Desert View, ranked No. 2 among 5A schools in the state, will start its postseason journey in a couple of weeks with the opportunity to become the 17th unbeaten champion among higher classified Southern Arizona programs.
Canyon del Oro (14-0 in 2023) and Mica Mountain (14-0 last year) each ran the table for the 4A state title in the last two years. Marana was unbeaten at 10-0 a year ago and was the No. 1 team in the Open Division – despite being a 5A school – before losing in the first round to 6A’s Chandler Hamilton.
If Marana was properly placed in the 5A state tournament, who knows?
UNBEATEN SOUTHERN ARIZONA HIGH CLASSIFICATION TEAMS
| Year | Team | Rec | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Marana | 11-0 | B |
| 1965 | Tucson | 12-0 | AA |
| 1967 | Marana | 10-0-1 | B |
| 1968 | Marana | 11-0 | B |
| 1970 | Tucson | 12-0 | AAA |
| 1973 | Palo Verde | 13-0 | AAA |
| 1975 | Flowing Wells | 10-0 | AA |
| 1976 | Canyon del Oro | 11-0 | AA |
| 1979 | Amphitheater | 12-0 | AAA |
| 1990 | Sabino | 14-0 | 4A |
| 1992 | Sabino | 14-0 | 4A |
| 1993 | Mountain View | 14-0 | 4A |
| 2009 | Canyon del Oro | 14-0 | 4A D1 |
| 2013 | Salpointe | 14-0 | D2 |
| 2023 | Canyon del Oro | 14-0 | 4A |
| 2024 | Mica Mountain | 14-0 | 4A |
Robert Bonillas’ Desert View team not only ran the table in the regular season at 10-0, but the Jaguars defeated every team by at least 18 points.
Their 41-23 win over a pesky Flowing Wells team on Thursday night at Desert View was the closest outcome for the Jaguars this season. Their average margin of victory is 31.4 points.
No. 2 Desert View is 10-0 and on an 11-game winning streak dating to last year under longtime coach Robert Bonillas heading into the 5A state playoffs after tonight’s 41-23 win over Flowing Wells. pic.twitter.com/X3QFJlFbs2
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 31, 2025
“A remarkable job by everybody — by the players, the coaches, the community coming out to support, for everybody, even our teachers, staff and administration,” said Bonillas, whose team is off to the best start in program history. “Good job to everybody. Flowing Wells was well-coached team, so hats off to them.
“I’m proud of these guys (points to his team) for finishing.”
A few minutes before the interview, Bonillas, a former Nogales standout who played tight end for Arizona when it went 12-1 in 1998, was doing jumping jacks with his players in a victory circle at midfield.
Dick Tomey, his mentor, must have been smiling from above.
DESERT VIEW (11-0)
Head coach: Robert Bonillas (62-73, 14th year at Desert View; 68-87, 16th year overall)Jaguars compete in the 5A Southern. *Region game. +Playoff game
| Date | Opponent | W/L | DV | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/29 | at Sunrise Mountain | W | 38 | 15 |
| 9/5 | at Sahuaro | W | 45 | 7 |
| 9/12 | Camelback | W | 38 | 15 |
| 9/19 | at Mountain View* | W | 54 | 26 |
| 9/26 | Maricopa* | W | 37 | 0 |
| 10/3 | Sunnyside* | W | 35 | 14 |
| 10/10 | Nogales* | W | 57 | 0 |
| 10/17 | at CDO | W | 48 | 7 |
| 10/24 | at Cienega* | W | 70 | 35 |
| 10/31 | Flowing Wells* | W | 41 | 23 |
| 11/14 | Mountain Pointe+ | W | 37 | 21 |
| 11/21 | Canyon View+ |
Nobody outside of Desert View’s program thought the Jaguars would go unbeaten in the regular season, especially coming off a 3-7 season.
“That just shows that we as a program, we thought that we could do this,” said senior quarterback Ryan Vasavilbaso. “We’re going to go far because we trust each other and we trust the coaches.”
How about this? Former Arizona tight end Robert Bonillas, a Dick Tomey protégé, engages in Desert View’s celebration circle after the 41-23 win over Flowing Wells that improves the Jaguars to 10-0. https://t.co/hZ93DzvDiA pic.twitter.com/c1rzn7PrvG
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 31, 2025
Bonillas has coached competitive teams before in his 14-year tenure at the school, but this one is different.
Many of the players have played together starting in their youth-football years, most notably with the Tucson Rams and Tucson Seminoles organizations. The bond created through a feeder system is an obvious element for Desert View’s success.
