A crowd of “at least a thousand” anxiously watched as the Sahuaro vs. Sabino football game headed into the fourth quarter, still tied 6-6. Throughout most of the game, the matchup appeared to be even, until there were nine minutes and two seconds left on the clock. Sabino scored a touchdown, and they completed an extra point to give the Sabercats a 13-6 lead. Sahuaro still had something left; they answered with a long kickoff return, and for a while, it appeared they weren’t out of the game. However, the offense could not convert to a first down, and the ball was turned over on downs. Sabino went in for another touchdown, with an incomplete extra-point attempt. At this point, it was not looking good for Sahuaro, and both teams were starting to get frustrated.

For an unknown reason, Sabino gifted Sahuaro with extra yards due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Yet again, Sahuaro was unable to convert and turned the ball over to Sabino. At this point, the Sabercats elected to kneel the ball, and with that, Sabino won, 19-6.

Although this result left something to be desired for fans, it also showed improvement in Sahuaro’s team. The last time Sahuaro beat Sabino was in the 2019-2020 season. After that, it became a losing streak for Sahuaro, with each loss worse than the last. In the 2022-2023 season (last year), the Sabercats beat the Cougars 41-20. This year was only a 13-point deficit, and they held their own until the last quarter. In past years, this was not the situation. Most of this improvement can be attributed to the offseason. In a pre-game interview, Sahuaro’s head football coach, Coach Al, said, “…we had a good offseason, the kids prepared really well.” He also mentioned that going into the game he didn’t, “…know the outcome…playing hard and preparation is huge. Those you can turn into a win. So we’re going to play hard and we prepared really well.” This is only Coach Al’s second year coaching Sahuaro’s team, and he said, “It’s a process. I think last year we weren’t together. We’re a team now…I mean that’s a good football team that we played, and we hung in there all the way until the fourth quarter.”

After the game, both Sahuaro and Sabino’s coaches said that some of the loss could be accredited to the lack of games that Sahuaro has played. Last week, the Sabercats won against Coolidge. “We had the advantage having one game under our belt already, so we had a little bit more gas in the tank coming out,” said Sabino’s head coach, Ryan McBrayer, “A lot of their guys started cramping up and we just took advantage of that and started running the ball.”

Sahuaro was not only up against a “seasoned” team but also one with loads of individual talent. The Sabercats have three brothers on their team, Savaughn, Shamar, and Romeo Berryhill. Savaughn, who is currently a senior, had 951 receiving yards last year. Shamar, a junior, is also a wide receiver and had 936 yards. The youngest of the three, Romeo, a freshman, is a talented defensive back. Savaughn currently has multiple college offers, including one from the University of Arizona. Their eldest brother plays in the NFL.

Along with these three is another outstanding Sabercat, Junior Brit Roberson, last night’s player of the game, given by the Arizona Bowl. Roberson said, “I’m very grateful you know. It’s my first award for football, and it’s a big accomplishment for me.”

Going into the next nine games, Coach Al said the team will, “go back to the drawing board,” to attempt to clean up the mistakes that ultimately cost them the game. He said that after the loss he was, “…pretty disappointed because the guys played really well. You just feel bad for them because they played really well, the outcome just wasn’t in their favor…They worked hard and we’re proud of them.”

Regardless of the outcome, Sahuaro’s student section was vibrant, and even while we were down, most kept in good spirits, excited to cheer on the team for the first time this year. Sahuaro’s band combined with Sabino’s for a beautiful national anthem. They also played a halftime show, which displayed their small, yet talented group of young musicians.