Tucson 10: Look out for these Southern Arizona players this high school football season

The high school football season kicks off for most teams across Arizona this week.

As the season gets underway with a loaded first full week of play Friday — a slate highlighted by the Salpointe Catholic-Marana showdown — here are 10 players you should look out for this season.

Andres Bonilla, RB, Buena

The All-5A Southern Region first-team selection dipped in production, descending from 1,546 yards to 821, after a breakout sophomore campaign in 2022, albeit he had 66 fewer carries. In three seasons at Buena, Bonilla has 2,866 yards and 27 touchdowns, averaging 102.4 rushing yards per game.

Dinos Drossos, LB, Salpointe Catholic

Salpointe Catholic has arguably the best linebacker tandem in Arizona with Drossos and Thomas Regina, who led the Lancers with 82 tackles. Drossos had 72 tackles, 13.5 stops for loss, eight sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. The 6-4, 215-pound senior has offers from Nebraska and Northern Arizona.

Evan Greer, DE, Canyon del Oro

CDO lost a ton of talent from its undefeated squad that went to win a Class 4A state championship last season, including 4A Kino Region Player of the Year Kayden Luke, who’s now a walk-on at the UA, along with Defensive Player of the Year in Chase Laux. The Dorados are also without Dustin Peace, the 4A Kino Region Coach of the Year, who retired after 15 seasons at the helm. But Greer, who was essential to CDO’s run to the state title, returns as the leader of the Dorados. As a junior, Greer had 14 sacks and 62 tackles as an edge rusher.

Jimmy Leon, DE/TE, Mica Mountain

The 6-4, 245-pound senior for Mica Mountain had 15 catches for 192 yards and six touchdowns last season as the Thunderbolts’ tight end, but the two-way star garnered attention as a defensive end. Leon had the third-most sacks (17) in the state last season and had 19 tackles for loss. Leon, who transferred from Salpointe Catholic last season, has landed offers from Arizona State and New Mexico State, among other schools.

Carlos Montoya Jr., LB, Walden Grove

Only one other player (Tanque Verde’s Gavin Gilbert) had more tackles in Southern Arizona than Montoya, who logged 125 tackles. Montoya also had 39 carries for 437 yards and four touchdowns as a junior. Montoya is one of the top linebackers in Southern Arizona.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Roman Fina, OL, Salpointe Catholic

The Fina legacy in Tucson has continued with Roman Fina, the son of former NFL offensive lineman and Arizona Wildcat John Fina. The younger Fina is also the brother of Duke offensive lineman Bruno Fina, who transferred from UCLA this offseason after four years in Los Angeles. The 6-5, 250-pound Roman Fina committed to Duke’s 2025 recruiting class. He also held offers from the hometown Wildcats, Penn and Dartmouth.

Dezmen Roebuck, WR, Marana

The 5A Southern Region Player of the Year has 3,108 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns in three seasons with the Tigers. During his junior season in 2023, Roebuck broke out as a defensive back with 48 tackles, four interceptions, four pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. The 5-10, 170-pound Roebuck is rated by 247Sports.com as a three-star prospect and the seventh-best overall player in Arizona for the ‘25 recruiting cycle. Roebuck is currently committed to Washington, led by former UA head coach Jedd Fisch. Roebuck also holds offers from ASU and Portland State. Roebuck’s sister, Malaysia Roebuck, is a standout player for the Tigers’ girls flag football team, which went 13-1 in the program’s first season last year.

Nathan Spivey, WR/DB, Salpointe Catholic

The All-6A triple-threat was effective as a receiver, defensive back and kick returner for the Lancers last season. Spivey led Salpointe Catholic in receptions (44) and was second in receiving yards (450) with five touchdowns. Spivey had 68 tackles and a team-high seven interceptions; the rest of the team had 11 combined interceptions. The Spivey-Roebuck matchup on Friday will be one of the top one-on-one battles of the season.

Gabe Torgeson, LB, Tanque Verde

Torgeson currently leads the state in tackles after his 25-tackle performance in Tanque Verde’s 26-13 loss to Phoenix Christian in Week 0. Torgeson’s 25 tackles this season rank 39th nationally, according to MaxPreps.com.

Jayden Thoreson, QB, Mica Mountain

With so many elite quarterbacks in Southern Arizona now graduated, including Sabino star Cameron Hackworth and Pusch Ridge Christian’s Bubba Mustain, Thoreson could break out as arguably the top quarterback in Southern Arizona, after leading Mica Mountain to an 11-2 record and the Class 4A state semifinals. Thoreson threw for 2,304 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight touchdowns in his second year as the full-time starter. His best performance was against Pueblo, where he completed 19 of 23 passes for 284 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Thoreson has thrown for 4,592 yards, 50 touchdowns and 19 touchdowns. Thoreson and the Thunderbolts could be one of the Tucson-area teams to make a deep run in the playoffs this season.

High school football: First full week of Tucson-area games includes Marana-Salpointe, Sahuaro-Sabino, others

After a brief appetizer last week, high school football returns to Southern Arizona this week will a full helping. Big Tucson-area matchups include Salpointe Catholic at Marana and Sahuaro at Sabino.

High school football: Sabino opens title defense with win, Tanque Verde stands tall in defeat, more

High school football across Tucson and surrounding communities — a look back at the first week of action (including games and high points by Tanque Verde, Sabino and others), and a peek at this week's first full slate of games of the 2024 season.

High school football: Salpointe, defending 4A champ Canyon del Oro, others have new head coaches in '24

Last year, the preseason high school football chatter was about when Tucson-area high schools would halt a state championship drought. This year: it's about coaching changes, with defending champ Canyon del Oro, Salpointe, others under new leadership.

Photos: Tanque Verde loses 26-13 to Phoenix Christian in season opener, high school football