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Salpointe's Anthony Wilhite (21) finds just enough daylight to squeeze out a first down late in the fourth quarter against Casa Grande at Salpointe, the opening night of high school football, Tucson, Ariz., October 2, 2020.

 Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

When Salpointe Catholic took the field in its season-opening win over Casa Grande on Friday, everything except the quarterback position and a few assistant coaches was new. 

New head coach, new offensive line, new wide receivers, new defensive starters and new running backs. 

For the last three years, Salpointe Catholic's offense had always been a run-first system centered around All-American running back Bijan Robinson, who's now a freshman at Texas. The legacy Robinson left behind — not just at Salpointe Catholic, but Arizona high school football history — is unparalleled. Robinson currently holds every rushing record with the Lancers, is Arizona's big-school rushing leader (7,036 yards), and the only player in state history to win the Ed Doherty Award twice, which is given to the top high school football player in Arizona.

Last season against Goodyear Desert Edge, a defense littered with Division I talent, Robinson rushed for 430 yards and six touchdowns, both single-game school records. 

Texas coaches spent their bye weeks to fly out to Tucson, that's how essential Robinson was on their recruiting boards, and there may never be another running back with elite prowess like Robinson to play in Arizona ever again. But while his talents were evident, his work ethic and drive was what made Robinson arguably the best running back to ever come out of the state.

It may never be duplicated again. 

"Bijan showed everyone how to work, and that's the legacy he left. Yes, he's got a lot of God-given abilities, but he worked extremely hard and I was extremely hard on him," said Lancers running backs coach Zachary Neveleff, who also coached Robinson. 

Now that Robinson has moved on to bigger and better endeavors, the torch has been passed to Salpointe's current one-two rushing punch, senior David Cordero and junior Anthony Wilhite, also known as self-proclaimed "Thunder and Lightning," a moniker created by USC's Reggie Bush and LenDale White in the mid 2000s. 

"David's the lightning and I'm the thunder," Wilhite said. "David gets a toss and uses his quickness as an advantage and beats people to the outside, and then I get the ball in the middle, do one cut — thunder and lightning." 

In a 29-21 victory against Casa Grande, "Lightning" rushed for 116 yards on 18 carries while "Thunder" contributed 57 yards on 10 touches. 

"Those two are phenomenal running backs," Salpointe first-year head coach Eric Rogers said Friday. "Bijan is obviously Bijan, but these two have worked their tails off and they're going to be great all year long. They're a great combination." 

Fortunately for the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Cordero, he was teammates with Robinson for two seasons after transferring from Catalina Foothills. Last season, Cordero was the complimentary running back and also earned reps as a slot wide receiver, if they were on the field at the same time. Cordero had 47 carries for 531 yards and nine touchdowns; He also caught seven passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns. 

Although Robinson was amidst one of the most historic seasons in Arizona high school football history, he ensured the up-and-coming running backs were mentored by him. Robinson became an extension of Salpointe's coaches for the younger players.  

"I've learned so much from Bijan that I can't even put it into words," said Cordero. "He's an amazing role model and an amazing person. He's Bijan, that's all you can say." 

Most importantly, Cordero adopted some of Robinson's work ethic and attention to detail, whether it was in games, practice or the weight room. 

"They got to see Bijan work first hand," Neveleff said. "So when David first came over as a sophomore, he was a speedy (running) back, but he had to learn how to work the Salpointe way. The first day wasn't easy for him, but he kept chugging along and proved to be valuable for us his sophomore and junior year. As a senior, he demands me as his coach to coach him how I would with Bijan and nothing less." 

As for Wilhite, Neveleff compared his multi-dimensional skillset to New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. Last season, Wilhite appeared in seven games as a sophomore for the Lancers and rushed for 249 yards and two touchdowns. 

"He could catch the ball out of the backfield and right when he touches the ball, he's getting up the field right away," he said. "He's not the most shiftiest, but he's looking to lower his shoulder and can move around you." 

Wilhite played only one season with Robinson, but said, "Being teammates with him got me better than I was before I was teammates with him."

The Lancers experienced growing pains in the season opener against Casa Grande, and Salpointe Catholic's passing game was established between quarterback Treyson Bourguet and Mater Dei High School (Calif.) wide receiver transfer Elijah Barclay, but running the ball has always been the top component for SCHS in recent years. As Salpointe Catholic navigates through a COVID-19-impacted season, Cordero and Wilhite hope to pick up where Robinson left off and lead the Lancers back into the Open Division playoffs. 

"We have to make a statement," Wilhite said.

"Bijan left and now everyone is watching Salpointe right now to see who's the next Bijan. Me and David need to fill his shoes and have an outstanding performance every game." 

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Contact sports content producer Justin Spears at 573-4312 or jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter @justinesports