Anthony Yero is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Saguaro High School for AZPreps365.com.

Last season, running the ball was a way of life for Saguaro.

Behind senior quarterback Devon Dampier’s elusiveness and ability to make defenders miss, the Sabercats had their best moments powered by the run game. Saguaro averaged 221.5 yards rushing a game on its way to the Open State Championship title. 

As the Sabercats line up for a rematch of last year’s championship thriller versus Chandler, the goal for the defending champions remains the same in 2022.

Pound the ground at all times. 

“We’re going in there with the mentality that we’re going to run the ball, and that’s what we’re going to do,” said Saguaro run-game coordinator Mark Martinez, who also coaches the offensive line. “We’re going in there as champions.”

Behind the scenes of Saguaro’s offensive firepower last season was an experienced offensive line unit filled with grit and physicality. Headlined by then senior Parker Brailsford, who is now a freshman at Washington, the Sabercats’ offensive line was the product of veteran coaching and mentorship.

Martinez enters his sixth season coaching alongside offensive line coach Nick Offenberger at Saguaro. The two work as a duo, and have captured three state championships in the process.

“We’ve got that 1-2 tandem punch,” Martinez said. “We trust and care about each other. That’s what makes us better than some other people, we do all the little things right.”

Saguaro was tasked with replacing four of its five starting offensive linemen from last year’s squad, which wasn't an easy feat.

The o-line was tested early, going toe-to-toe with nationally-ranked Bergen Catholic in the season opener. Bergen’s defensive line featured 6-foot-5, 335-pound Texas commit Sydir Mitchell and Maryland commit DJ Samuels. 

Saguaro gave up 9.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in defeat, but the focus remained on regrouping and improving.

“We were excited about playing Bergen [Catholic] first because we knew that was going to be the biggest challenge of the year,” Offenberger said. “We wanted to find out real quick just how good we were and what we needed to work on.”

Offenberger and Martinez share similar coaching philosophies, in which they want to take care of all the basics first, and become the best at it.

“I think it starts with all the little things, all the basics,” Martinez said. “Me and Coach O, we always teach all the little things. We’re huge on technique. We’re huge on steps. We’re huge on doing all the small details that nobody wants to pay attention to.”

Offenberger agreed.

“We want to be better at the little stuff than everybody else and make sure that we have a great culture and continuity between our group," he said. "Making sure that we’re continuing the legacy that the ones before them left.”

There are 18 offensive linemen on the Sabercats’ roster, but it’s an inexperienced group. Saguaro’s sole returning starter from last year’s team is junior Amare Taase.

Seniors Mason Chorak, William Garrett, CJ Ballard and George Montreal have been tasked with fronting the trenches.

Youth for the unit is a plus at the moment, with 6-foot-5 sophomore Logan Powell coming along. He has an offer from Michigan already.

Given the inexperience, Offenerger is working towards molding these guys into a sole constituent.

“We got a young line, and it’s not all going to be perfect in Week 1,” he said. “It definitely is a collective unit, and with us having the practices that we’ve had the past two weeks, we’ve definitely sharpened our skills and it resulted in the product you saw last Friday.”

Saguaro’s run game averaged 139 yards in its first two matchups, but had a statement 253-yard, two-touchdown performance in last week’s victroy over O’Connor.

The offensive line imposed its will for four quarters.

“It starts off with the o-line. I barely had any pressure,” said an ecstatic Dampier, who rushed for a score. “Just being able to trust them and being able to be comfortable in the back. It made my job easy. If you saw those holes, man, it was really easy to go through them.”

Junior running back Jaedon Matthews, who led Saguaro in rushing yards last year, had his best game of the early season, rushing for 83 yards and a touchdown against O'Connor.

Matthews rushed for just 37 yards on 11 carries in the first two games.

“It starts in the trenches and we’re firm believers that it starts and ends with us,” Martinez said. “The only way that we’re going to be able to reach our goal is working together as a unit. The nice thing is when we’re in the trenches, we all care about each other and we enjoy making holes for him because he’s not afraid to turn around and give us love.”

Following a breakout offensive performance, Saguaro looks to light up the scoreboard against  Chandler, ranked No. 9 nationally. There may not be a better pass rusher in Arizona than senior defensive tackle A’Mauri Washington.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Oregon commit wreaks havoc on offensive lines, and has already tallied four sacks and seven tackles for loss in three games.

For Saguaro’s offensive line coaches, the focus is on keeping the main thing, the main thing.

“Chandler has some great kids, but we also think we have great kids who understand what we’re asking them to do,” Offenberger said. “We’re wanting to bring the fight to them and not worry about who’s standing across from us.”