Canyon del Oro junior quarterback Caden Dawes’ varsity football career got off to a slow start.
Things have certainly changed.
On Friday, Dawes led CDO to a 47-0 win at Pueblo. He completed 8 of 9 passes for 315 yards and threw for touchdowns of 75, 20, 44 and 65 yards. He did not turn the ball over.
Since starting their season 0-3, the Dorados have won five straight.
“I think it was great,” said Dawes about his outing. “We aired it out a lot more, had a lot of passing touchdowns, trusted my receivers, put it places where they could get it.”
CDO coach Dustin Peace said it’s amazing to see Dawes’ long passes and the connection with his receivers. Six Dorados caught passes at Pueblo.
“He’s been the difference in our offense,” Peace said. “Early in the season, he was a brand new quarterback, didn’t have any reps, we weren’t sure if he was the quarterback completely and now we know and everybody knows and I think the city knows.”
Dawes made his debut on Sept. 3 at powerhouse Salpointe Catholic, completing 1 of 3 passes for 18 yards in a 56-0 loss.
“It was really hard because I didn’t play a game the whole year and then coming out this year and just having to start against Salpointe, it was hard, never starting a varsity game,” Dawes said.
In CDO’s third game, Dawes threw for 197 yards at San Tan Valley Poston Butte. By Week. 4, a 21-14 win over Catalina Foothills, he was the Dorados’ sole signal-caller.
“It was a challenge in the beginning for sure, losing three straight and then after that we just bounced back, showed my leadership,” Dawes said.
On Friday Dawes’ maturation will be put to a test as Canyon del Oro hosts Casa Grande (7-0) in a de facto Class 4A Kino Region championship game. Both teams are 2-0 in region play. Peace said Dawes is “blossoming.”
“The biggest thing for him is we knew he could throw the ball, we know he can do these things; he has the talent,” Peace said. “It’s (about) him understanding the offense, putting people in the right position, understanding why we run this play and how the set up for the pass is on that, so for him making that transition mentally has been the difference.”
