Mihir Sinhasan in an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sunrise Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com

The Sunrise Mountain Mustangs only averaged 12.3 points per game last season after years of great offensive production.

This year, they have averaged 26.9 points per game.

This is the result of the Mustangs’ new offensive coordinator, Taylor Mazzone, and their new star wide receivers, senior Jason Keplinger, junior Dennis Ionica, and sophomore Logan Russell.

“Now that we’re going against real football teams on Friday nights, that’s when you can see who can adapt and adjust,” said Mazzone, who has coached wide receivers at the college level. “So, it’s nice to see our guys adjust. I think our football IQ is increasing every week.”

Keplinger was listed on the varsity roster last year. But he did not record any stats. This season, he leads the team in receiving yards with 474, yards per catch with 23.7, yards per game with 52.7, and touchdowns with eight. All those stats surpass last year’s leaders in each category, with the Mustangs having one remaining regular season game.

The Mustangs have used Keplinger on deep shots down the field. His longest catch in five of the seven games he played in this year was at least 44 yards. He has also recorded three two-touchdown performances this season.

“I’m glad I can help the team,” Keplinger said. “I got moved around positions [last year], so that’s why I didn’t end up playing more. But it’s really all for the team.”

Ionica played in two games last year. His 4-yard catch against Millikan put him on the stat sheet at the end of the season. But it was a sophomore year where Ionica said he was a “team playmaker” and played any position that the coaches asked of him.

This year, Ionica has increased in production, with 19 catches for 186 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per catch and 26.6 yards per game.

“This receiving corp is amazing,” Ionica said. “We’re just a big family. We work hard, we’re humble. We just want to work and get our point across.”

Russell is in his first year on the varsity team. The sophomore leads the team in catches with 26. He also has 289 receiving yards (averaging 11.1 yards per catch and 41.3 yards per game) and three receiving touchdowns, which were scored in the past two games.

Sunrise Mountain uses Russell, who is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, in the slot. He has run outside zones, caught passes over the middle and on deeper shots toward the end zone. Russell also recorded an 80-yard passing touchdown in the Mustangs’ game against Cactus.

“It’s a big jump,” Russell said on making the varsity team this year. “I think my role on this team is not that star player role yet. I’m here to pick people up, I’m here to be a leader. Even though I am a young guy, there are people that look up to me on this team and I have people that I look up to, too.”

The Mustangs (3-6) currently sit on the edge of playoff contention. They will visit the Canyon View Jaguars (4-5) this Friday, hoping to keep their season alive.