5A Southern: Salpointe Catholic
2020 record: 7-1 (season shortened because of COVID-19 protocol), reaching the Open Division state semifinals for the second consecutive season.
2021 record: 1-0 after a 56-0 season-opening win over visiting CDO on Sept. 3.
RELATED: SALPOINTE SEASON PREVIEW BY BRITTANY BOWYER AND FEATURE ON HEAD COACH ERIC ROGERS FROM LAST SEASON
Head coach: Eric Rogers, 8-1 second season at Salpointe and overall. Rogers has coached over the last 20 years in all but five seasons at Salpointe. He is a CDO graduate who played college football at New Mexico State and Connecticut before a brief professional stint in arena football. His first coaching job was coaching linebackers at Salpointe under legendary coach Dennis Bene from 2002 to 2007. He took a break from coaching before returning in 2010 as the Tucson High freshman coach. He then returned to Bene’s staff from 2011 to 2015 before coaching linebackers at Pima College under Jim Monaco in 2016 and 2017. He returned to Salpointe for a third time in 2018. After Bene retired at the end of the 2019 season, Salpointe hired Rogers as head coach.
Key returners:
- QB Treyson Bourguet, 6-2, 190, Sr.
- WR Antonio Martinez, 5-10, 170, Sr.
- LB Conner Raetzman, 5-11, 183, Jr.
- FS Cody Raetzman, 6-1, 175, Sr.
- S Cruz Rushing, 6-2, 190, Sr.
- RB Anthony Wilhite, 5-10, 175, Sr.
- RB Dailan Goodman, 5-10, 180, Sr.
- LB Joey Sumlin, 6-1, 230, Sr.
- OT/DT Lorenzo Mele, 6-3, 250, Sr.
- DE/TE Elijah Rushing, 6-5, 220, Soph.
- C Carlos Gonzalez, 6-1, 250, Sr.
Coaching staff:
- Head coach: Eric Rogers
- Offensive coordinator: Nolan Swett
- Defensive coordinator/linebackers: Pat Ryden
- Quarterbacks: Scott Mohr
- Wide receivers: Alec Musa
- Safeties: Rick Berkbigler
- Offensive line: Chris Lundin
- Defensive line: Shawn Wasson
- Running backs: Zach Neveleff
- Cornerbacks; Kris Neal
- Defensive line/special teams: Jack Williams
- Safeties: Jeff Pierce
- Strength and conditioning coach: Carla Garrett
- Kickers: Pierre Arnaud
- Director of Football Operations: George Rushing
Notes: Salpointe QB Treyson Bourguet has received offers from BYU, Idaho, Portland State and Columbia and interest from Arizona and Vanderbilt. His older brother Trenton, a former Marana standout, is a junior (one-time walk-on) at ASU backing up Jayden Daniels. Another brother, former Salpointe standout defensive back/receiver Coben Bourguet, is a preferred walk-on with the Sun Devils. … RB Anthony Wilhite is in the process of gaining more interest as he gathers more game film. As a senior, he is finally Salpointe’s feature back after playing behind Bijan Robinson and David Cordero. … DE Elijah Rushing and OL Luis Cordova are sophomore Division I prospects who practice against each other daily. Both have been offered a scholarship by Arizona (Rushing also has an offer from ASU) and they are slated to make an unofficial visit of Notre Dame’s campus this weekend, according to Elijah’s dad George, a former Florida lineman who is now serving as Salpointe’s director of operations. The Fighting Irish host Purdue on Saturday. Cruz Rushing, a senior safety with the Lancers, is the older brother of Elijah. … Two Raetzman’s are starters on defense — Cody at safety as a senior and Conner at linebacker as a junior — and another, Charlie, is a second-year freshman defensive back at Minot (N.D.) State. Former Pusch Ridge running back Evan Lovett and Sabino defensive end Jayson Petty are also on Minot State’s roster. … LB/TE Joey Sumlin is a senior prospect at those positions. He is a son of former Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin. … Salpointe travels to Cienega for a rare Thursday night game after having last week off following a season-opening 56-0 win over CDO on Sept. 3. The Lancers’ bye week provided a chance to practice as usual last Saturday and time to volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club of Tucson. … After hosting Ironwood Ridge next Friday, Salpointe travels to Scottsdale on Oct. 1 to face rival Saguaro.
Schedule:
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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 five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District
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