To the victor go the spoils, and, in this instance, the spoils are in the form of a bronzed cowboy boot.
On Friday night at Tiger Stadium, Marana defeated Mountain View 35-10 to retain the coveted “Boot” trophy for the third year in a row.
Marana (6-3, 4-1 5A Sonoran) has won the last five out of the last six Battle of the Boot games. The Tigers captured the win in front of former Ed Doherty Award winner Dezmen Roebuck, now with Washington. The Huskies are in a bye week and Roebuck visited to provide support.
The annual Battle of the Boot rivalry game started in 1988 when former Mountain View head coach Wayne Jones, who played quarterback at Purdue, came up with the idea of creating a passing trophy much like the “Old Oaken Bucket” that Purdue and Illinois have for their rivalry.
Jones procured a real boot from Marana High School graduate and University of Arizona standout basketball player Bob Honea and had it bronzed.
From 1988 until the traditional rivalry game was suspended in 2014 due to a fight in the stands, Mountain View dominated the matchup.
Since the resurrection of the “Boot” game in 2021, which was also Phillip Steward’s first year as head coach at Marana High School, the Tigers have won the last five out of six games. Mountain View beat Marana 42-35 in 2023 at Wayne Jones Stadium.
“I keep the boot in my office, so the boys see it every single day,” Steward said. “They come into my office all the time. It sits right in my office so it’s something they get to look at every single day and this week, I put it in the locker room on a table so my freshman, juniors they all got to touch it, feel it to know what it feels like. I always tell them, ‘One day, you all (are) going to be playing for that. You all (are) gonna have to defend it, and so tonight, this senior class did well.”
Smith said “it means everything” to him to win the Boot again.
“It means everything to me just as much as it means to my teammates,” he said. “If my teammates are happy, I’m happy and we remain dominant. That’s all that matters.”
Mountain View (3-6, 2-3 5A Southern) took an early 3-0 lead after a 47-yard pass from Vincent Nguyen to Cayden Hunt put the Lions on the Mountain View 33-yard line followed by a 49-yard field goal by Erik Benjamin.
Mountain View starts with a little trickery resulting in a 57-yard gain. Marana’s defense held on defense.
MV kicker Rourke Cano nails a 37-yard field goal to put the Lions up 3-0 with 9:56 to go in the first quarter.
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— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 24, 2026
That lead wouldn’t last long.
On the ensuing kickoff, Marana’s Owen Lindsey fielded the ball and ran it back for a touchdown 94 yards, putting the Tigers in front 7-3.
“I told them we’ve been playing this game since I’ve been here, we’ve never returned a kick and today he came out the first kick return and got one,” Steward said.
“I just knew I had to find my way, and I knew I had to do everything I could to break off the tackles and I had to start off strong for all these guys.” Lindsey said.
The Tigers extended their lead to 14-3 when Jeffrey Smith lll muscled into the endzone from 5 yards out.
Smith ended the night with three touchdowns and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season for the second year in a row.
On what his offensive line means to him and his success, Smith said “I just got 1,000 yards and I’m blessed to have an offensive line like this. Since my freshman year I knew they’re my dogs and I’ve got to have dogs in my offensive lineman.”
Jeffrey Smith muscles in for a Marana touchdown putting the Tigers ahead of the Lions 14-3 with 6:32 left in the first quarter.
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— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 24, 2026
A 27-yard touchdown run by Mountain View’s Drake Davis brought the Lions to within four of the Tigers at 14-10 with a little over a minute to go in the first quarter.
Drake Davis takes the handoff and runs for a 30-yard Mountain View touchdown to make it 14-10 Marana.
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— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 24, 2026
Marana’s defense locked in and did not allow another scoring opportunity for Mountain View the rest of the game.
With 1:34 to go in the third quarter, Marana extended its lead to 21-10 when Smith bulldozed his way into the end zone from 3 yards.
Jeffrey Smith touchdown from three yards out gives Marana a 21-10 lead with 1:34 to go on the third quarter.
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— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 24, 2026
A Trenton Hicks-to-Jesse Howell touchdown pass at the 9:32 mark of the fourth quarter gave Marana a 28-10 lead.
Trenton Hicks ➡️ Jesse Howell for a Tiger touchdown.
Marana leads Mountain View 28-10 with 9:32 left in the game.
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— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 24, 2026
Smith found the end zone for his third touchdown on the night, putting Marana up 35-10 with 5:38 remaining.
A Xzaveus Griffin interception in the end zone ended a Mountain View scoring threat and secured the Battle of the Boot victory for Marana.
Xzaveus Griffin interception in the end zone shuts the door on a Mountain View touchdown and secures the win for Marana.
Final from Tiger Stadium:
Marana – 35
Mountain View – 10
@AllSportsTucson @MaranaFB @MtnLionFootball https://t.co/W3SuogQpZg
— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 24, 2026
Marana’s last regular season game is Friday against Vista Grande (4-5, 1-4) at Tiger Stadium.
“This week will be real big for us to recover so we can send the seniors out with a good win next week.” Steward said.
Mountain View hosts Sunnyside (4-5, 3-2) to close out the regular season.
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