Seven of the 12 Sedona Red Rock High School varsity football players named to the all-Division V, Section VII teams last week were first-team selections.
The better news for head coach John Bradshaw is half of the 12 are coming back next year.
Seniors Bailey Ehrlich, Tim Hall, Derrick Johnson, Justice Keane, Daniel Ruiz and Sam Serrano all went out of the SRRHS football program on a high note, earning first team all-section honors.
“Normally, we get around six or seven [selections] total, so, obviously, I thought we did pretty good,” Bradshaw said. “There were a couple kids I wish would be a little higher, but this is the most-ever selections for all-section I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
Hall and junior Jake Christensen, two-way players, earned first-team honors at both offensive and defensive lineman positions.
“They saved our bacon more than once,” Bradshaw said. “Pretty much every loss we had was when I was missing one of our big guys. They were the key to our success.”
Although junior second-teamers Dawson Barber and Chas Rescigno took most of the snaps behind center this fall, Bradshaw considered Johnson the quarterback of the offense and the defense, regardless of where he played — and “just a nightmare” for other teams.
“He was one of our leading tacklers all year,” Bradshaw said. “They didn’t want to run anywhere near Derrick. He has great instincts.”
Ruiz racked up 917 total yards on kickoffs, leading the section, and hit 23 extra points. Both statistics are top 10 in Division V.
While Bradshaw considered Serrano his “shutdown corner[back],” with only three completed passes thrown to his area of the field all season, Ehrlich’s play was on another level for the Scorpions, as he led his section in interceptions and receiving yards and was second in punt return yardage.
“He’s definitely got the talent to go and really help a [college] out,” Bradshaw said. “Coming from Sedona, it’s hard to get him in front of the bigger schools, but we’ll give it our best shot before he makes his decision.”
Ehrlich was fourth in Division V with 1,076 yards in catches. His six picks tied for fifth in the division, and he also finished fifth with an average of 22.2 yards per punt return.
“I think we had a real successful year, especially at home,” Bradshaw said. “All the kids at school got to see real exciting football, and a lot more of them will come out next year.
“I’ve got more kids already telling me, ‘Yeah, we’re definitely coming out.’ Plus, I’m not going to have to miss the first four months of preseason, so it’s going to be something.”
For more photos and all Sedona Red Rock High School football all-section honorees, please see the Wednesday, Dec. 16, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.
