VarsityXtra

Economic troubles may result in several Mesa High football players staying home from the team’s annual mini-camp in Snowflake.

Each player must pay $270 for the five-day trip, which begins on July 20. But this year, that money is harder to come by.

“We have quite a few kids in this day and time that are working to help mom and dad pay house bills,” coach Kelley Moore said. “We’re trying like crazy not to let the economy dictate what we do.”

The coaching staff is looking for help from Mesa High alumni to help send a few kids who couldn’t otherwise afford it.

“We’re just asking for as much help as we can get,” Moore said.

Those interested in helping can reach Moore directly at (623) 326-6147 or klmoore@mpsaz.org.

A few notes from Tempe Marcos de Niza coach Roy Lopez:

- Running back/linebacker Ramon Abreu was offered a scholarship on Saturday from San Diego State. He was offered by Arizona State earlier this month. Abreu will likely be a cornerback in college.

- Wide receiver Justin Rodriguez is getting major interest from a variety of colleges, including Nebraska, ASU, Arizona, Colorado State, Colorado and San Diego State. Once he shows his academics are in order, the offers should start rolling in.

- Former linebacker Anthony Rose was one of the first Arizona State commitments last year, but he didn’t qualify academically. Rose will play at Glendale Community College this season, and if he can get his grades up, ASU will honor his scholarship, Lopez said.

Arizona high school football teams have had quite the showing at the San Diego State Passing League tournaments the past two weeks.

Chandler Basha beat Chandler Hamilton in the finals two weeks ago, and Phoenix Brophy knocked off Tempe Marcos de Niza this past weekend.

The Arizona squads had to beat some tough California competition to make the finals.  Marcos de Niza advanced past an Oceanside team which has won five straight Division II state titles.

“The (California college) coaches were saying we’re definitely going to get out there” to recruit in Arizona, Marcos de Niza coach Roy Lopez said.

After coaching a team full of experienced players the last two years, Scottsdale Saguaro coach John Sanders will have to start almost completely anew in 2009.

The Sabercats return just three starters and will rely on a host of sophomores and juniors.

While last year’s team knew what he wanted in practice, Sanders has to spend much more energy explaining things this year.

“They were on auto-pilot most of the time,” Sanders said of the 2008 team. “Those kids had it so wired, they knew what I wanted. These kids are all wide-eyed puppies. They’ll be big dogs some day, but right now they’re pups.”

While the personnel has changed, the goals remain the same. The Sabercats have won the past three 4A-I titles and have a winning streak off 33 games.

It’s not lost on the players filling the shoes of the departed players.

“They know (the winning streak) won’t last forever, but they don’t want it to end on their watch,” Sanders said.

Every skill position player from last year will need to be replaced.

At quarterback, there is a position battle between Teddy Ruben – brother of former Saguaro quarterback and  Gatorade Player of the Year Tim Ruben – and Kyle Faunce, a transfer from Indiana.

D.J. Foster is just a sophomore, but will be counted on to make plays, likely at wide receiver.

Like in past years, Saguaro’s strength will be in the trenches. Linemen Jordan McDonald, Kody Innes and Cyrus Hobbi all have scholarship offers already.

You’d think setting a state record for passing yards in a game would give a quarterback at a little job security.

Not at Mesa Desert Ridge.

Incumbent Kevin Pantastico will have to beat out New York transfer Ryan McCann to take the majority of the snaps under center in the fall. Desert Ridge coach Jeremy Hathcock said both will see time at the spot during games, but he’d like to have a clear-cut No. 1 starter.

“It’s a heated competition right now,” Hathcock said.

If Pantastico doesn’t win the competition, he could play cornerback and wide receiver. McCann is less versatile and would likely just be the backup signal caller. But Hathock said that won’t factor into the race. If Pantastico performs better, he will be the starter.

“In our system, QB is so important,” Hathcock said.

It’s been a trying summer for the Jaguars, who lost playmakers Chris Heldore and Chris Jamison to graduation, as well as 12 of their 15 coaches mostly because of budget cuts in the school district.

Desert Ridge is on its fourth defensive coordinator in the last four years, and will switch from a 3-4 defense to a traditional 4-3.

While Heldore and Jamison were the core of last year’s team, Hathcock is excited about replacements Sam Papa and Paris Clark. He said they aren’t as fast as those two, but are bigger and move well for their size.

