Part I: Sanchez led the Blue Devils to five consecutive state wrestling championships. Part II: He retired from wrestling and rebuilt a long-struggling Sunnyside football program and turned it into one of the five or six top operations in Arizona, winning 2001 and 2003 state championships and finishing second in 2002. He did more with less than almost any coach of the last 50 years.
9. Richard Sanchez, Sunnyside football and wrestling
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Greg Hansen
Columnist
- Updated
Sunnyside High School coach Richard Sanchez, right, gets a hug from his assistant coach Saturnino "Curly" Santa Cruz on the sidelines after the Blue Devils defeated the Phoenix Greenway Demons in the 4A Football State Championship game in Tempe, Ariz., on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2001.Â
Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 520-573-4362 or ghansen@tucson.com. On Twitter: @ghansen711
Greg Hansen
Columnist
