On Thursday, 8/18, I went out to Tanque Verde to see 3A's #1 team, Sabino, host 5A Sahuaro in an early season rivalry game. I predicted a 7-point Sabino win, and thanks to a missed extra point, I was off by one.

You can check out some photos from Sabino's 41-35 win here.

5) Sabino QB Alex Bell, 5-9, 160 (2018))

Bell struggled with accuracy, but he made the throw that mattered the most in the 4th quarter. Check it out below.

4) Sahuaro OT Ryan Williams, 6-3, 250 (2019)

Ryan Williams looked good at right tackle for the Cougars. His height wasn't listed, so I'm giving him a generous estimate, but as a sophomore, he impressed me with both his pass and run blocking.

3) Sahuaro QB Nick Fountain, 5-11, 170 (2017)

Fountain's QB sneaks and keepers were rarely disguised, but his speed getting through the tackles, or coming around the edge helped him rush for over 150 yards.

2) Sahuaro SB Matt Paquette, 5-10, 175 (2017)

While he seemed to tire in the second half, Matt Paquette's explosive speed and athleticism helped bring Sahuaro back from an early deficit. He had 156 yard on 9 carries.

1) Sabino ATH Drew Dixon, 6-4, 205 (2017)

280 yards on 27 carries, another 71 yards on 7 receptions. Had Dixon not had to head to the sideline due to leg cramps so often in the second half, the University of Arizona commit might have had 500 total yards.

5) Sabino DT Nathan Cosmas, 6-1, 250 (2017)

If Cosmas doesn't fall on a late Sahuaro fumble and crush the Cougars surging momentum, Sahuaro wins this game.

4) Sahuaro DB Matt Paquette, 5-10, 175 (2017)

Paquette covered the slot receiver in Sabino's offense, and came up to make several tackles against Drew Dixon.

3) Sahuaro LB Tyler Wood, 6-2, 215 (2017)

Wood played a tough, hard nosed game on the defensive side of the ball, and used his size to his advantage. His most impressive play, however, was on offense, where he caught a ball that a defender tipped to him and ran it for a TD.

2) Sahuaro LB Tristian Guerts, 6-0, 185 (2017)

Guerts was dominant on a series of snaps, and it got the whole student section chanting his name. He had a sack, followed by a fumble recovery on the next play- then on the first play of the following series he had a tackle for loss.

1) Sabino LB James Offerman, 6-1, 210 (2017)

They say pay until the whistle blows, and that's what he did. On what I thought to be a forward pass, Offerman scooped up a fumble and left everyone in the dust for the TD that sealed the win for Sabino.

With each of these, count down from 5-1, include the payer's name, height, weight, school, graduating class and a couple of sentences about why they were a top performer.

Sabino is a great place to watch a game. The surrounding mountains and clouds gain a purple hue as the sun sets- it's like the entire earth is rooting for the Sabercats. Parking is a little bit of a mess, the bleachers are sort of far from the action on the field, and the curvature of the actual playing field is hard to ignore, but as far as the stuff Sabino can control, it's one of the best game experiences I've seen. The stands were packed on both sides, the student sections were loud, and seemed to pay attention to the action. The only thing that served as a blight on what would have otherwise been a perfect night is that a handful of students didn't notice the small difference between the play claock and game clock, and attempted to rush the field with two seconds remaining. When they realized and attempted to run back across to where they came from, one student in a purple body suit was tackled by security and detained by police. The lesson here is A) don't rush the field, and B) don't use a bodyslam when a simple request will do.

For Sahuaro, Matt Paquette and Nick Fountain are going to be an effective duo out of the backfield. It's not really ideal to have a slotback and a quarterback take the place of a traditional running back, but if these two stay healthy, they'll keep defenses confused. This might not be the last time they combine for 30+ yards rushing.

For Sabino, the best thing was that they got out with a win. They came in a little out of shape, and still trying to get used to their former QB, Drew Dixon, playing a hybrid RB/WR role. A bye week should be exactly what they need to make sure theyre ready to start handling their 3A competition.

Sahuaro cost themselves with personal fouls twice. They have to sit on the knowledge that is they keep from fumbling just one of the several times they lost the ball, and avoid those two personal fouls, they'd be 1-0.

For Sabino, they lost RB/DB Taylr Killian in the first quarter to what seems like a serious injury. He was supposed to be a large factor in their success this year- well see what happens.

Sahuaro plays Marana on September 9th, making the presence of Marana coaches on Sahuaro's sideline during the game very curious. They may very well have been invited, but it still doesn't look great.

"My initial read on the play broke down, so I decided to roll, and right before I got hit I saw the guy flash open in the end zone, so I threw it, and it ended up being right there where he needed it." - Alex Bell on his first varsity TD pass.

"I'm going to have to get in game shape for sure. I'm used to being under center, not at running back or receiver. Coach said he'll get out conditioning right, and I'll be ready." -Drew Dixon on missing snaps due to leg cramps

How Sahuaro rebounds. They have a week off before traveling to Queen Creek, the #6 team in 5A. You might be able to gauge just how good Queen Creek is by the way they measure up against a team that nearly beat 3A's #1 team.

Each team has a bye week before Sahuaro travels to take on Queen Creek, and Sabino faces last year's breakout team, American leadership Academy. If the Sabercats gave up 300+ yards rushing to Sahuaro, ALA RB Jerimiah Boyd has to be licking his chops.