Editor’s note: As part of a 10-day project, the Star is looking back at the 2019 season, and asking five big questions about the fall. Today’s question: Who will have the best teams in Southern Arizona in 2020?
Around this time last year, many high school football coaches across the state were getting ready for passing league, the 7-on-7 non-contact style of play that signifies the start of a journey coaches hope won’t end for another seven months, with the raising of a championship trophy.
Passing league gives coaches a good idea of the talent they have on their roster, as well as the opportunity to survey teams across the city and state they might need to take notice of. This is amplified even more in the summer, when schools travel to take part in tournaments at different colleges in an effort to ramp up the competition.
With the coronavirus shutdown still in effect, it remains a mystery if any of the events will actually take place, as coaches and players equally are left to wonder what will become of next season.
“It’s tough to kind of balance everything right now,” Sahuaro coach Scott McKee said. McKee teaches at the school, while also coaching football and renovating houses when he is away from the sport.
McKee said that on a given day, he now receives upwards of 150 emails between parents, students and administration.
“Right now you have everything digital, so you have to figure out when to post an assignment at the right time so the kids have an opportunity to do it,” he said. “You’ve got different situations where you might have a kid that’s turned the internet off because they’re trying to get dinner.
“Maybe mom lost her job, so now the kid is taking care of siblings. You’re trying to figure out who can even get the school stuff done and you want to make it to where they can be successful with it, but you’re not handing them a grade either. It’s a weird balance.”
Sahuaro and McKee are hoping things return to normal soon, as the product on the field could potentially be the best in the entire city this season.
The Cougars are coming off of a 9-3 campaign that saw them earn the top seed in the Class 4A state playoffs. They return a dynamic “thunder and lightning” duo on the ground in Jamir Gasaway and Trevion Watkins that combined for 1,685 yards and 22 touchdowns last season, numbers that should skyrocket thanks to the addition of four-star senior offensive lineman Jonah Miller, who decided to transfer to the school from Salpointe Catholic.
“Jonah is a kid that’s driven every day, and it’s good when you got a guy in the room like that because now the other guy’s have to step up,” McKee said. “He wants to go out and be the best football player he can be and then go on and be real successful on the next level.”
Miller is not the only huge loss Salpointe will have to endure this upcoming season. The Lancers will have to replace not only UCLA signee Bruno Fina and Ohio State signee Lathan Ransom, but arguably the best player in Tucson history in Texas signee Bijan Robinson.
As if those weren’t tough enough, head coach Dennis Bene also retired after Salpointe’s loss in the Open Division semifinal against Chandler, riding off into the sunset with a 184-44 career record that included a 2013 state championship.
The cupboard isn’t bare for the Lancers, however. Bene is replaced by longtime Lancer assistant Eric Rogers, who inherits a squad that returns junior QB Treyson Bourguet, with senior running back David Cordero expected to showcase his talents in a much bigger role after averaging 11.3 yards per carry as Robinson’s backup last season.
While last season’s Salpointe team was one of the best in Tucson history, the playing field this year should now be much more balanced, with many teams returning some of their top producers.
Here are a few other teams to watch out for in 2020:
• Canyon del Oro is fresh off an 8-3 season and returns quarterback Montana Neustadter to now pair with three-star running back Stevie Rocker for a full season, after Rocker missed half of last year with a foot injury.
• Cienega returns a duo of Ryan Swoger and Gabe Levy that combined for just under 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground for a 9-3 Bobcats team. After flirting with the idea of stepping down, Pat Nugent is back as the head coach this season.
• Mountain View finished the season winning six of eight games after losing its first three in former Ironwood Ridge coach Matt Johnson’s first year at the new school. Johnson will have quarterback Giovanni Ciaccio back after he threw 10 touchdowns last season without an interception.
• Walden Grove is fresh off of their best season in school history, a nine-win campaign under Corey Noble. The school has improved their win total in each of Noble’s three seasons at the school, a trend they hope continues this season.
• Trying to find a surprise team this season? Look no further than Desert View, which went 6-4 last season with a roster that included only six seniors. The Jaguars will return almost their entire team, including junior running back Serge Gboweiah, who is the leading returning rusher in the city after a spectacular sophomore season that saw him rush for over 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns.
