Editor’s note: This week, the Star is listing reasons why 2019 was one of the best high school football seasons in Arizona history. Today: Sahuaro High School, which earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A state playoffs under coach Scott McKee.
The stage was set last season for the Sahuaro Cougars to bring home their first football state championship since 1994.
Sahuaro entered the playoffs as the top-seeded team in Class 4A after going 8-2 during the regular season. Noticeably absent from things in 4A was Salpointe Catholic, which defeated the Cougars 53-6 in the 2018 playoffs and handed them a 58-13 loss during the regular season as well. With the Lancers taking part in the first Open Division playoffs, it looked like Sahuaro was prime to get over the hump.
Something about the crisp November air brings out the unexpected, however. A Yuma Gila Ridge team came to Sahuaro and scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to shock the home crowd and leave Tucson with a 28-21 victory in the quarterfinals, leaving fans and players alike to wonder what could have been.
“It’s life lessons that you learn along the way,” Sahuaro coach Scott McKee said. “You know, it was the way that we handled that week of grades and film prep. We had a 21-7 halftime lead and the wheels fell off the cart. We had adjustments on both sides of the ball that could have been better, and if we had finished the game the way we were supposed to, we were a couple plays away from going to the Final Four. There’s no do-overs, so you’ve got to eat it for a year.”
While the loss ended the chance at a title, the season showed how far Sahuaro has come over the past couple of seasons.
After enduring three straight losing seasons (2015-17), the Cougars responded with a 10-3 campaign in 2018 before going 9-3 last season. A senior class led by Izaiah Davis and Jordan Bunting helped to turn things around, part of a group that stepped up after losing 28 seniors the season before.
Sahuaro’s Izaiah Davis (1) stiff arms his way past Sabino’s Ethan Alegria (10) as he rips off big yardage on a second quarter run in their game at Sahuaro High School, Tucson, Ariz., September 6, 2019.
“I thought those guys were always better than what the record indicated,” McKee said. “We played nine playoff teams and we were playing up in (Class) 5A then. I thought we were misaligned, but those kids battled and played every game and they did that as young sophomores and freshmen. They got a taste of some success, but they’ve got to take getting beat up a little bit too. They just grew and they developed.”
Part of what made this past season so special was the unique balance Sahuaro had in the backfield. While Salpointe’s Bijan Robinson was the talk of Tucson, the Cougars deployed a trio of talented running backs that may have been the best group in the state.
Led by Davis, the unit also featured juniors Jamir Gasaway and Trevion Watkins. They combined for over 2,700 yards and 34 touchdowns in an offense that gravitated toward the ground.
“You have to play to the strengths of the team,” McKee said. “I thought we’ve always had good skill guys and especially our backfield. The kids back there the last two or three years have been phenomenal. Sahuaro has kind of turned into a running back kind of school, and we’re fortunate to have them.”
The success of last season almost certainly won’t be a one-off for the Cougars. They return Gasaway and Watkins, news that is now even scarier for opponents after four-star senior offensive lineman Jonah Miller decided to transfer to the school from Salpointe.
