Greg Hansen's top 10 high school running backs in Tucson history
- Updated
Canyon del Oro's Ka'Deem Carey, who led the Dorados to a 14-0 record and state title, tops the list.
- Greg Hansen Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Editor’s note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today’s list: the top 10 running backs from Tucson.
From 1980-2000, Tucson was Running Backs Central. It would be difficult to believe any one position, in any Tucson sport, produced more top college prospects than running backs over those three decades.
Sunnyside’s Fred Sims was offered scholarships by Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska and Arizona. Coaches from ASU, bent on recruiting their next star tailback, slept in their automobiles outside the home of Cholla running back Vance Johnson.
In 1980, the Star’s All-City team included Sims, who played at Oklahoma; Johnson, who became an All-Pac-10 tailback at Arizona; and Sunnyside’s David Adams, who led the Pac-10 in rushing at Arizona in 1986.
And then along came all-state tailbacks like Jon Volpe of Amphitheater, Chris Hopkins of Salpointe, Kevin Schmidtke of Mountain View, Nathan Wize of Sabino and, of course, Michael and Mario Bates of Amphi, who were Parade All-Americans.
Who was the best? You’ll never get a unanimous answer. There was simply too much talent.
The running backs of the last 40 years can trace their Tucson roots back to Tucson High’s Hayzel Daniels, who set a state record that stood for more than 50 years, rushing for 301 yards against Bisbee in a 1925 game and was generally acknowledged as the best in Arizona until Tucson High’s Joel Favara led the Badgers to an undefeated state title in 1952.
Favara scored 33 touchdowns in his final two seasons at THS, and was the state MVP in 1952, gaining 913 during an era when 913 yards is like 2,000 yards today. Favara chose Oklahoma State over offers from many Western powers.
After Favara left Tucson, the Badgers deployed Art Acosta, who left school with 2,003 rushing yards, then a state record. He signed with Michigan State.
The excellence of Tucson running backs has not abated. Sunnyside’s Philo Sanchez gained 4,839 yards as the Blue Devils won a state championship and, of course, Canyon del Oro’s Ka’Deem Carey broke all the records from 2007-10, gaining 5,709 yards.
Here’s my attempt to put the 10 leading running backs in Tucson history in proper order:
Sure, it’s convenient to choose Carey No. 1 because his memories are still fresh. But his numbers speak loudly: 2,738 yards as a junior, leading CDO to a 14-0 state title and, although he missed three games as a senior, 1,754 more with 26 touchdowns.
The youngest of the three remarkably talented Bates brothers, Mario set a state record with 2,740 yards as an Amphi senior in 1990. He went on to rush for more than 1,000 yards at ASU in 1994 and become a first-team All-Pac-10 tailback before playing seven NFL seasons.
For pure talent, it’s difficult to imagine anyone more explosive than Sims who broke the city record with 1,428 yards in 1979 and was the first Tucsonan to go past 2,000 yards in a year, 2010, in 1980. He grew up in Delaware and Texas before his family transferred to Tucson after living at Edwards Air Force Base.
Bates could be No. 1 as easily as No. 4. He gained 3,803 yards from 1986-88, and as a senior scored 10 touchdowns on runs of 40-plus yards even though he missed three games to injury. He was the state’s top sprinter of the period, and perhaps forever, and won the bronze medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics 200 meter finals after playing just two football seasons at Arizona.
Career totals: 5,440 yards and 2,522 as a senior as the Mountain Lions went 14-0 to win the 1993 state championship. His 82 touchdowns were a state record. He played at Arizona.
Although three knee surgeries in college, both at UCLA and Arizona, kept him from being a college standout, Parker was a Parade All-American in 1972 at THS, rushing for 3,049 yards as the state’s most coveted offensive recruit.
He averaged 7.3 yards per carry for Tucson’s 10-0 state champs of 1952.
Arizona’s 1943 player of the year, brother of American hurdling champion Joe Batiste, was also voted the state’s top track and field athlete of 1943-44. The Star reported that gate receipts for THS’s 1943 undefeated football season were $13,962 – more than double the previous season – because townspeople wanted to see Batiste play.
In the state tournament opener of 2001, Sanchez gained 325 yards against Prescott and rushed for 2,479 over the state championship season with 31 touchdowns. He played at NAU.
After transferring to Sabino from a state title team at Scottsdale Saguaro, Wize gained 3,101 yards and scored 51 touchdowns, averaging 223 yards per game in one epic season, 1997. Wize played college ball at Cincinnati.
