High school football: Sahuaro trending up after first win in five tries over rival Sabino

Sahuaro High School’s wait to beat Sabino is over, but the Cougars are looking for more.

On Friday, Sahuaro held on to beat the Sabercats 15-14, snapping a four-game losing streak to the school’s east-side rivals.

“It feels great man — first win against Sabino in my four years, It feels awesome,” said Sahuaro senior receiver/outside linebacker Kayden Hunt, who had an interception.

Sahuaro did post wins in the series in 2018 and 2019, but Sabino had won every game in the series since 2015. Since 2004, the Sabercats lead the rivalry 17-4.

Third-year Sahuaro head coach Algodfrey Alexander said in his first two seasons, the Cougars would have quit in a game like this.

Sahuaro jumped ahead on 6-yard touchdown run by Isaac Lugo but then Sabino freshman quarterback Bodhi Sanford ran for an 11-yard touchdown.

Sabino took a 14-7 lead after a 26-yard touchdown from senior receiver Max Trainer. Sahuaro, however, got a safety after a failed punt attempt by Sabino, and then senior running back Jermarell Webb ran for the game-winning touchdown.

“We played well,” Alexander said. “A game like this, they would quit and they just kept battling and battling and I knew we turned the corner in the offseason this year.

“It’s so rewarding to see man,” he added. “I’m super excited for these dudes. I know we got nine more games, but I’m super excited.”

Sahuaro and Sabino have been playing since 1974, and the game featured a long line to get into the stadium, with extra security to boot.

“We’re the original (east-side) schools from Tucson, and they’ve been going at it for years,” Hunt said. “So it means a lot.”

After going 3-7 last season, 5-5 in 2022 and 1-8 in 2021, the Cougars are eyeing a return to the postseason for the first time since 2019, when they made it to the quarterfinals.

Sabino won the Class 3A state championship last season, though Sahuaro is in 4A.

“It’s huge,” Alexander said about the Sabino win. “They’re a great team, and I really hate it because they play in a little lower division, and when it comes down to power points and stuff sometimes it hurts you, sometimes it helps you.

“Now we’re thinking we’re a playoff team so it’s really great to get this win because of the rivalry,” He added. “But we got a lot bigger fish to fry, you know.”

Sahuaro reached the state semifinals in 2018, where the Cougars fell 53-6 to Salpointe Catholic. They have not had a winning season since 2019. The school mutually parted ways with former head coach Scott McKee, who went 71-62 in 13 seasons, after the 2021 campaign.

“It feels amazing. We came miles from where we were,” Hunt said. “We came so far. We’ve been working as a team —that’s how we did it.”

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Alexander is a Los Angeles native who played college football at L.A. Southwest College, UNLV and Western New Mexico. In 2003, he moved to Tucson and joined the staff at Salpointe, where he coached until 2019 — first as an assistant and then associate head coach.

After coaching at Cienega and Mica Mountain and as part of the staff of the Indoor Football League’s Tucson Sugar Skulls, Alexander inherited a program that only had a varsity team; the Cougars didn’t have enough players to also support JV and freshmen teams.

He said the program’s growth has been huge and it’s not just been on the football field.

“We had 48 kids out my first year here,” Alexander said, noting that the program has supported as many as 110 players.. “Now we’re back to three teams, and now our pipeline is better, so we got a bunch of kids to pick from and they bought into what we’re doing so it’s huge.

“Grades are important, school is important and the community is important for the kids so it’s good to see.”

Hunt said the win over Sabino was a great start to the season and how the Cougars plan to play the rest of their games.

Sahuaro opens its home schedule on Sept. 13 against Douglas.

“They believe now,” Alexander said. “Like I said, all they know is losing to Sabino every year, and I know they lost a lot.

“But you’ll see the rest of the year, they’ll bring it man,” he added. “They’re gonna focus and they’re invested. So it’s awesome.”

High school football: Marana wins big, Desert Christian wins for 1st time

High school football across Tucson and surrounding communities: A look back at the first full week of action, including big early-season wins by Marana High School, Sahuaro, and newcomer Desert Christian, and big college moments by former Salpointe, Canyon del Oro prep stars.