Possibly the best known high school football team in the state of Arizona is off to yet another good start. The Saguaro Sabercats have worked their way to a 5-1 record so far this season, but have done it with some new names in the starting offense.

Having only attempted 10 passes at the varsity level prior to this season, junior Tyler Beverett has emerged as a serious talent at the quarterback position. He completed 58 of his 90 passing attempts for 1,014 yards through five games. He also tallied 12 touchdowns with only five interceptions so far this season.

However, the biggest storyline is not in the statistics, but rather in the bigger picture. Saguaro is coming off of their fifth straight state championship under head coach Jason Mohns, and has had to win with different personnel.

The Sabercats lost their starting quarterback after last season and left the position open for the upcoming junior, Beverett. Stepping into any starting job as a junior stands to be a challenge, but when the job is leading the offense of the reigning state champions, there could be a few extra problems.

“My mindset coming in was just to be confident, take what the defense gives you and take care of the football,” Beverett said, “I did not feel much pressure. I just wanted to go out and do what I have been doing my whole life, have fun and just ball out.”

The young quarterback struggled out of the gates this season, having to go from throwing passes against junior varsity defenses to playing against powerhouse teams from out-of-state.

Beverett looked good in the opener, completing eight of his nine passes and collecting two touchdowns, but was quickly welcomed to the varsity level in the second game of the season. Despite completing nine passes and tossing a touchdown against Liberty, a powerhouse from Henderson, Nev., he also threw eight incompletions, and two of those were interceptions.

His struggles continued against the Helix Highlanders from La Mesa, Calif., completing only 13 of his 24 passes and throwing three interceptions. However, he also tallied more than 200 yards passing in the win to go along with a touchdown.

“Those are two teams that play big, physical defense,” Mohns said, “With a young offense we have definitely shown signs of improvement.”

Mohns also mentioned that with a new quarterback, playing against those two teams was a good way to see what they were made of early in the season.

“So far the biggest challenge that I have faced is making the jump from junior varsity to varsity,” Beverett said, “Our first half of the season, we played really good competition and I was not used to playing these tough, higher division teams, but they make you better. Now as a team we are rolling.”

Since returning to play in-state opponents, the Sabercats are 3-0 with wins over Desert Mountain, Chaparral and Arcadia.

Beverett has also found help from his partner in the backfield this season, junior running back Israel Benjamin. Benjamin is also in his first full season as the starting running back for Saguaro, but has showed very few signs of growing pains.

“I believe developing the chemistry with Tyler has helped a great deal,” Benjamin said, “We are on the same page in every area and it makes our backfield a lot more fluid.”

The Sabercats find themselves primed for another run at a state championship.

“My number one goal this year is to win a state championship and keep the Saguaro tradition rolling,” Beverett said.