Meet Southern Arizona's top high school football players of 2004.
First team
Offense
Pos. Name, School Yr. Ht. Wt.
QB Jaime Cota, Sunnyside Sr. 6-1 190
RB Jacob Morell, Santa Rita Sr. 5-10 175
RB Glyndon Bolasky, Sabino Jr. 6-0 180
WR Jack Darlington, Salpointe Catholic Sr. 6-2 190
WR Jacob Morell, Flowing Wells Sr. 6-3 190
WR George Garza, Sunnyside Sr. 5-9 175
OL Daniel Borg, Ironwood Ridge Sr. 6-6 285
OL Ian Brinker, Salpointe Catholic Sr. 6-6 280
OL Vincent House, Tucson Sr. 6-2 300
OL Jesus Acuna, Sunnyside Sr. 5-11 215
OL Marshall Johnson, Sabino Sr. 6-2 220
Defense
DL Jack Wagner, Cienega Sr. 6-1 250
DL John Romero, Salpointe Catholic Jr. 6-5 285
DL Carl Banghart, Mountain View Sr. 5-10 210
DL John Leal, Sunnyside Sr. 6-0 190
LB Brock Knight, Canyon del Oro Sr. 5-10 180
LB Ryan McGinty, Mountain View Sr. 6-0 210
LB Mike Carreon, Sunnyside Sr. 6-2 175
DB Nathan Vega, Sunnyside Sr. 6-0 185
DB Tamarcus Horton, Tucson Sr. 5-11 177
DB Wally Altamirano, Sunnyside Sr. 5-10 165
DB Bronson Lacaillade, Amphitheater Sr. 5-9 180
Special teams
K Sergio Velasco, Cienega Sr. 5-9 180
P Josh Eikenberry, Sahuaro Sr. 6-0 180
Return Tyreece Mays, Pueblo Sr. 6-2 205
Second team
Offense
QB Sean Brevaire, Salpointe Catholic Sr. 6-1 200
RB Xavier Smith, Sunnyside Sr. 6-0 205
RB Collin Murphy, Palo Verde Sr. 5-9 165
WR Jaime Torres, Cholla Sr. 5-7 150
WR Mike Brownstein, Sahuaro Sr. 5-10 155
TE Cody Jones, Sabino Sr. 6-5 235
OL Ravi DeFilippo, Canyon del Oro Sr. 6-1 210
OL Martin Huerta, Amphitheater Jr. 5-8 230
OL Max Manley, Ironwood Ridge Sr. 6-0 220
OL Bryan Cox, Palo Verde Sr. 5-9 225
OL Matt Torres, Cienega Sr. 5-10 250
Defense
DL Kelly Lara, Mountain View Sr. 6-0 215
DL Ray Lobato, Amphitheater Sr. 6-4 275
DL Dean Showers, Cienega Sr. 6-0 280
DL Zach Peterson, Tucson Sr. 6-2 245
LB Ricky Watson, Tucson Jr. 6-2 185
LB Max Johnson, Mountain View Jr. 6-2 215
LB Matt Berrellez, Sunnyside Sr. 5-10 195
DB Tyreece Mays, Pueblo Sr. 6-2 205
DB Jack Darlington, Salpointe Sr. 6-2 190
DB Brett Yeoman, Sahuaro Sr. 5-10 155
DB Jake Thelen, Mountain View Sr. 5-11 165
Special teams
K Carlos Encinas, Sunnyside Jr. 5-6 175
P Evan LeBlanc, Salpointe Catholic Sr. 6-4 210
Return David FranCoeur, Catalina Sr. 6-2 190
Honorable mention
Class 5A and 4A
Amphitheater: Sohaib Fellah, Patrick Howard, Mark Jimenez, Efe Okougbo, Joe Smith. Buena: Jared Haymore, Josh Lawson, Josh Rohr, Clayton Tawney. Canyon del Oro: Daniel Finnegan, Ryan Lush, Gene Park, Sean Romero, Mike Weldon, Martin Ybarra. Catalina: Jay Davison, Kevin FranCoeur, Devin Houston, Zach Morales. Catalina Foothills: Brayden Ashdown, Brett Booen, Aaron Dyer, Matt Stone. Cholla: Kevin Dees, Cody House, Danny Lucero, Richie Ochoa. Cienega: Ryan Boyd, Chris Clayton, Phil Martinez, Ryan Mills, John Olague, Eddie Russell. Desert View: James Frazier, David Hainley, Phillip Martinez, Roberto Valenzuela. Douglas: Ricky Elias, Guy Hudson, Jesse Huish. Flowing Wells: Craig Ayer, Miles Collie, Micheal Gillmore, Dustin Hernandez. Ironwood Ridge: Ryan Crawford, Jimmy Cross, Colin Gilbert, Dakotah McQuay, Cameron Wierson. Marana: Michael Bailey, Kelsey Punt, Daniel Silva. Mountain View: Alex Bogart, Cliff Engelhart, Joey Felix, Jason Hubert, Casey Ramsey. Nogales: Brian Parker, David Ramirez, Danny Rincon. Palo Verde: Ernesto Aguirre, J.T. Audifre, Jeremy McCabe. Pueblo: Dallas Bonillas, Raymond Camacho, Cameron Copeland, Tim