Isaac Robertson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Skyline High School for AZPreps365.com

After a heartbreaking loss to conclude his 2023 season, Skyline’s then-sophomore defensive back Shawn Saxon was forced to wrap up his season early, with no trophy.

But Saxon did not go home completely empty-handed, as he was named a first-team all-region selection for 5A San Tan in just his second season playing high school football.

Now a junior, Saxon has continued to shine. At season's end he ranked first on his team in sacks, tackles per game and interceptions. He ranked second on his team in fumble recoveries. Saxon’s versatility has him playing on both sides of the ball, including wide receiver and defensive back. Saxon however, is surrounded by seniors at every position, making him the odd one out on his team's list of star players.

It’s a unique situation for Saxon to be in, having had this much success early on, yet still not find himself in a significant leadership role on the team because of his year.

“I gotta step up and help out the seniors this year, and then next year I’ve got to be the leader of the team,” Saxon said.

Adam Schiermyer, the Coyotes’ head coach, expressed how important it was to develop young leaders, such as Saxon, on the team and the role he can play throughout the season and how his leadership can benefit the team next season.

“We want to develop the kids into leaders, and hopefully you know, they’re seeing some of that stuff from the senior class and that way they can know how to lead by example and what to do and what a good leader should look like,” Schiermyer said.

“He’s a super good football player and [has] a natural instinct of just a very good athlete,” Schiermyer said in regard to Saxon. “If he tried baseball, he’d probably be pretty good at it. He’s very gifted.”

Leadership is an aspect of the game Schiermyer wants to grow among his players, but the physical aspects of the game are hard to ignore. In regard to Saxon’s physical impact on the field, Schiermyer had nothing but praise.

“He’s a great tackler,” Schiermyer said. “He just really does a lot on defense and from the secondary. He’s playing outside the box and making sacks and getting takeaways and finding a way to get in on a play.”

Senior wide receiver Zavier Flores is an offensive star for the Coyotes. Despite this, Flores emphasized the importance of good defense, and its role in the game.

“When the offense can’t go out there and score, and the defense does something big -- pick, fumble -- it sets us up in good field position and we can go down there and score,” Flores said.

Saxon has been able to tune out the noise of being a young star amid older players and focus on what matters to him the most, winning. And the Coyotes are looking for him to keep that mentality next year when he steps up to a senior leadership position on the team.