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

Saguaro is unfamiliar with not being in the postseason, title contention, much less having a losing 1-9 record to end the year.

The Sabercats' first-year head coach Darius Kelly had to start from scratch following its carousel of coaches over the past two years, and its top players transferring  out to begin the year.

Zak Hill led Saguaro to last year's 6A conference title, then left the program to join the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff. Saguaro's former 11-year head coach Jason Mohns left to become Arizona State's tight end coach in 2022 after winning that year's Open Division title, and previously led the Sabercats to five consecutive 4A and Division III titles between 2013-18. 

But Saguaro isn’t only about wins and losses and shipping off highly touted recruits to college. Kelly deems the relationships built among one another the most important thing as he rebuilds the program.

“It means a lot to me because I’ve been in their shoes,” Kelly said. “I know everything that they go through, that they’re going to be seeing, and the struggles that they’ll go through throughout the recruiting process."

Every year, high school players finish their football careers and move on to a new life chapter, whether that’s going on to play college football or not.

Regardless, in his short time as head coach, Kelly has been someone who has built these special relationships with his players to prepare them for college life and the world after graduation. 

Recruiting in high school for college is not simple. Players have to go to camps, play on summer teams, and submit their respective films to schools to get any sort of offer they may be looking for. 

“During the spring, there were a lot of coaches who showed up, and he recommended me to them, so I appreciate him for that,” Saguaro's junior quarterback and leading rusher Marcel Jones said. 

Only 9.4% of high school football players move on to play college football, and only 2.7% make it to the Division I level.

One of Saguaro's top recruits is senior defensive end Garrett Martin, who's committed to play for Kansas next season.

Kelly’s impact on his players extends well beyond what happens inside the hashes, and his guidance and care for his players go a long way.

Week in and week out, coaches prepare their players for their upcoming matchups, making sure that they find what will work on offense and what plays will be best on defense to slow down the opposing offenses. 

A lot of work is put in not only by the coaches but also by the players. Players show up every day getting themselves ready for whoever they play on Friday night, making sure whatever might not seem right or don’t seem like it will be effective gets cleared away. 

Just like the players, the coaches have to make sure that they are on the same page going into the game so that they can limit the amount of mistakes in the game. 

Kelly’s attitude for his players was to show intensity but to stay relaxed at the same time. His mentality is to go out there and put 110% effort into every play but also to stay composed and not let other things distract from the main goal.

Going into this season, Kelly had a lot to prove in his first year season, dealing with a completely new roster. His patience and guidance towards his players have seen to pay off time and time again, and the future of his team is trending in the right direction.