The Jaguars’ freshman team a year ago, including sensation Jaylee Abraham, had a season similar to the varsity team this year, blowing out every opponent on the way to an unbeaten season. The reason: A majority of the players played previously together with the Rams and Seminoles.
ANOTHER STRONG PERFORMANCE FOR ABRAHAM
Desert View RB/DB Jaylee Abraham, a captain of the team despite being a sophomore, had 12 carries for 122 yards with two touchdowns and also had an interception in the 41-23 win over Flowing Wells. pic.twitter.com/DrSbBEnPyg
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 31, 2025
Abraham’s 122 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns increases his season total to 1,421 rushing yards on 141 carries with 27 touchdowns. With potentially four games ahead in the playoffs, Abraham could very well break the 2,000-yard mark.
He also achieved his third interception of the season as a free safety.
“This season has been great; we put in all the work in the offseason and now it’s paying off,” said Abraham, who played at the varsity level only the last game of the regular season last year when he was a freshman.
That means he is 11-0 in his varsity career.
“One week at a time helped us go undefeated, and it’s been great for this team, the program, the Southside, the community,” Abraham said.
JAYLEE ABRAHAM SOPHOMORE SEASON STATS
| Date | Opp | Car | Yds | TD |
| 8/29 | Sunrise Mtn | 12 | 68 | 1 |
| 9/5 | Sahuaro | 9 | 160 | 4 |
| 9/12 | Camelback | 14 | 113 | 3 |
| 9/19 | Mtn View | 18 | 222 | 4 |
| 9/26 | Maricopa | 16 | 100 | 1 |
| 10/2 | Sunnyside | 14 | 68 | 4 |
| 10/10 | Nogales | 13 | 222 | 4 |
| 10/17 | CDO | 13 | 226 | 1 |
| 10/24 | Cienega | 20 | 120 | 3 |
| 10/31 | FWHS | 12 | 122 | 2 |
| Total | 141 | 1,421 | 27 |
Jaylee Abraham scores his second TD on a 24-yard run, putting Desert View ahead 33-15 with 9:46 left 3Q. Ryan Vasavilbaso to Alberto Grijalva for the 2-point conversion. https://t.co/a60rAoHZFm pic.twitter.com/ETatt0zdpG
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 31, 2025
Bonillas has mentioned that Abraham possesses the qualities he likes in a leader — communicative, intense, physical and intelligent.
It does not matter that Abraham is a sophomore with older players on the team. His spark on and off the field for the Jaguars is a significant reason why Desert View is 10-0. He undoubtedly is the most valuable player in Southern Arizona.
“I’ve been taking on that responsibility my whole life,” Abraham said of his leadership role. “I love being captain. I put in the work for it. It feels good to be a captain on this team. We’re 10-0, so it feels amazing right now.”
VASAVILBASO WANTS TO GO OUT ON TOP
Desert View QB @RyanVasa_12 completed his first 13 pass attempts and finished 19 of 26 for 276 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in the 41-23 win over Flowing Wells that improved the Jaguars to 10-0. pic.twitter.com/kQvKtZYWbH
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 31, 2025
The perfect complement to Abraham’s role as the dominant runner is Vasavilbaso being the steady influence as an impeccable passer.
Vasavilbaso completed his first 13 passes against Flowing Wells and finished 19 of 26 for 276 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
He has completed 72.2 percent (153 or 212) of his pass attempts this season for 2,139 yards with 25 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Ryan Vasavilbaso completes his fourth TD pass, a 25-yard connection with Alberto Grijalva with 11:26 left. Jaylee Abraham scored on the 2-point conversion run. Desert View up 41-23. https://t.co/4C5E7hFKUb pic.twitter.com/IcdFmnXbtP
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 31, 2025
“Last year, I wasn’t much of a leader; I was going out there just to go play,” Vasavilbaso said. “I wasn’t one of the people that helped us become more of a team or be together.
“This offseason, my coaches helped me get better timing and footwork and making sure I know the playbook.”
Leading a team as a quarterback to a perfect season and lofting the state trophy in the air at the end is an opportunity he would relish as a senior.
“It’s everybody’s dream as a senior to go win a championship, but with this team, it means a little bit more because we haven’t had a lot of winning seasons recently,” he said. “To go 14-0, that would be the dream come true. We want to be the first team to put a banner up in the gym that says, ‘State Champions.'”
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
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.
Recommended for you
