Sabino shows promise and potential despite tight loss to Valley Christian

After a 4-7 season in which Sabino fell to Valley Christian in both the first and last games of its season, the Sabercats showed serious promise and poise against the Trojans, falling 7-0 despite playing incredible defense against last year's Class 3A Conference runners-up.

Sabino's defense was the standout group of the night, holding a dynamic Valley Christian offense with a proven track record to one score.

"Our defense played fantastic all the way through," Sabino head coach Ryan McBrayer said. "To have a tight game like this against a really good team that came in here off of back-to-back semifinal appearances ... We want to be at that level."

The Sabercats brought back eight starters from last year's defense, according to McBrayer, allowing the group to build even more chemistry and growth as they embark on their 2026 campaign. 

"Coach Mike Wells runs a fantastic program for us as far as our defense is concerned," McBrayer added. "They were flying around, getting turnovers, a couple stops in the red zone. Those were huge."

Sabino's defense recovered the first of three Valley Christian fumbles in the first quarter after a three-and-out on their first offensive drive to start the game, but responded by giving the ball away three plays later — the first of two interceptions thrown by Sabercats' junior quarterback Bodhi Sanford.

This would become a theme across the contest — the Sabino defense would capitalize on a Valley Christian offensive mistake, only to be put back on the field due to inconsistency and struggles for the Sabercats' own offense.

Sanford finally settled in on Sabino's third drive, leading his team all the way to the red zone. He elected to run for yardage early in the drive, colliding head-on with a Trojan defender helmet-to-helmet. He subsequently connected with senior receiver Randy Ahmed for a big first down, then completed another pass on third down to junior Aidan Wille.

With 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter, sophomore kicker Nicholas Jackson trotted out to get Sabino on the board, but doinked the ball off the uprights for a miss from just outside the 20-yard-line.

After more stellar defense and forced punts from the Sabercats held the game scoreless into the final minutes of the first half, the Trojans fumbled again, sparking another Sabino drive. With the clock dwindling, Sanford found senior receiver Anthony Dimas to flip the field. However, the drive resulted in a turnover on downs in the red zone.

Valley Christian came out of the second half swinging, driving deep into Sabino territory, but the Sabercats' defense came up clutch again, forcing and recovering their third and final fumble of the game. 

Back on offense, penalties emerged as a major inhibitor for Sabino, resulting in a punt that gave the ball back to Valley Christian, which drove down for its first score of the game. Senior quarterback Austin Schuder finally broke the back of the Sabino defense, connecting with sophomore receiver Titus Higginbotham wide open in the end zone for a 20-yard score at the start of the fourth.

With seven minutes to play, the Sabercats were set up with a first down at the Trojan 13-yard-line. Instead of executing a prime opportunity, Sabino was penalized multiple times. Just two plays later, the Sabercats were staring at a third-and-32 from the 35-yard-line. Sanford threw his second and final interception of the game trying to get Sabino back into a favorable position.

"We think we can be at (Valley Christian's) level, but we can't shoot ourselves in the foot, especially when we had some really good drives going," McBrayer said. "We moved up and down the field; we just couldn't punch it in."

Sanford completed eight of 17 passes for 130 yards and two interceptions. He had throws that were dropped by receivers, while also missing several of his own with too much power.

Defensively, Dimas and junior Shaundon Harris led the Sabercats with double-digit tackles, but 15 Sabino players total notched a tick on the defensive stat sheet. 

The only player that the Sabino defense struggled to contain was D'Andre Dickerson, who rushed 30 times for 191 yards, including more than 60 on Valley Christian's game-sealing drive.

Despite the loss, Sabino finds itself in a favorable position with its veteran defense returning to the field. The key for the Sabercats lies in gaining experience in the first few weeks to make a run in the playoffs come November. Nevertheless, McBrayer remains unsatisfied with the loss, even after nine months turned his team into a squad that lost by seven points compared to the 47-18 loss at the hands of the Trojans in the first round of the 3A Playoffs.

"0-1 is where we are at, and I think we have a very special team," McBrayer said. "We think we are going to have a shot at the end of the season. Obviously, we have some things we need to clean up and get better at, but I really like this group of guys."

Sabino visits Gilbert Christian on Friday at 7 p.m. The Knights beat the Sabercats 28-20 in Tucson last season.