There will be at least one more week in the 2025 football season to figure out how good the reconfigured Mesa football team can be and how far the Jackrabbits can go in the postseason.

But on this evening- Senior Night – there was time to acknowledge where the program has been and who has been there from the start.

The Jackrabbits beat longtime rival Westwood 41-15 Friday night in a 6A Southern Region game and the players who have only been around less than six weeks played a large part in building the lead, but a good portion of the fourth quarter saw Mesa coach Jeremy Hathcock pay homage to some of those longtime seniors.

“It is really cool to see that,” Hathcock said. “Yes, some new guys came in and some player’s roles had to change, but a lot of these guys have been here from the start, putting in a tough four years.”

The Mesa sidelines exploded twice in the final quarter when senior wide receiver Darius Howard hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass from junior Derek Carr and when senior offensive lineman Keoni Taivasa lined up to kickoff afer the touchdown.

Howard celebrated and pointed to the sky after scoring, while Taivasa was motioning to home crowd to make some noise before hit a little scribbler to the Westwood (4-6, 0-4) return team.

“I feel great about that,” Howard said. “It means a lot to me. I had to deal with a lot and I was able to kind of rededicate myself and get back out there and do what I can do.’

The win saw Mesa (6-4, 3-1) mostly likely secure a top 16 seed, and give the program its first home playoff game in a decade.

Not bad for Hathcock’s first season in the purple and gold.

“We are so different right now, going back to the second week when we had a quarterback go down and we had to go to our power stuff,” he said. “I feel good about where we are at right now. It takes a little bit.

“As long as I’ve been doing it, I have more perspective. The ultimate success is getting the kids to play hard every single play; do it for their brothers, doing it for those who came before us.”

Detractors will point to the five transfers from California as to the recent success as the Jackrabbits have gone 4-1 since the players found their way from northern California after being ruled ineligible in because of questionable transfer procedures.

After being cleared in Arizona, there is no denying their impact on the program or understanding that some players were displaced after their arrival. It appears the transition has gone well, and the team is actually still finding itself.

Against the Warriors, Mesa scored on its first three drives, but then didn’t score the rest of the half.

“We were kind of in a stalemate,” Hathcock said. “There are times it is clear that we are still figuring things out a little bit, but Boogie is starting to get comfortable with the other receivers. We’re still coming and we can still do some good things going forward.”

Westwood took the opening drive of the second half down inside the red zone thanks to tough running by quarterback Elliot Reed, but he ended up being forced out of the pocket to left. Stopped and tried to sneak in a pass near the end zone, but senior Ezekiel Estep leapt up and picked off a pass.

His 90-yard Pick 6 was taken off the board, but it just set up the Mesa offense to put the game away.

The California trio of Anetema, senior brother wide receiver Kingston Anetema, and 6-foot-5 tight end Caleb Tafua did the rest.

Tafua had a 40-plus yard catch to spur the 93-yard drive that was finished off by Boogie connecting with Kingston for a 6-yard score for a 27-0 lead.

“This is my last regular season, and getting a score from brother means a lot,” the elder Anetema said. “This feels good. I like the purple unforms. We’re starting to feel good.”

One of the more intriguing storylines of the 6A postseason will be how good is Mesa five weeks after all of the transfers became eligible.

 “We’re gonna get better,” Hathcock said. “This is thing is just getting going and it will see where it takes us”

The Westwood line attempts to discuss some of the issues against the Mesa defense. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

For Westwood, the end of the regular season has come for a bunch of seniors. It is the first class coach Brandon Large has had their entire careers. The Warrior may get into the expanded 6A playoffs, but regardless of what happens Large is very thankful for his group.

“This is a big deal and these guys are awesome,” Large said. “I talked to them all week about how I don’t want this to end and I can’t imagine Westwood football without them. They have done everything we’ve asked them do; changed the culture, worked super hard and I am super proud of them.

“I love them to death.”