with a first round win against Tucson's Salpointe Catholic High School, eventually losing in the quarterfinals to the Mesa Jackrabbits in a hard-fought game at Westwood High School in Mesa. Those teams generated several All-Star, All-City and All-State selections, thus creating the foundation for those who would follow. Mayfield had set Sabino well on the path of its winning ways with 3-year totals of 23 wins and 12 losses, the latter being primarily attributed to his first season. 1990s The arrival of coach Jeff Scurran marked the beginning of an era and set in motion the transformation of Sabino into a football powerhouse. This transformation was sometimes literal, as seen with the 1989 alteration of the auto repair garage (a classroom for a popular Sabino course) into an state-of-the-art strength and conditioning facility (See Keys to Success). Many saw this investment as a sign that the school and community was ready to commit to winning. Scurran took over a 2-win Sabino team and turned the Sabercats into a three-time state champion (1990, 1992 and 1998) and led the team to the final four or better in nine of his 12 seasons while posting a 127-26-1 record. In 1999, the Arizona Interscholastic Association reclassified the school as 5A due to enrollment growth. That year they became the first team in state history to move up a class and make the state title game in the same year. Rivalry with Sahuaro Sabino first beat Sahuaro in football in 1978, 35–7, mainly due to the dual-100+ yard rushing attack of Dion Toumey and Joe Gartrell. From that point on, Sabino and Sahuaro were bitter rivals. During Sabino's decade of dominance the Sabercats renewed their rivalry with east side neighbor Sahuaro High School. Sahuaro won the state championship in 1994. In 1996 the game was moved to the Thursday before opening day. Labeled "The Desert Kickoff Classic", it was the first Arizona varsity game played every year and regularly drew the largest crowd during the regular season. In 1997 Sabino steamrolled their way into the state quarterfinals with a 12–0 record. Sahuaro on the other hand had to claw their way to the quarterfinals, making it there with an 8–4 record. The two teams met on a late October Friday night at standing-room-only Rincon High School. Earlier in the year Sabino clobbered the Cougars 38–7, adding even more hype on the biggest quarterfinal game