Echeverria. Rincon/University: Matt Brady, Abelardo Llamas, Dominik Martinez, Aaron Pesqueria. Sabino: Travis Colson, Sergey Pitman, Justin Randall, Brooks Reed, Eric Whitaker. Sahuaro: Travis Fischer, Christian Hannabergh, Mike LaChapelle, Brad Yeoman. Salpointe Catholic: Nicholas Cole, Levess Eafon, Steve Hopkins, Robert McManimon, Kris O’Dowd, Oscar Villa. Santa Rita: Zach Ghidotti, Jeremy Killham, Justin Musgrove, Jon Oakland, Frank Wojtasiak. Sunnyside: Anthony Bonfiglio, Aaron Garcia, Jose Luis Lopez, Adam Montijo, David Morales. Tucson: Eric Coleman, A.J. Jackson, Corday Johnson, Estevan Leyva, Josh Loebe.
Class 3A
Coolidge: Angel Felix, Brandon Jordan, O.J. Palacios, Manuel Valenzuela. Rio Rico: Abraham Garcia, Victor Huerta, Mario Ortega. Safford: Brannon Maldonado, Michael McHugh, Michael Moore, Sonny Seballos. Sahuarita: Kyle Day, Travis Depper, Trevor Miller, Tony Silva. Eloy Santa Cruz: Eric Rodriguez, Fernando Romero, Manuel Romero. Willcox: Dustin Brown.
Class 2A
Benson: Zack Bernal, Caleb Blaschke, Jason Ware. Bisbee: Aaron Farmer, Victor Flores, Gerard Moots, Brian Vertrees. Winkelman Hayden: Nick Alavardo, Omar Calzadillas, Juan Diego Garcia, R.J. Guzman. Morenci: Michael Alba, Ryan Merrill, Gary Sandoval. Pusch Ridge: Shane Ehrsam, Armando Gonzales, Jared Hicks, Ryan Morgan. Kearny Ray: Marco Esquivel, Joe Montano, Joe Stamey. San Manuel: Joey Ruiz, Michael Sanchez, Chad Vargas.
Class 1A
Ajo: Jon Clements, Joseph Avillar, Brandon Grissom. ASDB: Kekoa Murashige, Daniel Rodriquez. Clifton: Herb Aguilar, Alex Morales, Julio Rodriguez, Josh Sandoval. Duncan: Jayce Lunt. FOrt Thomas: Darrin Dosela, David Fick, Robbie Titla. Pima: Nephi Bryant, Jessie Gojkovick, Luis Quesada, Logan Rocha, Phil Weech. Elfrida Valley Union: Omar Mancinas, Eric Valentin.
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PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jack Darlington, WR, Salpointe Catholic
No Southern Arizona football player was more complete than Salpointe Catholic’s Jack Darlington.
As a senior, Darlington led Salpointe in receptions (45) and receiving yards (1,079), and scored nine touchdowns as the Lancers advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs.
When he was not posting nearly one-fourth of Salpointe’s total offensive yards, Darlington also played cornerback and returned punts.
He helped Salpointe clinch its third straight region title by returning four punts for 176 yards, including a 70-yarder for a touchdown, in the Lancers’ Week 11 win over Mountain View.
Darlington, who also plays basketball and baseball, is planning to play football in college.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Nemer Hassey, Cienega
New programs are supposed to struggle. They are supposed to lose and take their lumps as the doormats of the region.
But in three years, Cienega coach Nemer Hassey has not only bucked that trend, he has put it into a headlock and turned one of Southern Arizona’s newest programs into a contender.
Despite losing a handful of key seniors from last year’s 8-3 state playoff team, Hassey’s Bobcats improved in 2004.
After losing to Sabino in Week 7, Cienega went on a four-game winning streak to finish the regular season with an 8-2 record, capturing the program’s first 4A Kino Region title.
One week later, the Bobcats won their first playoff game, a 30-7 decision over Ironwood Ridge.
