THURSDAY’S OPENING RESULTS
THATCHER 33, ALA-IRONWOOD 6
Thatcher rushed for nearly 300 yards and scored five touchdowns, four on the ground, in the season-opening rout on the road.
Thatcher opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back and linebacker Ethan Hayes.
Tufden Taylor broke free for a 43-yard touchdown run, extending the Eagles’ lead to 13-0 late in the first quarter.
Jax Shupe added another rushing touchdown to increase the lead to 20-0. Palmer scored on a quarterback option to put the Eagles ahead 26-0 at halftime.
Palmer connected with Teagan Damron for a 12-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, making it 33-6.
SAFFORD 44, MORENCI 0
Safford junior QB Parker Whisman completed 6 of 10 pass attempts for 114 yards and two touchdowns and also led the Bulldogs with 88 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown in the opener at home.
Noah Juardo, a freshman, had a 53-yard touchdown run, and senior Andrew Baker finished with 56 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.
Matteo Chavez, a senior, had four receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Sabino routinely plays a very difficult freedom schedule under coach Ryan McBrayer, and this year is no different. Sabino opens at home Friday against Chandler Valley Christian, a school that beat the Sabercats twice in Chandler last year — in the season opener 18-14 and in the first round of the 3A state playoffs 47-18. Valley Christian finished 11-2 after advancing to the semifinal round.
.@SabinoFootball1 will begin its 10th season under alum @Coach_McBrayer, who led the Sabercats to the 3A state title in 2023. Freshmen on that team are now his senior leaders heading into Friday’s opener at home against formidable Valley Christian. A challenging start to a tough… pic.twitter.com/CvZDo1knMJ
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 19, 2026
.@SabinoFootball1 senior LB @ChrisYslas1204 is ready to lead his team drawing from his experience as a freshman in 2023 when the Sabercats won the 3A state title behind seniors such as Cameron Hackworth, Mason Cade and Savaughn Berryhill. Sabino opens its season Friday at home… pic.twitter.com/zjNCvhsLmj
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 18, 2026
.@SabinoFootball1 senior WR/CB Randy Ahmed (@mono3tres) has good size at 6-4 and 180 pounds. He will draw increased interest from college recruiters as the season goes along, but he’s more about bringing back the championship feel he experienced as a freshman when the Sabercats… pic.twitter.com/Ko4mNk6x56
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 20, 2026
.@SabinoFootball1 senior S/WR/P @Anthony17Dimas is coming off a year in which he had four interceptions and 40 tackles. One of Sabino’s 14 seniors, many of whom know what it takes to win a state championship after the Sabercats won the 3A title in 2023 when they were freshmen. pic.twitter.com/oM5KtvJ7yH
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 20, 2026
.@SabinoFootball1 junior QB @BodhiSanfordqb has started since he was a freshman and is at 3,563 yards passing on 238 of 464 completions with 34 TDs. At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds with two more years of high school to develop further, he has a world of potential. He will lead the… pic.twitter.com/YRRg45lCBJ
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 19, 2026
Palo Verde, coming off its first winning season since 2009 with a 6-4 record, will travel to Willcox to open its season. The Titans lost 49-0 at home against the Cowboys to start last season when they started 1-3. Palo Verde then won five straight games to clinch the winning season. Steven Ward will coach his alma mater after serving as an assistant in the last decade, and he has two home games to welcome him to his new role. They won’t be easy games with Palo Verde and Arizona Lutheran (10-2 last year).
Willcox coach Steven Ward graduated from the school in 1994 and finally gets the opportunity to be the head coach after serving as the junior varsity head coach the last five years. He had helped coach off and on over the last few years, including as a reserve. He will lead his… pic.twitter.com/reFIuqRhaa
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 19, 2026
Willcox senior RB/LB/K Kaleb Cooke is one of the top 2A players in the state coming off 1,577 yards rushing on 149 carries with 18 touchdowns. He also had 102 tackles with seven tackles for loss, all of them sacks, and recorded an interception. He gets absolutely everything out… pic.twitter.com/ZsYgwC01Mz
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 19, 2026
Willcox senior WR/S Da’Marion Jackson (6-1, 170) had 17 receptions for 401 yards and six TDs last year in the Cowboys’ run-heavy offense after transferring from Pueblo. He tallied 53 tackles with four interceptions anchoring Willcox’s defense in the secondary. pic.twitter.com/FiwK98dGnH
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) August 18, 2026
Something slight today to get the blood pumping pic.twitter.com/5vqvmCgsqB
— Coach Keith Smith (@KeithSm806) July 29, 2026
Santa Rita great Cam Gaddis will try to restore pride in the program from when he played under Jeff Scurran from 2007 to 2009, a time in which the Eagles were 34-7 with state championship appearances in 2008 and 2009. The Eagles are mired in a 24-game losing streak dating to 2021. The Gaddis Era begins with three of the first four games on the road, including the opener against Catalina. His first game as coach at the field he once played on will next Friday against Miami, which has won the last three games against Santa Rita (including a 64-0 score last year at Miami). Kevin Edwards’ first game as a head coach after serving as an assistant with the three previous coaching staffs at Catalina is against Santa Rita. Catalina is classified as an independent, so it cannot qualify for the postseason. The Trojans, beset by low numbers of player involvement, can still play in games this season and try to build momentum under Edwards, the school’s fourth coach in the last four years.
Bisbee’s opener at rival Benson is a freedom game, a departure from the past when both were in the same region. Benson leads the series 25-12-2 that dates to only 1982 although Bisbee’s first season was in 1906 and Benson’s first team played in 1939. Bisbee won three straight games in the series before losing 34-0 at home to the Bobcats to begin last season. Benson has won 11 out of the last 15 games to take command of the rivalry.
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