Editor’s note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today’s list: the top 10 running backs from Tucson.
From 1980-2000, Tucson was Running Backs Central. It would be difficult to believe any one position, in any Tucson sport, produced more top college prospects than running backs over those three decades.
Sunnyside’s Fred Sims was offered scholarships by Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska and Arizona. Coaches from ASU, bent on recruiting their next star tailback, slept in their automobiles outside the home of Cholla running back Vance Johnson.
In 1980, the Star’s All-City team included Sims, who played at Oklahoma; Johnson, who became an All-Pac-10 tailback at Arizona; and Sunnyside’s David Adams, who led the Pac-10 in rushing at Arizona in 1986.
And then along came all-state tailbacks like Jon Volpe of Amphitheater, Chris Hopkins of Salpointe, Kevin Schmidtke of Mountain View, Nathan Wize of Sabino and, of course, Michael and Mario Bates of Amphi, who were Parade All-Americans.
Who was the best? You’ll never get a unanimous answer. There was simply too much talent.
The running backs of the last 40 years can trace their Tucson roots back to Tucson High’s Hayzel Daniels, who set a state record that stood for more than 50 years, rushing for 301 yards against Bisbee in a 1925 game and was generally acknowledged as the best in Arizona until Tucson High’s Joel Favara led the Badgers to an undefeated state title in 1952.
Favara scored 33 touchdowns in his final two seasons at THS, and was the state MVP in 1952, gaining 913 during an era when 913 yards is like 2,000 yards today. Favara chose Oklahoma State over offers from many Western powers.
After Favara left Tucson, the Badgers deployed Art Acosta, who left school with 2,003 rushing yards, then a state record. He signed with Michigan State.
The excellence of Tucson running backs has not abated. Sunnyside’s Philo Sanchez gained 4,839 yards as the Blue Devils won a state championship and, of course, Canyon del Oro’s Ka’Deem Carey broke all the records from 2007-10, gaining 5,709 yards.
Here’s my attempt to put the 10 leading running backs in Tucson history in proper order:
Sure, it’s convenient to choose Carey No. 1 because his memories are still fresh. But his numbers speak loudly: 2,738 yards as a junior, leading CDO to a 14-0 state title and, although he missed three games as a senior, 1,754 more with 26 touchdowns.
The youngest of the three remarkably talented Bates brothers, Mario set a state record with 2,740 yards as an Amphi senior in 1990. He went on to rush for more than 1,000 yards at ASU in 1994 and become a first-team All-Pac-10 tailback before playing seven NFL seasons.
For pure talent, it’s difficult to imagine anyone more explosive than Sims who broke the city record with 1,428 yards in 1979 and was the first Tucsonan to go past 2,000 yards in a year, 2010, in 1980. He grew up in Delaware and Texas before his family transferred to Tucson after living at Edwards Air Force Base.
Bates could be No. 1 as easily as No. 4. He gained 3,803 yards from 1986-88, and as a senior scored 10 touchdowns on runs of 40-plus yards even though he missed three games to injury. He was the state’s top sprinter of the period, and perhaps forever, and won the bronze medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics 200 meter finals after playing just two football seasons at Arizona.
Career totals: 5,440 yards and 2,522 as a senior as the Mountain Lions went 14-0 to win the 1993 state championship. His 82 touchdowns were a state record. He played at Arizona.
Although three knee surgeries in college, both at UCLA and Arizona, kept him from being a college standout, Parker was a Parade All-American in 1972 at THS, rushing for 3,049 yards as the state’s most coveted offensive recruit.
He averaged 7.3 yards per carry for Tucson’s 10-0 state champs of 1952.
Arizona’s 1943 player of the year, brother of American hurdling champion Joe Batiste, was also voted the state’s top track and field athlete of 1943-44. The Star reported that gate receipts for THS’s 1943 undefeated football season were $13,962 – more than double the previous season – because townspeople wanted to see Batiste play.
In the state tournament opener of 2001, Sanchez gained 325 yards against Prescott and rushed for 2,479 over the state championship season with 31 touchdowns. He played at NAU.
After transferring to Sabino from a state title team at Scottsdale Saguaro, Wize gained 3,101 yards and scored 51 touchdowns, averaging 223 yards per game in one epic season, 1997. Wize played college ball at Cincinnati.
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