Countdown to Kickoff: Previewing Sabino Football | News

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – High School football is right around the corner!

1A, 2A and 3A schools kick off the season Friday Aug. 23. That includes Sabino.

The Sabercats are coming off their best season in 25 years. Sabino beat Paradise Honors 68-46 to win the 3A state championship, its first since 1998. Then-senior quarterback Cameron Hackworth became the new career passing leader in Southern Arizona in that win, finishing his career with 8,799 passing yards and 97 touchdowns.

Hackworth and several other star players graduated. Others like receivers Shamar and Romeo Berryhill transferred to Centennial after moving to Peoria.

Despite the changes, Head Coach Ryan McBrayer is confident in his 2024 squad. McBrayer rattled off a long list of players, including senior receivers Brit Roberson and Max Trainer, plus senior running back Zac Haley, who he expects to make an impact. 

“The best thing about Sabino high school is it has a long list of guys who have made names for themselves,” McBrayer said. “We have a lot of confident young men. They’re ready to get their own name out there.”

“Winning one makes you want to win another one way more,” Haley said. 

McBrayer said freshman Bodhi Sanford will start at quarterback, but he expects to run packages with other players. That’s a testament to the team’s versatility.

“We’re trying to spread out the ball to our athletes as much as we can to take the pressure off any one guy,” McBrayer said. 

“On offense, we’re a very diverse team,” Trainer said. “We can do whatever we want with the ball. We have plenty of formations.”

The Sabercats are also bringing the intensity on defense.

“We’re really physical,” Trainer said. “Our defensive line is really big. Our linebackers have a lot of depth. We’re going to be flying to the ball.”

The Sabercats are ready to reload, not rebuild. Their state title defense begins at home against Coolidge Friday at 7 p.m.