Sabino-Foothills figures to be Tucson's football game of the year
Late Friday night, about the time Sabino High School was inducting its 1992 state championship football team into the school’s Hall of Fame, fireworks illuminated the night at Catalina Foothills.
It wasn’t Foothills coach Jeff Scurran’s way of sending congratulations to his old team; Foothills launches fireworks after every home touchdown.
On Friday, the Falcons beat Nogales 56-28 and to all those living within five miles of campus, it seemed like a rerun of the Fourth of July.
It was also an unofficial salvo to announce Tucson’s high school football Game of the Year: 6-2 Foothills at 7-0 Sabino on Friday night.
A generation ago, Scurran coached Sabino to three state titles and a 127-26 record. Now, Jay Campos, one of the last assistants Scurran hired before leaving to start the football program at Pima College, continues the excellence. Sabino has been Tucson’s top high school football program for the last 25 years.
Campos is 111-29 at Sabino and took the Sabercats to state title games in 2005, 2006 and 2009. Undefeated Sabino has the look of another serious state contender for the next two years.
Many of Sabino’s top players are juniors: quarterback Drew Dixon, who has completed 71 percent of his passes with a 15-1 touchdown-interception ratio, has also rushed for a team-high 425 yards.
Junior receivers Andrew Carlsen, Bennett Nottingham and Travis Walker combine with junior tackles leaders J.J. Petty, James Offerman and Brandon Benson to help Sabino outscore its opponents by an average of 46-6.
Campos was hired by ex-Sabino administrator Will Kreamer, who is now the Sabercats’ offensive line coach. Campos’ staff, which includes his father, Ed Campos, is among the best in the state. Tim Bridges coaches the secondary; Ryan McBrayer is the defensive coordinator; Sly Lewis is the passing game coordinator.
There’s more than the Scurran-Sabino connection at stake Friday. (Scurran has already returned “home,” coaching his 2009 Santa Rita state finalist to a 27-16 victory at Sabino.) The AIA announced last week that the Division III state championship game will be held at Arizona Stadium at 11 a.m., on Nov. 28.
There’s a ton of competition from top-ranked Phoenix-area schools Paradise Valley, Maricopa and Sunrise Mountain, but Friday’s winner of the Scurran Homecoming game should be as feared as any in the race to get to Arizona Stadium.
