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Sabino got off to a rocky start this season with a pair of single-possession losses to Valley Christian and Gilbert Christian.

The Sabercats lost both games by a combined 12 points.

Facing its worst start to a season in just over a decade, Sabino held off El Mirage Dysart 38-24 in Tucson on Friday.

The Sabercats were led by their star sophomore Bodhi Sanford, who scored all six touchdowns in the win. Sanford completed 16 of 23 passes for 292 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for 9 yards and a touchdown.

Sabino senior running back Zachari Haley complemented Sanford’s passing prowess with 10 rushes for 135 yards.

Sanford had more passing touchdowns on Friday than the previous two games combined. Sanford’s 69.6% completion rate is the highest of his career. In 10 games as a freshman, Sanford threw for eight touchdowns. His previous best single-game high for passing touchdowns was two; now it’s five. Friday was also Sanford’s first interception-less game since nearly a year ago on Oct. 25.

Sanford is named after Patrick Swayze’s character, Bodhi (short for Bodhisattva), from the movie “Point Break,� which was released in 1991. Yes, Sanford has seen both renditions of Point Break — the Keanu Reeves-Swayze version and the one released in 2015.

As a second-year starter, Sanford has passed for 676 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

Sabino (1-2) turns its attention to hosting Coolidge (2-1) Friday at 7 p.m. in Tucson. Sanford made his first appearance as Sabino’s quarterback last season, when he passed for 96 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-0 win over the Bears.

Sanford joined “Spears & Ali� on ESPN Tucson to talk about his latest performance and share a little bit about himself. Here’s part of that interview:

What clicked for you last Friday?

A: “My linemen, they did amazing. My receivers catching the ball and running after the catch. The coaching, too, there was good play-calling.�

How did your freshman year set you up to have success as a sophomore?

A: “There’s a lot of slowing the game down, if that makes sense. I sped it up as a freshman and now I slowed it down. I can make my reads better.�

What did you focus on during the offseason?

A: “Probably my reading and my mechanics and getting faster, obviously. Watching a lot of film, just working hard in practices.�

What did you learn from the first two losses of the season?

A: “We needed to learn how to finish games. We needed to get a taste of winning, if that makes sense.�

How do you use the win and snowball the momentum into more wins?

A: “We have something to play for. My friend, mentor and teammate (senior quarterback and safety Adrian Tellez) broke his leg and is out for the season, so we have something to play for.�

How much does a running back like Haley help you out as a quarterback?

A: “A lot. Receiving the ball, running the ball, everything. He can do it all.�

What’s his best trait as a running back?

A: “Probably the run after catch and all the juke moves he has.�

Are you from Tucson? What side of town did you grow up on? And did you play Pop Warner football?

A: “East side, south side. A mix of both. I started playing football in the sixth grade with the (Tanque Verde) Cowboys. Eighth grade, I started playing quarterback on the (Tucson) Falcons.�

Did you always play quarterback? What led you to play quarterback?

A: “I was a lineman and a tight end for the first two years and then in the eighth grade, I started playing quarterback. I always wanted to play quarterback because I had a really strong arm and I always wanted the football in my hands.�

Who’s a quarterback you look up to?

A: “Tom Brady, because he’s so smart. He doesn’t need the strongest arm, but he knows everything on the field.�

Do you have any hobbies outside of football?

A: “I play basketball, too. I also run track, so I don’t really have much time outside of sports. Not much I like to do besides sports.