Our goal is to win this region.”

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