Brown put Sabercats football on the map
This is part of a series, listing an Arizona high school and finding its five all-time greatest athletes, male or female, a subjected list by The Arizona Republic. It’s not just about what they did in high school but beyond that is taken into strong consideration when finding these Forever Five. Incredible athletes in every sport have come out of this school, which also produced several people in the arts, such as actors David Spade and Sandra Bernhard and Gin Blossoms musician Scott Johnson. State championships in football, basketball and baseball have launched many athletes into careers beyond high school. It was tough to narrow it down for this sports-rich school, but here are my five.
1. Mike Brown, 1996 Brown basically put Saguaro football on the map in 1995, when he led the Sabercats to their first state championship as a dynamo in the backfield and in the secondary under coach Tim Beck, who since has gone onto a nice college coaching career. Brown not only was the state’s Football Player of the Year his senior year when
he ran for more than 2,000 yards and 31 TDs, he also was all-state in baseball at center field, hitting .426 with 27 stolen bases. He chose football and became an All-American defensive back at Nebraska, before being he 39th overall pick of the 2000 NFL draft by the
Chicago Bears. 2. Christian Kirk, 2015 People can go back and forth on Brown and Kirk and who was the greater football player in Saguaro history. What Kirk did in high school, dating to his freshman year, was nothing short of remarkable. He was the state’s consensus Player of the Year his senior season
as a playmaker at running back, receiver, and returning kicks, leading the Sabercats to another state championship. He quickly made an impact as a wide receiver at Texas A&M. His NFL career with the Cardinals could be taking off soon with a second season having Kyler Murray throwing to him.
3. Dale Hellestrae, 1980 Not only a tremendous football player, he was also one of the state’s best power forwards in basketball in his high school career. He went on to play offensive tackle at SMU, where in
his senior year he made AllSouthwest Conference honors. He started his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills, before spending the 1989 season on the IR with the Los Angeles Raiders. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, where he really made his name as a long snapper. In 11 seasons as the Cowboys’ long snapper, he earned three Super
Bowl championship rings.
4. Jeff Oscarson, 1970
He starred in baseball for three years at Saguaro, leading to being a 10th round Major League Baseball draft pick by the Chicago Cubs in 1970. He turned that down and starred on back-to-back national junior college championship teams at
Mesa Community College, before finishing up his baseball
career at Arizona State. He turned to teaching and coaching, and in 22 years as the head
softball coach at Scottsdale Chaparral, he led the Firebirds to five state championships, two of those with this two daughters playing. In 2018, he was voted into the Arizona
Sports Hall of Fame.
5. Michelle Estill, 1981 She was not only a phenomenal golfer but a good enough basketball player to make the All-Star team her senior year at Saguaro. Estill went onto college golf stardom at Arizona State, before making a big splash in 1991 in the LPGA, where she was the Rolex Rookie of the Year. In 1992, she had
four top-20 finishes on the tour. She was recently promoted to associate head golf coach by head coach Missy Farr Kaye at ASU. They teamed up as player on ASU’s 1986 NCAA championships runner-up
team.