ALLSPORTSTUCSON.COM CONTINUES ITS 50 POSTS FOR THE 50-DAY COUNTDOWN TO THE 2025 SEASON THAT STARTS AUG. 22 FOR SOME SCHOOLS WITH A LOOK AT THE TOP LOCAL PLAYERS WHO WENT ON TO PLAY AT ARIZONA. CATCH UP WITH ALL THE POSTS BY CLICKING HERE.
The University of Arizona’s All-Southern Arizona team (years at Arizona in parentheses) over the last 50 years with help from longtime Tucson sportswriter Anthony Gimino:
OFFENSE
QB: Jim Krohn, Amphi (1976-79) — Starter helped usher the Cats into Pac-10.
RB: Ka’Deem Carey, CDO (2011-13) — Two-time consensus All-American.
RB: Vance Johnson, Cholla (1981-84) — All-league RB became star receiver in NFL.
RB: David Adams, Sunnyside (1984-86) — Lots of fun to watch; 2,571 career yards.
WR: Jon Horton, Sunnyside (1983-86) — Among UA leaders with 136 catches for 2,415 yards.
WR: Jay Dobyns, Sahuaro (1982-84) — Made 92 catches in his final two seasons.
TE: Richard Griffith, Catalina (1989-92) — Four-year starter, often asked to block.
OL: John Fina, Salpointe (1988-91) — One of UA’s all-time finest spent 11 years in NFL.
OL: Warner Smith, San Manuel (1991-94) — First-team All-Pac-10 as senior.
OL: Mike Freeman, Sahuaro (1981-83) — Went on to play four years in NFL.
OL: Jeff Kiewel, Sabino (1980-82) — First-team all-league guard in 1982.
OL: Jordan Morgan, Marana (2019-23) — First-round (25th overall) pick by Green Bay Packers in 2024
DEFENSE
DL: Brooks Reed, Sabino (2007-10) — 17 career sacks and an NFL standout.
DL: Mike Dawson, Tucson (1972-75) — Earned All-American recognition at Tucson
LB: Sean Harris, Tucson (1991-94) — Made 32.5 tackles for loss in Desert Swarm era.
LB: Jake Fischer, Ironwood Ridge (2009-13) — Smart and productive: 283 career tackles.
LB: Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Tucson/Mountain View (2015-18) — Totaled 243 career tackles, including 172 solo stops
LB: Jerry Beasley, Sunnyside (1984-87) — Made 134 tackles as a senior.
LB: Adrian Koch, Desert View (1997-00) — Ex-Marine went from walk-on to inspiring starter.
DB: Jared Tevis, CDO (2011-14) — Loved to hit; had knack for being in the right place.
DB: Mike Scurlock, Sunnyside/Cholla (1991-94) — Super athlete played five years in NFL.
DB: Clay Hardt, Marana (2000-03) — Hard-hitter gave his all during tough UA times
DB: Tony Wingate, Sahuaro (2002-04) — Could play both safety spots, nickel back.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Steve McLaughlin, Sahuaro (1991-94) — Won Groza Award as nation’s best PK.
P: Matt Peyton, Sahuaro (1993-96) — Topped out at 43.7 yards per attempt in ’96.
SN: Jeremy Evans, CDO (1994-96) — Three-year starter; best snapper of Dick Tomey era.
HOLD: Ryan Hesson, Sahuaro (1993-96) — Tomey loved “cerebral” skills of backup QB.
ST: Joe Lohmeier, Sahuaro (1991-94) — Special teams inspiration, battling through injuries.
RET: Michael Bates, Amphi (1989-90) — Future Olympic sprinter had kick return TD in ’90.
HONORABLE MENTION
Current players in bold
LS Alex Arnaud, Salpointe
OL Jacob Arzouman, Salpointe
TE Robert Bonillas, Nogales
WR Stanley Berryhill III, Mountain View
OL Daniel Borg, Ironwood Ridge
OL Mike Ciasca, Sahuaro
WR Chris Corral, Cholla
WR Kyle Day, Sahuarita
WR Kaelin DeBoskie, Salpointe
WR Cam Denson, Salpointe
WR Drew Dixon, Sabino
RB David Eldridge, Pueblo
P Frank Garcia, Salpointe
DB Adam Hall, Palo Verde
TE Lamar Harris, Tucson
OL Mike Heemsbergen, Santa Rita
DL Justin Holt, Salpointe
QB Jamarye Joiner, Cienega
DL Niko Kittrell, Sahuaro/San Jose State and Arizona
DE Hunter Long, Douglas
LB Brandon Lopez, Cienega
RB Kayden Luke, CDO
QB Seth Mejias-Brean, Cienega/Arizona baseball
LB Tyler Mustain, Pusch Ridge
LB Jake Matthews, Ironwood Ridge
LS Trey Naughton, Salpointe
OL Doug Penner, Sabino
TE Chase Randall, CDO
WR Josh Robbins, CDO/Arizona and Adams State
RB Stevie Rocker, CDO/Arizona and Montana
QB Rhett Rodriguez, Catalina Foothills/Arizona and Louisiana-Monroe
LS Braydyn Sage, Salpointe/New Mexico State
RB Kevin Schmidtke, Mountain View
RB Michael Smith, Sunnyside
DL Todd Thompson, Sahuaro
LB Cliff Thorpe, CDO
DB Devin Veal, Buena
P Sergio Vega, Pueblo
LB Craig Vesling, CDO
OL Willie Walker, Desert View
TE Brad Wood, Sabino
C Wayne Wyatt, Mountain View
DB Victor Yates, Palo Verde
OL David Watson, Amphi/Arizona and Adams State
RB Anthony Wilhite, Salpointe
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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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