CHANDLER — Following an 18-14 loss to Valley Christian to start the season, the Sabino Sabercats huddled on the field near one of the end zones as Coach Ryan McBrayer spoke to them. While nothing he could say would take away the pain of losing the opening game of the season, he kept things light and positive, highlighting where the team excelled Friday night. Despite a hard-fought effort by the Sabercats, they ultimately couldn’t get the job done.
“You know, we had some bright spots as far as week number one, but at the end of the day we came up one play short, and Valley Christian is a really tough team,” McBrayer said.
Sabino started out with the ball, but unfortunately the Sabercats were picked off by Noah Lewis on their opening drive. Taking over at midfield, the Trojans continued moving the ball, capped off by a 28-yard touchdown pass from Austin Schuder to Asher Hanzal. The extra-point attempt was no good, making it 6-0 with 7:25 remaining in the first quarter.
On Sabino’s next possession, the offense did a wonderful job of moving the ball while eating away at the remaining clock. After using nearly eight minutes of play, the Sabercats were able to reach the end zone on a 5-yard pass from Bodhi Sanford to Zachari Haley. Sabino elected to go for two and was able to convert, making it 8-6 with 11:03 remaining before half.
Following a punt by Sabino later in the quarter, Valley Christian only needed one play to reach the end zone on the drive. Caleb Goldman took the ball 39 yards to cross the goal line and extend the lead to 12-8 with 7:30 remaining in the half. Valley Christian elected to go for two in hopes of making it a six-point game; however, they were unable to convert.
With just 26.7 seconds left before halftime, Sabino was able to reach the end zone to regain the lead following a fumble by Valley Christian. After marching down the field, Haley lined up in Wildcat formation, taking the direct snap and running the ball in for the touchdown. Sabino once again went for two but was unable to convert this time, making it 14-12 as the teams went into halftime.
“Zach Haley is just a man child,” McBrayer said.
McBrayer also noted how big of a role he anticipates Haley is going to play for the offense this season.
“How Zach Haley goes is how we’re going to go,” McBrayer said. “When things get hairy, we’re going to give it to number 5 with other guys stepping up and making plays, but he’s our bread and butter.”
Valley Christian got the ball coming back out of halftime but fumbled on the kickoff, which was recovered by Sabino. Unfortunately, the Sabercats stalled out in the red zone and ended up turning the ball over on downs at the 14-yard-line with 7:45 remaining in the third.
The Trojans were able to capitalize on the opportunity to extend the lead, capping off an explosive drive with a touchdown on a pass from Schuder to Hanzal. With 4:50 left in the 3rd, Valley Christian had regained an 18-14 lead.
Sabino had a shot to come back and regain the lead in the fourth quarter after an interception by Anthony Dimas left everyone on the edge of their seats. With 7:50 remaining, the Sabercats embarked on their final drive. Unfortunately for the Sabercats, it would prove to be unsuccessful. With 55 seconds remaining, they turned the ball over on downs, securing the victory for Valley Christian.
“We talk about guys stepping up all the time, and Anthony Dimas coming in as a junior and rising up… He made two fantastic plays,” McBrayer said. “He had a pick right before the end of the first half, and then that fourth quarter pick to give us another shot. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t make that one last play.”
While the result was not the outcome the Sabercats had hoped for, it was a good way to gauge where they are and see where they need improvements. McBrayer was also sure to note the bright spots in the game. He shouted out the offensive line for their efforts the entire game.
“Our offensive line, my hats off to them,” McBrayer said. “Those guys played 48 minutes in 107-degree heat and those guys stayed in the whole game, so all respect to the o-line and Coach Baja and Coach O because they did one heck of a job to keep us in that game.”
Next week, the Sabercats open up their home slate with a game against Gilbert Christian. McBrayer says they’ve got a tough line-up of games ahead of them, and they’ve got to be ready.
“Right now we’re 0-1 so I hope our guys are dialed in,” McBrayer said. “We’ve got a tough schedule coming through, the next game is Gilbert Christian, followed by Dysart, followed by our whole region, so it’s playoff team after playoff team and we’ve gotta be ready to go.”
Recommended for you
