Chris Eaton
The accolades keep piling up for Roye Oliver III.
The star wide receiver for Hamilton was named the Ed Doherty Award recipient as Arizona’s top prep football player. The announcement was made Saturday afternoon at a special luncheon at Ocean 44 in Scottsdale hosted by the Arizona Sports & Entertainment Commission in partnership with the Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club. He adds the award to an already impressive resume, including Arizona Cardinals Player of the Year, Friday Night Fever Offensive Player of the Year, Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, and MaxPreps Arizona High School Football Player of the Year.
Oliver led the Huskies to an undefeated regular season and a trip to the Open Division semifinals, catching 92 passes for 1,839 yards and tying a state record with 29 touchdown receptions. Just a sophomore, he has 2,700 receiving yards in two varsity seasons and has scored 42 TDs.
He is the second Hamilton player to win the award, joining quarterback Nicco Marchiol (now at West Virginia), who claimed it in 2021.
“My coach and I already talked about it,” Oliver said of his goals for while he’s in high school. “I set all the boxes and checked them off and there’s one left to check off, the Open State championship. It wasn’t a goal about me to go get these, but it happened.”
Oliver said improvements he’s seen in his game during his second year were speed, making it hard for defensive backs to stick with him, and getting bigger in order to break tackles and make receptions turn into big gains.
Hamilton High School was well represented with two players in the top 10 plus the girls’ flag football Player of the Year. Quarterback Jax Sculley passed for 2,947 yards and 41 touchdowns before suffering an injury in the final regular season game. A junior, Sculley will be back to make another run with Oliver in 2026. Samaya Taylor-Jenkins, a senior, had 121 catches for 1,783 yards and 32 TDs for a 21-0 Huskies team that repeated as state champs. Flag football will debut at the next Olympics in Los Angeles and the game has taken off in Arizona the past few years.
“All three of them are tremendous student-athletes,” Hamilton football coach Travis Dixon said. “I think it starts at home first, and then the impact our coaches make within our community and our program. It’s a great community and culture within the four walls of our campus.”
The afternoon ceremony was a Heisman-type event limited to the top 10 players in the final voting. A total of 13 media personalities statewide cast votes each week to recognize top performances among all classes and weekly medallions were awarded. Over the course of the season, a total of 111 players received them. After reducing the list to a top 50 and then top 25, the final 10 were revealed to be:
Desert View RB Jaylee Abraham
Basha EDGE Dante Bruley
Millennium RB D’Mari Bryant
Cactus Shadows QB Donivan Dixon
Brophy WR Devin Fitzgerald
Chandler QB Will Mencl
Marana QB Colten Meyer
Hamilton WR Roye Oliver III
Hamilton QB Jax Sculley
Liberty S Zeth Thues
During the ceremony, Bobby Ferreira was awarded the AIA Referee of the Year. Ferreira has been on the job for 33 years and officiated the 6A Conference championship game with his crew last week. Also, Richard Obert was recognized as this year’s Contributor of the Game. Obert has covered high school sports for the Arizona Republic for the past 40 years.
Each of the 10 finalists sat at a head table and were introduced and took part in brief interviews led by the co-chairs of the Ed Doherty Committee, Mark Earle and Rob Yowell.
Ed Doherty was a coach, teacher, and mentor who influenced the game of football in Arizona. He held head coaching roles at both Arizona State and Arizona during his distinguished career. At the high school level, he guided programs at both St. Mary’s in Phoenix and Salpointe Catholic in Tucson. This award bears his name in tribute to that legacy.
Earlier in the morning, a reception was held at Caesars Republic Scottsdale. This was for all of the medallion winners and with the season over, it was a time to celebrate the accomplishments of student-athletes from all over the state. The event was set up as a Media Day where there were photo opportunities and a chance for those covering the proceedings to conduct interviews with the standout players.
I took the opportunity to interview six of the players about the seasons that they had in 2025.
Teylor Caldwell (DE) – Mountain Pointe
Caldwell (6-3, 215) was a three-year varsity player for the Pride. He was impressed with the event.
“This is amazing,” Caldwell said. “It’s definitely a blessing to be here with all the top players in the state.”
He earned his medallion from the home game on Oct. 9 against Campo Verde. Caldwell had 13 tackles and four sacks in a 22-17 win. He said Desert Edge, who was the top seed in the 5A bracket, was his toughest competition this year.
In addition to football, Caldwell is also a Hooper, playing for the Pride’s basketball team.
For the season, Caldwell had 69 tackles (10 TFL) and eight sacks.
“It feels amazing,” Caldwell said. “It truly shows that the work I’ve put in and the dedication has all paid off.”
Aaron Thomas (OL) – Mountain Pointe
Caldwell wasn’t the only Mountain Pointe player there. He was with his teammate from the other side of the ball in Thomas (6-6, 305).
“It feels great,” Thomas said. “This is a prestigious event. I’m just glad I got nominated.”
