Canyon del Oro football coach Dustin Peace awards a “Golden Helmet” trophy to his team’s MVP at the end of each season. Many years, the choice is an obvious one.
This season, picking a winner should be a little more difficult.
“Usually it was like Ka’Deem (Carey) or Elijah (Carey), or last season was our quarterback Zachary (Eidenschink),” Peace said. “If we had to pick right now, there’s probably five or six guys that are up for it. It’s a pretty well-rounded team.”
That all-around talent has been key to the Dorados’ 6-0 start, something made more difficult by the fact junior running back Stevie Rocker missed the first five weeks with an ankle injury.
Rocker, an UA target and the No. 3 player on the Star’s countdown of the Top 22 players in the city entering the season, returned to the lineup last week. He rushed for 66 yards to help lead CDO to a 34-21 victory over Catalina Foothills.
Friday, the Dorados will host Sahuaro (6-1) in a game that has big implications for both the Open Division and Class 4A state playoff race.
“It felt good to be back and get that out of the way,” Rocker said. “I’m still a little out of football shape, but it was the first time I had been hit in a while so it was nice to shake the rust off and get back out there.”
Rocker was on the sidelines and at practice while he recovered. He was instrumental to the success of his replacement, senior Gavin Davis.
Davis, a transfer from Pusch Ridge Christian, leads the team with 563 yards and nine touchdowns — including three last week. The Davis-Rocker duo could be a formidable one.
“It’s gonna be hard for a defense to focus on just me or just Stevie like maybe they have been early on, so it’ll hopefully make things that more difficult for defenses,” Davis said.
Said Peace: “If it isn’t us or Salpointe, Gavin is probably the guy at any other school in the city. We might not have known much about who Gavin was or what he could do if Stevie doesn’t go out, but now we do and it’s more about trying to add another element to the offense with him back.”
CDO’s Stevie Rocker made his 2019 debut last week, and rushed for 66 yards in a win over Catalina Foothills.
Rocker says he is close to 100 percent after being tested last week.
His return couldn’t come at a better time. CDO is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A rankings and 10th in the Open Division rankings, which take the eight best teams from all divisions in the state. The Dorados will face a Sahuaro team that’s ranked fourth in 4A; Cougars running back Izaiah Davis has missed the last three games with an ankle injury of his own, but is scheduled to return Friday night.
“This game I think is highlighted on both our schedule and Sahuaro’s schedule since the start of the season,” Peace said.
“We had a great test last week and now the real test comes in terms of seeing what type of team we are, whether that be an undefeated season or state championship type of team. I’m excited we’ll both be pretty much at full strength with their running back coming back and ours coming back as well. We’re fighting to be that next team. Sahuaro had a great team last year and made it to the state semis, and we’re hoping to flip-flop those roles this year.”
