East Sky Region: As good as it gets

October 15th, 2008, 6:01 pm · Post a Comment · posted by mattpaulson

No. 4 Phoenix Arcadia (6-0) may be higher ranked and have a better record than Queen Creek (4-2), but despite those facts Titans coach Jim Ellison isn’t about to let his team take Friday’s opponent lightly.
“We thought they were a top five team coming into the season and after watching them on film we still think that,” he said.
In fact no team in the East Sky can be taken lightly.
Despite its surprising 36-6 loss last Friday to Scottsdale Coronado, Queen Creek is just outside the top five in the latest 4A-II power rankings at No. 6, and it isn’t the only East Sky team sitting high.
Coronado (45.5) is No. 1 in the 4A-II power rankings, followed by Arcadia (45.0), tied for second, Gilbert Higley (37.0) and Chandler Seton Catholic (37.0), which are tied for eighth, and No. 11 Tempe (33.5). That means the entire region would be in the playoffs if they began today.
The fact that every team has at least a .500 record also means the East Sky is not only the best region in 4A-II but also the most competitive and most wide-open.
“It’s more balanced this year,” Coronado coach B.J. Pasquel said. “Any team can beat any other team in the region on any night.”
Coronado, Arcadia and Higley are 1-0, Queen Creek, the defending champ, is 1-1, Seton is 0-1 and Tempe is 0-2, but none can be overlooked in race for this year’s title. There are no easy games the rest of the way, so the chances of having an undefeated region champion seem slim.
The East Sky sent four teams to the postseason last year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if at least five advance this year.
Now, if you ask me to pick a region champion, well, your guess is as good as mine.

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