Tee Smith saw the white jersey flash in the shadows of the south end zone.

But he knew enough to let it fly.

“I knew who I was throwing to – the playmaker,” the Casteel quarterback said with a smile. “It was Troy.”

Troy is Casteel’s athlete Troy Jauregui, and he was waiting on a ball that seemed like it floated forever, allowing the Centennial defender to close on the Colts wide receiver, but it was too late – Casteel had the lead.

One defensive possession later, Jauregi was in the shadow again.

This time there wasn’t a ball floating toward him to worry about. He was celebrating after scooting past one trailing defender as the junior rambled toward the Inferno end of the stadium for an 86-yard punt return.

“I wasn’t sure if I should catch or not with the sun in my eyes,” he said. “I had great blocks all the way down, and I knew I was gone. Wide open lane.”

At that point, it was clear Jauregui was on fire. He had broken through the Centennial punt team, survived the diving slap at the foot tackle attempt and scored his third straight touchdown for the Colts on the way to a 42-26 win over the Coytes at Mountain America Stadium for the 6A state championship.

His biggest play wasn’t even a score.

After Centennial pulled within a score in the fourth quarter, Jauregui caught a 25-yard pass in the middle of the field on third-and-23 to get the Colts out of an ugly down and distance and essentially put the game away.

“It didn’t take me long, the guys is a pretty incredible playmaker,” said Casteel coach Joe Bushman about taking over the program and realizing Jauregui was going to play a big part.

“He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he has the biggest heart. I am really proud of him. At times early in the year, he was out of control with his emotions, but he has grown up and learned how to control it. He was lights out today in all phases.”

And with that he stepped out of the shadows.

He’s had a good season, but nothing that might indicate he was going to be remembered as having one of the biggest impacts in a championship game.

It was a terrific one-man performance as he also had a 51-yard touchdown catch in the first half to tie the game at 14, where he broke a tackle just after hauling in the pass, and running center cut down the field.

There have been some special days by individuals in state championship games like Saguaro’s Christian Kirk, Chandler’s DeCarlos Brooks, Perry’s Brock Purdy and Desert Vista’s Bobby Wade over the last couple of decades.

All of those players were inimitable stars for their teams. Give them the ball and let them throw, catch, run or anything else it took to win the game.

Jauregui has been doing all of those things this year.

He came in averaging 19.5 yards on 18 punt returns, and 17 yards a catch with seven touchdowns. He had another three touchdowns on carries and ran for 101 yards on 29 carries.

He has also thrown two passes, completed three for 51 yards for a QB rating of 109.7. He’s even played a little defense with nine total tackles after playing mostly defense for the Colts as a sophomore.

But when a new coaching staff comes in there are lot of variables, and a clean slate. Most athletes have this impulse, a need, to impress right away.

He said he tried to do his best every day.

“I wasn’t trying to do anything crazy,” said Jauregui, who finished with five catches and 129 yards receiving. “I showed up every day and worked hard. I knew we had a lot of talent, and I just wanted to help any way I could.”

He certainly did that Saturday. He and Smith, who ran for 165 yards and two scores, were quite the duo.

By the time it all concluded Casteel was the 6A state champio and Jauregui was lugging around an offensive MVP plaque from the AIA and WWF-like belt as the game MVP from the Fiesta Bowl.

The performance thrust him into being a Colt legend.

“I don’t know if I’d ever forget something like this,” he said. “We played as a team, and I made some plays but so did a lot of other guys. I got loose a couple of times and found the end zone.”