Offensive linemen don’t have the benefit of being able to put up stats like skill position players or defensive linemen (sacks) or defensive backs (interceptions). He was appreciative that the O-Linemen were included.
“It means a lot,” Thomas said. “You don’t really get that love as an O-Lineman. It feels good to be recognized.”
Mountain Pointe not only made the playoffs, but the Pride won a first-round game (over Flowing Wells) for the first time since 2022.
Thomas began his high school career on the defensive side, but moved over to the OL. It turned out to be a great decision by his coaches, his parents, and himself. Thomas signed with Minnesota this week. He will be graduating early in December after finals and then head up to Big Ten country.
“I’m ready to show the world what I can do,” Thomas said.
Donivan Dixon (QB) – Cactus Shadows
Dixon was a four-year starter for the Falcons. He was recently named to the All-Fever Team for Channel 12’s Friday Night Fever.
“I feel like it’s a testament to my hard work,” Dixon said. “It feels amazing to be in a room with such great players.”
He earned his medallion on Sept. 19 in a road game at Camelback. Dixon was 20-of-29 passing for 350 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-0 shutout win.
The dual-threat QB still ran for 1,000 yards for the third straight year, but made significant improvements in the passing portion of his game. Dixon went from completing 58 percent of his passes each of his first three years to 70 percent this season. He said new 5A champion Desert Mountain provided his best competition.
When it comes to the awards, he’s proud to represent his town.
“It’s not really about me,” Dixon said. “It’s about the city of Cave Creek. They haven’t had somebody that goes to these in a long time.”
Dixon signed with Northern Arizona this week and will be graduating next week before heading up to Flagstaff. Despite throwing for almost 10,000 yards (9,764), he is looking to raise the bar in college.
“Elevate my game and take it to new heights,” Dixon said of his plans in college as a Lumberjack. “I feel I haven’t unlocked my full potential yet.”
Dayne Silver (QB) – Eastmark
In his first year as a starter for the Firebirds, the 6-5, 220-pound signal caller made a big statement. He was named the team’s MVP and called “The Straw that Stirs the Drink”.
“I’m very grateful to be in a room with these guys,” Silver said. “Looking around and seeing talent not just at the higher levels, but also the lower ones.”
Silver earned his medallion in the last batch of ones for the season, during his team’s 4A playoff game against Desert Sunrise. He was 15-of-21 for 211 yards and threw for three touchdowns in a 42-14 victory. He said the teams that gave him the toughest competition were Cactus Shadows (a 5A team) and Snowflake (who the Firebirds played twice).
For the season, he had 2,292 yards and 23 touchdown passes and made First Team All-4A Desert Sky Region.
“It means the world,” Silver said of the acclaim. “It’s not only an achievement for myself, but the community of Eastmark. Those people have given me an opportunity to showcase myself and I couldn’t thank them more. I’m glad I got to represent Eastmark and my football team.”
Kenyon Rosenthal (RB) – ALA-West Foothills
The 5-11, 205-pound back had a stellar junior season, busting the 2,000-yard mark (2,106) and scoring 25 touchdowns for the Guardians, who made the 4A semifinals.
“It’s a huge honor being marked as one of the top high school players in Arizona,” Rosenthal said. “To me, it means I’ve got eyes on me.”
Rosenthal went over 200 yards three times during the year, with a high-game of 232 yards (on 33 carries) against Northwest Christian on Oct. 10. During the season, the Guardians also scored an early-season upset of defending 4A champion Mica Mountain. In that game, Rosenthal started the scoring with a touchdown. He said his best competition came from the trip to Snowflake.
For next year, as a returner, he’s looking to be a good leader on the team.
Ryan Jimenez (RB) – Arcadia
Another of the top running backs in 4A, Jimenez finished his year strong with eight straight 100-yard efforts. His Arcadia team made the state championship for the first time in 62 years.
In his senior year, Jimenez rushed for 1,872 yards and 20 touchdowns. He grew up playing youth football with many of his teammates for the youth Titans.
“It’s an honor to be among these top athletes in the state,” Jimenez said. “It came from a lot of hard work and putting the time in during the offseason.”
In the regular season finale, 9-0 Arcadia made the long bus ride to cold Snowflake (9-0), where the whole town turns out. Jimenez shined and carried the load with 250 yards in his 41 carries and a pair of touchdowns. He also threw a touchdown pass on a trick play. That night earned him his medallion. Jimenez said his biggest competition came from Mica Mountain in the title game.
“I’m so grateful for this,” Jimenez said. “I feel like I’ve always been an unknown player. My name hasn’t been out there too much. I’m finally getting recognition and it means a lot to me.”
Arcadia gets down the field fast and their drive is capped off by ‘26 RB Ryan Jimenez who score his 2nd TD of the night. This time from 7 yards out.
Arcadia 21 | Deer Valley 3
5:50 left in Q3 pic.twitter.com/xyzlV7yRWp
— BJ Media (@BJMedia1) September 19, 2025
Reach Chris Eaton at gridironarizona@yahoo.com or DM at @gridironarizona with story ideas.
