2024 High School Football

Dezmen Roebuck ninth player from Southern Arizona to earn prestigious Ed Doherty Award

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PHOENIX — Marana senior receiver/defensive back/return specialist Dezmen Roebuck earned three honors this week deeming him the state’s best football player, but the grandest of them all was his selection Saturday as the Ed Doherty Award winner at the Chateau Luxe.

Roebuck joined the likes of Bijan Robinson of Salpointe, Ka’Deem Carey of Canyon del Oro and Kevin Schmidtke of Mountain View as Southern Arizona standouts to earn the prestigious Ed Doherty Award presented to the state’s top player.

The award, the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in Arizona high school football, started in 1987 in honor of the the legendary Doherty, whose 37 years of coaching included stops at Arizona, Arizona State, Salpointe and Phoenix St. Mary’s.

Roebuck, 6-foot and 190 pounds, is the ninth player from Southern Arizona and the first from Marana High School to earn the award.

The Ed Doherty Award follows his selection this week by Gatorade and MaxPreps as the state’s top player.

“It means a lot to me coming from a small town that wasn’t really known my freshman year,” said Roebuck, a four-year varsity standout at Marana. “It’s a big award. Not a lot of people get to be in a position that I am in. I’m just blessed. I thank Jesus Christ.”

Roebuck’s performance in Phillip Steward’s four years as a head coach at Marana has certainly been heavenly for the former University of Houston standout and NFL player.

Roebuck established state records in season receptions (121 last season) and career receptions (352). His 4,239 career receiving yards ranks second in state history.

“This one (the Doherty Award) says the hard work he put in, paid off,” said Steward, who coached Roebuck and the Tigers to the No. 1 seed in the Open Division. “It does not matter what school you’re at. As long as you put in the work and do what others are not, it’s going to pay off.”

Marana, the 5A Southern champion, finished 10-1 following a 31-22 loss to 6A power Chandler Hamilton in the opening round of the Open Division. Despite that defeat, Roebuck continued to show he can perform among the elite with 16 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.

He has signed with Washington and former Arizona coach Jedd Fisch, whose staff continued to recruit him after they left to Seattle.

“Since my freshman year, I’ve put my head down and worked, and it definitely showed,” said Roebuck, who also flourished in the Tucson Turf 7-on-7 program as a youth. “I’m thankful for my teammates and coaches who pushed me on the field and in the classroom.”

Roebuck was also a lockdown defensive back this season with four interceptions and 51 tackles because of his range, speed and athleticism, similar to his older brother Isaiah — a former Marana standout who is a starting receiver in football and outfielder in baseball at Jamestown (N.D.) University, an NAIA school.

Isaiah was an Ed Doherty Award nominee as a senior during the 2020 season.

Their sister Malaysia was one of the five finalists for the Arizona Flag Football Player of the Year. That award Saturday was presented to Waddell Canyon View quarterback/safety Katelyn Jewell and Hamilton wide receiver/safety Samaya Taylor-Jenkins as co-players of the year.

The youngest brother Sean is a Class of 2027 standout with the Tigers as a receiver, defensive back, return specialist and quarterback.

Watch for Sean to be Steward’s playmaker at quarterback as a senior during the 2026 season after playing this year and next behind Ed Doherty Award nominee Colten Meyer, who will be a senior next season.

Meyer, 6-1 and 180, completed 294 of 399 pass attempts for 3,687 yards with 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the 10-1 Tigers that made the Open Division.

“I told him (Meyer), ‘For you to win it (next year), we have to win the state championship,'” said Steward, whose team will play only in the 5A state playoffs next year if it makes the postseason because the Open Division will involve only 6A schools.

“They don’t just reward quarterbacks; you have to win it. We have the best team. Hopefully, he can go home and take that with him. He was able to see Dezmen win it. I think it will do something for him next year.”

The four finalists for the Ed Doherty Award included Mica Mountain senior tight end/defensive end Jimmy Leon, who led the Thunderbolts to a 14-0 record and first state championship in the the school’s third full varsity season.

The other finalists were Phoenix Pinnacle senior quarterback Wyatt Horton, Tempe McClintock senior quarterback Jaxon Knutson and Queen Creek junior quarterback Tait Reynolds.

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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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