VarsityXtra

Phoenix Brophy kicker/safety Alex Garoutte will return to action tonight against Mesa Mountain View, but he won’t be full strength.

Garoutte suffered a leg injury three weeks ago and missed the past two games. He’ll see some time in the defensive backfield for the Broncos, but is unlikely to kick again this season.

Senior Nick Ayers will continue to handle kicking duties and Beau Maggi the punting job for the Broncos.

He was (and remains) one of the nicest coaches to be around. His brethren have become more secretive, paranoid, overworked and worn down with each passing season, but Phil Abbadessa put on a smile and brave face most days for the three years.

The nice guy finished last - a 12-18 record, one win in the Central Region (against Tempe Marcos de Niza in 2006) and a whole bunch of defections meant Abbadessa abruptly reached the end of the line as Phoenix Mountain Pointe’s football coach.

He was given the option of resigning this week, which he did, though he’ll stay on with the baseball program and as a teacher, where he’s considered among the best in the school.

The timing of this couldn’t be much worse, since Abbadessa’s family is going through a serious, personal issue these days, but that’s simply a coincidence. The edict was coming. You could feel it in August, and with three playoff-caliber teams in the region, it was going to take a miracle.

It didn’t happen. Things only got worse when six players went elsewhere (Chandler, Laveen Cesar Chavez) last spring. Among them Markus Wheaton, Brandon Cluff, Kresean Reed, Lyle Blummears and freshman Davonte Neal.

Injuries at various points robbed Abbadessa of most of this year’s remaining talent: Running back De’Andre Currie missed a few weeks, quarterback Austin Lahr, linebacker Ryan Noble and more, but even if they stayed healthy, getting of the Central cellar wasn’t going to happen.

Under no circumstances should the inmates ever feel like they run the asylum at the high school level, but that’s a lot of talented kids who didn’t see any light at the end of this tunnel. Abbadessa should never have to apologize for doing things his way - most would argue it was the right way - the writing was on the wall.

After 26 years of playing and coaching under Karl Kiefer, the Tempe Union School District and school’s higher powers considered Abbadessa the no-brainer heir apparent in 2006. No questions asked; Only a “yes” answer would suffice.

It backfired, and when Mountain Pointe hires a new coach sometime in January, the winner is going to have a track record, which means an outsider.

Abbadessa may be a very good coach - and an even better person - but everything changes when you slide over one chair, and not everyone is able to or desires to swap their sidekick seat.