Hosting national power Bergen Catholic to open a season is no easy task.

But with a gauntlet of a schedule, tough opponents might be the secret for repeating as Open champ.

“You schedule games like this to find out where you are and find out what you got and what you're made of,” Saguaro head coach Jason Mohns said.

The Friday showdown in Scottsdale featured one of Arizona’s goliaths and New Jersey’s best.

After a much contested first quarter, the Crusaders conquered Saguaro, 28-7, with the help of a strong second quarter.

The Saguaro defense received a heavy dose of quarterback Dominic Campanile in that second quarter. The sophomore handled his business on the ground and through the air while commanding the offense.

Campanile connected with sophomore wide receiver Quincy Porter and then Christian Carti in the back corner for the game’s first touchdowns. The Sabercats seemed to shed their first game rust when quarterback Devon Dampier eluded the Crusaders’ daunted front seven with a 40-plus yard run.

But a holding penalty negated the gain. Despite the call, Dampier and his offensive weapons moved the ball downfield against a stingy defense with the help of a fake punt pass to Jakobi Spence.

With the offense struggling to find some wiggle room, Mohns dialed up a double pass inside the red zone, but it was intercepted.

“Sometimes I try to be too smart and I end up being stupid,” he said after the game. “But you know when we played (California) Sierra Canyon (last year), similar kind of back and forth game, we ran a very similar play and scored. Everyone said I was the smartest guy in America. So you do it tonight and you’re a dummy. When the field shrunk we were having a hard time running the ball. I thought it was a good time to catch them off guard with a trick play. Sometimes you are the hero (or) the goat. I was definitely the goat.”

The momentum shifted back to the Crusaders after that turnover.

Senior running Robert Moore then put his stamp on the game, running over defenders for a 40-yard gain to put Bergen Catholic in the red zone. Two plays later, Moore scored, putting the Crusaders up 21-0 at halftime.

The Crusaders didn’t let up in the second half, when they opened with a pick six by junior cornerback Christopher Mimo. The score didn’t probably reflect it, but Saguaro’s tempo combined with the Arizona heat proved challenging for the Crusaders.

“Last week when we played it was 94 degrees and we did not have one cramp,” Bergen Catholic head coach Vito Campaneli said. “I think we had 15 here in the second half tonight. I think the tempo of these guys, obviously Dampier is a player, (and) playing against elite players, it’s tough. It’s tough.”

One of the positives for the Sabercats was seeing Deric English find his footing again.

An injury forced the talented wideout to play only one game last season.

Dampier connected with English on a slant route for their team’s only touchdown.

“We wanted this game to see where we were at,” English said. “No matter where we are at we are going to take the biggest challenge we can take. I felt comfortable playing against their (defensive backs). I felt pretty good for my first game back after my ACL tear. It felt good for my confidence getting in the end zone after a year of not being on the field and hearing the crowd go crazy.”

Overall, the first game jitters were there, but Saguaro still stood toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the country.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Sabercats, however, as they travel to play one of the state’s more physical teams, Queen Creek, next week.

“We had explosive plays,” said Mohns about his team’s Friday performance. “We had four trips to the red zone. We only came away with one touchdown and that’s the difference in the ball game. So we have to get better at finishing. We have to get better at running the ball. So I thought there were a lot of positives.”