Chandler Hamilton INF/RHP Cory Bernard, whose 172-pitch day in the 5A-I baseball tournament created quite the stir, had surgery recently.

But it wasn’t on his shoulder or elbow. It wasn’t even on his pitching arm.

Bernard had a procedure on his left wrist to clear up a meniscus injury that had been bothering him since the beginning of the baseball season.

He has a brace on the hand and won’t be able to swing a bat for six weeks, but will be ready for fall baseball at Arizona.

Cory’s father, Doug, said the procedure was very simple, taking just 15 minutes to complete.

Scottsdale Chaparral will make the switch to a spread offense next season, a formation that has rapidly grown in popularity the past few years.

The Firebirds ran a pro-style offense last year, but coach Charlie Ragle believes the spread best suits this year’s team.

The change will be made in all levels of the program.

‘We just looked at our personnel in the offseason, and it’s a chance to be more successful,” Ragle said.

There is currently a three-way battle to quarterback the team, although sophomore Connor Brewer has shown enough to be the early favorite.

Brewer is the younger brother of Charles and Chase Brewer, who were both successful pitchers on Chaparral’s baseball team in the past.

Charles Brewer was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 12th round of the MLB draft on Wednesday out of UCLA.

Running back Dwayne Garrett is expected to once again be the focal point of the offense after an impressive junior season. Garrett will also play cornerback.

He will be helped out on offense by wide receiver Danny Trittler, a transfer from Cactus Shadows.

Trittler should be the guy who won’t allow teams to stack the box against the running game. The Firebirds lacked that big-play receiver last season after Tyler Williams went down with a torn ACL early in the year.

Ragle is looking forward to the second game of the season against Mesa Mountain View after Chaparral’s move up to 5A-II. He doesn’t like the talk that Chaparral purposely shaved enrollment numbers to stay in 4A.

“We want to show we’re a legitimate football program and we weren’t hiding between 4A numbers,” he said.

Chaparral has a couple of raw but talented offensive linemen who have already gotten scholarship offers. Jake Ehm (6-6, 250 pounds) can be a “big-time tackle” collegiately, Ragle said, and Andrew Gustafson (6-6, 265) could earn himself a spot on a lower-level Division I team if he has a good year.

The defense lost quite a few players from last season, but Ragle believes it will still be a strong unit.

Tempe Marcos de Niza running back/linebacker Ramon Abreu has been offered a scholarship by Arizona State.

At 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Abreu might not have the prototypical size of a football menace, but he is a beast on the field, and making plays will always get you noticed.

His slight frame will eventually force him to the secondary or wide receiver, but he can play wherever Marcos de Niza coach Roy Lopez needs him next year.

The Padres have to be considered the top challenger to Peoria Centennial in 5A-II next season. They lose some standout defensive players, such as Anthony Rose and Kakalea Pule, but almost all the key offensive pieces are back. Additionally, they have junior running back Anthony Shivers added to the fold after he transferred from Tempe McClintock.

With Abreu, Shivers, Tevin Newell and Justin Rodriguez, Marcos de Niza has a host of athletic playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, and quarterback Zach Schira really seemed to improve as last year progressed. He should be in paradise getting the ball to those players.

It will be interesting to see where Abreu lines up. He might end up being a Reggie Bush-hybrid type player who can run the ball from the backfield or split out and catch passes. If Shivers can take the majority of the carries, it makes the team that much more dangerous.

It’s too bad Marcos’ non-region schedule is so soft. We won’t know for a while just how good they are.

The high school season might be over, but many track athletes continue competing well into the summer.

On Saturday, a host of local athletes performed well in the Meet of Champions at Sandra Day O’Connor.

Results can be found by clicking here.

The last time the Chandler Valley Christian girls track team finished second or below in the state track championships, some current athletes were in diapers.

Now they’ll be counted on to make history.

The Trojans are closing in on a 14th consecutive track state title, which would be a national record if it happens. Valley Christian tied the mark of three other schools last season when it won No. 13, which included a run by Safford.

Rapid City Stevens, S.D. also has won 13 in a row, but since their state meet isn’t for two weeks, the Trojans would hold the title alone, at least for a little while.

The chances are overwhelming that it happens. Valley Christian has qualified a fleet of athletes into the state meet, and only an awful day could slow them down.