With Arizona high school football season in full swing, the Star shares our weekly look back at the best of last week while charging ahead toward what we might be able to expect from programs across Tucson and surrounding communities this Friday night.
Team of the week
Pusch Ridge Christian began its quest for a seventh straight playoff appearance on Saturday at San Tan Foothills as the Lions mauled the Sabercats 48-6 on the road.
The 2024 Class 3A State Champions rolled to a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, starting with a 32-yard touchdown run from senior running back Dylan Shoaff. Senior quarterback Race Pinneo connected with fellow Class of 2027 receivers Levi Adcock and Andrew Fontagneres to fulfill his touchdown totals for the game.
The backfield duo of Shoaff and MJ Buckner combined for five rushing scores total.Â
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Pusch Ridge won 10 games in 2025, losing three contests to 3A standouts Thatcher and Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin. The Chargers, the 3A runners-up to champion Eagar Round Valley, dispatched the Lions in both the regular-season finale and 3A semifinals.Â
Dylan Shoaff of Pusch Ridge Christian Academy is surrounded by Sabino players as he makes his way towards the end zone in the first half during a game at Sabino on Oct. 3, 2025. Pusch Ridge won 27-8.
The Lions graduated 14 seniors in 2025, including leading receiver and 3A All-Conference First Team selection Dominic Painter. Three of Pusch's top four receivers graduated, leaving Adcock, another 3A All-Conference First Teamer, as the top pass-catching option.
Play of the week
Catalina junior Nate Gastellum had an explosive Friday against Santa Rita in the Trojans' season opener, emerging as senior quarterback Caden Ozmet's favorite target. In the second quarter, Gastellum secured an interception, then two plays later, scored an 83-yard catch-and-run touchdown in which he broke multiple tackles and outran the Eagles' secondary. It was Gastellum's lone score of the game, but he thrived with three catches for 182 yards, a staggering 60.7-yard average.
Stat book
– On top of Gastellum's electric pass-catching night for Catalina, the junior also snatched two interceptions and led his team in solo tackles with four, and was second in total tackles with six. Ozmet completed 7 of 14 passes for 224 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
–Three running backs scampered for 100 yards or more across the Week 0 slate, led by Pusch Ridge's Shoaff with seven carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Desert Christian junior James Harris was incredibly efficient, running four times for 106 yards and a touchdown. Tanque Verde junior Mason Sandoski toted the rock eight times for 100 yards, scoring twice.
Mac's Friday Fact
Catalina's season-opening win over Santa Rita was truly a full-team effort, as just 17 players suited up for the Trojans. The team's thin numbers nearly resulted in an Eagles' fourth-quarter comeback, but Catalina weathered the storm to hold on 28-20.
Quotable
"It's a process. I showed them, 'Hey, people might doubt you; just keep grinding and having that belief.' I believed in these guys the first day I got here as an assistant coach. I kept believing, kept believing. Eventually, they said, 'You're the only one who believes; let's put you out there and give you a shot.'" — Catalina head coach Keith Edwards to AllSportsTucson.com regarding doubts about his insertion to the head coaching role after three years on the Catalina staff as an assistant. The Trojans won seven games in 30 tries since 2023.Â
Rivalries take center stage in Week 1 of Tucson high school football
