Collection: Sahuaro High School's top 10 football players of all time

Top Cougars

High school football is in full swing and the Star is nearly finished completing its collection of all-time top 10 players from each program around Southern Arizona. Up next: Sahuaro Cougars. 

10. Cole Sterns, ATH, 2013

A two-way player, Sterns was a First-Team All-Southern Arizona wide receiver and Second-Team All-Southern Arizona defensive back in 2013. Sterns averaged 106 receiving yards per game as a senior and also hauled in five interceptions in the same season. After lettering at Northern Arizona for four seasons, Sterns took his talents Southern Methodist as a graduate transfer. 

9. Jay Dobyns, WR/DB, 1979

Although Dobyns may be best remembered for his undercover work as a special agent with the ATF and infiltrating the infamous biker group Hell's Angels, his football career isn't something to forget. Dobyns, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound receiver, was a first-team All-State and All-Southern Arizona selection in 1979 as a senior when he led Southern Arizona in receiving in the regular season with 48 catches for 621 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior with the Cougars, he ran alongside All-State selection Brad Baker and was second in the area with 37 catches for 417 yards and two touchdowns. Dobyns went to Arkansas his first year of college and transferred to the UA where he was a three-year starter and two-time All-Pac 10 wide receiver.

8. Brad Chilcote, QB, 1985

In 1985, still in the shadow of Rodney Peete, Chilcote did not hesitate to make a name for himself in Sahuaro and Tucson history. The senior quarterback threw for a single-season city and state record 2,736 yards, nearly 1,000 of which came in the Cougars' three playoff games in 1985 as they reached the state semifinals.

Also that season, Chilcote threw for 426 yards in one game to break the single-season state record for the third time in four years. Coincidentally, Peete was the one who started that trend when he threw for 424 yards in a single game in 1982. Chilcote, who completed 175 of 288 passes for 25 touchdowns and 15 interceptions his senior year, was named the first-team All-Southern Arizona quarterback.

7. Steve McLaughlin, P/K, 1989

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound McLaughlin could be considered the best kicker and punter to come out of Southern Arizona. He was the first-team All-Southern Arizona punter as a senior in 1989 as well as the second-team kicker after he averaged 42 yards per punt and sent most of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. McLaughlin became a consensus All-American as a senior at UA when he set the UA single-season record with 23 field goals in 1994 and won the Lou Groza Award for the nation's best kicker. In the 1995 NFL Draft, McLaughlin was the only kicker drafted when the St. Louis Rams selected McLaughlin in the third round. Although he was never able to get back to his award-winning ways, he is a member of the UA football Ring of Honor.

6. Steve Martin, WR/DB, 1985

Martin was arguably the state's best all-around athlete his senior year. He could have also been considered the top wide out, and his main competition was Mark Mariani, who lined up next to him and gave Southern Arizona one of its best receiving duos ever. The two combined for 1,273 yards in 1985 with Martin, an All-State selection, accounting for 550 of them. While that number might seem low, Martin actually missed five games with an injured right ankle and caught 21 of his 25 balls for 479 yards and three touchdowns in only three playoff games. As a junior, Martin was a second-team All-Southern Arizona receiver and helped the Cougars reach the state finals. Martin, who was named the 1985 Southern Arizona baseball player of the year by the Star, signed with ASU to play both baseball and football and went on to sign a pro baseball contract with the San Diego Padres organization but never made it past Double-A ball.

5. Omar Bacon, RB, 1994

The younger brother of another Sahuaro standout in Barry Bacon, Omar shined even more than his brother and led the Cougars to a co-state championship. Bacon, the All-Southern Arizona Player of the Year and Tucson Citizen Most Valuable Player in 1994, rushed for 1,578 yards, gained 290 on receptions and scored 22 touchdowns while Sahuaro tied Peoria 17-17 in the 4A state finals.

Bacon, who played in three state championship games in his four years with the Cougars, chose to play at Utah over UA and Missouri. In four years with the Utes, Bacon amassed 1,372 yards and 14 touchdowns on 347 carries. He was a member of the New York Giants' practice squad but never took the field in a regular-season game before he was released in September of 2001.

4. Mike Ciasca, OL, 1989

Ranked the No. 1 offensive line prospect in 1989 by SuperPrep, Ciasca was a very big deal. The 6-foot-6, 290-pound Parade All-American had offers coming from all corners of the country and listed his finalists as USC, UCLA, Florida State and the UA when he was named the All-Southern Arizona offensive player of the year by the Star his senior year. The Arizona Gatorade Circle of Champions player of the year in 1989 helped open lanes for fellow first-team selection running back Barry Bacon, who rushed for more than 1,500 yards as Sahuaro finished the regular season 10-0 and reached the state semifinals. Ciasca chose to stay in Tucson by committing to the Wildcats, but he was never able to get to the same level of play as injuries ended his career.

3. John Mistler, WR/DB, 1976

Over three seasons with Sahuaro, Mistler caught 149 passes for 2,375 yards and was twice a first-team All-State selection. He was also named a Parade All-American his senior year, and he caught a state-record 81 catches as a junior. He went on to play at ASU and then in the NFL. With the Sun Devils, Mistler was an All-American and All-Pac-10 receiver who finished his college career second in school history with 156 catches and 21 touchdowns and third with 2,149 career receiving yards. He had 53 catches for 573 yards and 11 touchdowns his senior year and went on to be chosen 59th overall in the 1981 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

2. Reggie Robertson, QB, 1999

As one of the most prolific quarterbacks to ever come out of Tucson, Robertson is part of an elite group. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound record-setting signal-caller set four city records in his stellar three-year career with the Cougars. He was named the All-Southern Arizona Player of the Year by the Arizona Daily Star in 1999 as a senior and was the Tucson Citizen Player of the Year in 1998. Robertson finished with a Tucson city record 7,106 career passing yards and 77 career touchdown passes. He threw for 2,933 yards and 34 scores as a senior to break both single-season city records, which stood until 2004.

He helped Calvin Dacus break the state's career reception mark, connecting with him 215 times over three years and for 18 touchdowns in their final season when Sahuaro made it to the 4A state championship game. Robertson had college offers from the UA, Cal, New Mexico and Utah and chose to join the Golden Bears. With them, however, he eventually lost the starting job to current Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Robertson still went on to lead the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europe to the World Bowl IV in 2006 and then attended training camp with the Oakland Raiders.

1. Rodney Peete, ATH, 1981

Although Peete may not have graduated from Sahuaro, that's definitely where he began to make a name for himself, regardless of what sport he was playing. The Mesa native caught 44 passes for 796 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore in 1981 to earn second-team All-State honors as a wide receiver and then went on to become a first-team All-State quarterback the next year with no problems.

The three-sport star threw for an area-best 1,885 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior and had only eight interceptions in 253 passing attempts but left Sahuaro because his father, Willie, got a job as an assistant coach with the Kansas City Chiefs. By then, however, Peete was already well known, and his name only became more common. He went on to become a first-team All-American quarterback at USC where he led the Trojans to a pair of Rose Bowl appearances, won the Johnny Unitas Award as the best senior quarterback and was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Barry Sanders that same year in 1988.