Sahuarita surges past Pueblo to secure 4A Gila Region crown

No. 22 Pueblo and No. 24 Sahuarita walked on the turf at Burton Tingle Field in Sahuarita last Friday, each knowing two things: the winner would likely be region champs and a playoff team, while the loser would no longer be in charge of their own destiny.

With a dominant performance of over 300 yards on the ground and over 500 yards of total offense, the Mustangs (7-2, 4-0) ground out the win over the Warriors, beating Pueblo (6-3, 3-1) 48-28 in front of their home fans. With some help from Rio Rico’s win over Class 4A Gila Region rival Cholla, the Mustangs secured their second region title in three years and have almost guaranteed a spot in the 4A Playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 2014.

“It’s awesome,” Sahuarita head coach Jake Allen said. “They earned it, and I want us to celebrate tonight, but we knew this was a box we had to check on the way to being a postseason team. So it’s like mission accomplished for this part of the journey, but this team is motivated, and we are still looking at the future.”

The Mustangs wasted little time showing their motivation on Friday, throttling out to a 34-6 lead by halftime. Sahuarita scored 28 unanswered points after the two sides traded touchdowns to open the game.

Sahuarita ran the ball behind its mammoth offensive line, all seniors who average out at 6 feet tall and 243 pounds, a significant size for Conference 4A. Five of Sahuarita’s seven touchdowns came on the ground, led by senior running back Sergio Burgos Jr., who carried the ball 20 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns. His younger brother, junior Axel Burgos, got two goal-line touches for 11 yards and two scores before an injury cut down his carries. Senior Trent Hubble contributed 14 carries for 101 yards, while junior quarterback Dane Hartnett carried the ball 11 times for 68 yards in yet another strong dual-threat day.

The ground game carved through the Pueblo defense, particularly in the first half behind the strong Sahuarita backs. Allen stressed how hard the team leaned on the run postgame, an established part of the offense that’s been the team’s bread-and-butter while attempting to remain balanced.

“We threw the ball when we needed to and leaned on the run game, which is what we’ve done throughout this year,” Allen said. “We were well balanced… We have three amazing running backs, a quarterback that can run, some great receivers and our O-line has five incredible seniors. It makes play calling really easy on my end and I am grateful for that.”

The Mustangs also struck paydirt throwing the ball on Friday behind the arm of Hartnett, who completed 13 of 17 attempts for 206 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Both of his touchdowns were deep strikes to junior wideout Gabriel Wilson for 83 yards total.

Hartnett has thrown for 1,308 yards and 17 touchdowns at a 60% rate while running for 441 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 carries. On top of his role as quarterback, he plays in the secondary on defense and is the team’s placekicker and punter.

“I’ve just been on the grind and put in the work every day to be the best I can be for my team,” Hartnett said postgame. “I try to be a leader for my teammates and follow my coaches’ instructions.”

When Pueblo exited the locker room for the second half, it was clear the Warriors wanted to lean on their own ironman, senior receiver and defensive back Jesus Enriquez. One of just two receivers in Arizona with over 1,000 yards, Enriquez and Pueblo senior quarterback Roman Otero have connected for 17 of the team’s 26 touchdowns through the air.

Friday was no different, as Otero and Enriquez connected six times for 170 yards and three touchdowns, accounting for a third of the Warriors’ points. A fourth touchdown between the two was called off for offensive pass interference.

The win carried personal stakes for Sahuarita’s Allen, who began his head coaching career at age 27 with the Warriors in 2020. Pueblo went 13-17 during his time at the helm from 2020-23. Friday was his first win over his former school in two attempts. Allen’s first thought after beating his former school was not to drag them through the mud, but to express hope that they also reach the postseason.

“I hope they make the postseason because they’re a really good team and they’ve earned it,” Allen said. “It would be a shame if they don’t, so I hope they get in. It’s bittersweet because I have so much love for that school and community… I’m trying to celebrate our win, but I hope (Pueblo) can get in the postseason, too.”

Ahead of Week 10, Pueblo sits as No. 25 in the 4A rankings, the first to miss the 24-team cutoff as it stands. Furthermore, the Warriors play winless Empire, currently second-to-last in all of Conference 4A. The biggest contributing factor to Pubelo’s ambiguity on making the playoffs calls back to its Sept. 25 loss to Catalina Foothills, in which the Warriors gave up two touchdowns in the final 15 seconds to fall 29-28.

Sahuarita turns its attention to Cholla on Friday for the regular-season finale. The Chargers are 5-4 under head coach Roland Youngling, their best season since 2015.

“We need to take care of business next week,” Allen said. “Cholla has had a great turnaround this year. Our message is to play with grit, play with the same physicality we have all year and try to have a great game. We will see what happens in the postseason.”