VarsityXtra

One more week to go before the postseason is upon us.

In 4A-I, Tucson Canyon del Oro has a chance to enter the tournament as a clear-cut favorite with a win this week over Tucson Sabino.

In 4A-II, it’s a clutter that won’t be sorted out until the buzzer sounds on the championship game. Quite a few important games this week among ranked teams.

4A-I
1. Canyon del Oro (9-0): Big test this week against No. 4 Tucson Sabino. It’s been my assertion for awhile that the Dorados are head and shoulders above the rest of 4A-I. We’ll see if Sabino can give them a game.
2. Cactus Shadows (9-0): The Falcons are one win away from an undefeated season. Wow. Just, wow. They are in contention with CdO for the top seed in 4A-I.
3. Cienega (8-1): Depending on how the bracket shakes out, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bobcats in the title game against Canyon del Oro. Willie Willis, Ronnie Burton and Trent Simon are three top-flight skill guys.
4. Sabino (8-1): The Sabercats’ only loss has been to 4A-II No. 1 Santa Rita, but the schedule otherwise has been weak. Sabino needs a solid showing against Canyon del Oro to stay in the state title chatter.
5. Saguaro (7-2): A good win last week against Apache Junction, and if the Sabercats take care of business against Queen Creek in the season finale, they should wrap up the No. 3 seed for the state tournament, a solid accomplishment for a completely re-tooled squad. Another title-game berth for Saguaro could happen.

4A-II
1. Santa Rita (8-1): A big game this week against Palo Verde with the region title on the line. An impressive performance against Palo Verde could solidify Santa Rita’s spot as the slimmest of favorites heading into a wide open 4A-II postseason.
2. Mingus (9-0): Mingus has given up 7, 6, 6, 2, 0 and 0 points in its last six games. Mohave stands in the way of an undefeated season, Mohave has won four straight games, but it’s doubtful they can hang with a Marauders group that is rolling.
3. Williams Field (9-0): A hiccup last week, but the Black Hawks escaped with a win over Coronado. The region title is on the line on Friday against Arcadia.
4. Cactus (8-1): Since the loss to Saguaro without QB Brody Ray, Cactus has been one of the most impressive teams in the state, with wins over Paradise Valley and Greenway, among others. Yet another team in state title contention.
5. Liberty (9-0): Liberty defeated Buckeye last week to take its place in the top-5. The schedule has been pretty easy so far this year, but Liberty has beaten everyone on its schedule, and that’s all that it can do. The state tournament will prove just how legitimate this team is.

With one week to go in the regular season, Chandler Seton is ranked 20th in the 4A-II power points.

So to make the postseason, the Sentinels would need to leapfrog four teams in the standings.

Sounds next to impossible, right? Well, Seton might have a better chance than one would think.

The five teams ahead of Seton are: Mohave, Catalina, Desert Edge, Coconino and Thunderbird.

On Friday, Mohave plays undefeated Mingus, the top team in power points. Catalina plays Amphitheater, a team that is 6-3. Desert Edge plays undefeated Liberty. Thunderbird plays a Paradise Valley squad that is 5-4 and will be a heavy favorite.

Those four teams will be underdogs in their season finales.

Coconino, the other team ahead of Seton, plays Flagstaff. Coconino has a better record, but the teams are only separated by a game. This is the game that could keep Seton out of the postseason.

Then again, the Sentinels have to beat Gilbert Higley on Friday to let these scenarios come into play.

“If we don’t win, nothing else matters,” Seton coach Rex Bowser said.

Sorry this is so late. A pretty busy week for me. Anyways, let’s get to it.

4A-I
1. Canyon del Oro: Most noteworthy item of the week? Running back Ka’Deem Carey picked up his first college scholarship offer, from Arizona State. On the field, the Dorados continue to dominate.
2. Cactus Shadows: Another week, another nail-biting win. The Falcons beat Saguaro last Friday by blocking the tying extra point late in the fourth quarter. This team continues to amaze me. And it’s quite likely they go undefeated now.
3. Vail Cienega: Beat up on Marana last week, and the Bobcats will likely cruise into the postseason at 9-1. But will their weak schedule hurt them once the competition heats up? We will see.
4. Sabino: The Sabercats are on bye this week, then they’ll have a gimme against Tucson Flowing Wells to set up the showdown with CdO on Nov. 6.
5. Saguaro: A commenter on this Web site asked how Saguaro could still be ranked in the top-5 after two straight losses. My answer is two-fold. 1) Saguaro and Cactus Shadows played a tight game, and it came down to a blocked extra point. Clearly, the talent level between the teams is very even. 2) Who else should go here? Apache Junction probably has the best case, but the Prospectors have dropped two of four themselves. Peoria is in the mix, but Saguaro beat them head-to-head. Apollo is still undefeated, but their schedule is extremely weak. With that said, Saguaro’s one-point win against McClintock was unimpressive, and the winner of the AJ-Queen Creek battle tonight will definitely be in a discussion to replace them.

4A-II
1. Santa Rita: Good win for the Eagles over Tucson Amphitheater last week. 4A-II is wide-open, but despite cries for Williams Field or Mingus, I think Santa Rita is a deserved No. 1 at this point.
2. Williams Field: This should be an intense week for Williams Field, which faces off with Gilbert Higley, a school most of its seniors attended as freshmen. The Black Hawks are much more talented, but the Knights won’t lay down in this one.
3. Mingus: The Marauders are No. 1 in the power rankings and will likely finish at least in the top-2 heading into the postseason, but a few coaches still aren’t sold. Me either. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
4. Cactus: With wins over Coronado, Peoria and Queen Creek, I’m surprised it took this long for me to put the Cobras into the rankings. A big game tonight against Paradise Valley will either reinforce their staying power or make it a short appearance.
5. Buckeye: This should be another easy week for Buckeye, but a big game against Liberty looms next Friday.

Williams Field’s starting quarterback, Nick Gaylord, reinjured his foot in the second half of a win against Notre Dame two weeks ago and did not play on Friday against Maricopa.

The injury originally happened in the season opener against Dysart and kept him out of three games. Gaylord returned for an Oct. 2 game against Chandler Seton but injured it again the next week against the Saints.

He will see some action on Friday night on both offense and defense, but Tom Ross, who has done a nice job filling in for Gaylord, will take the majority of the snaps under center, Williams Field coach Campbell said.

There is no set plan going forward, as Campbell waits to see how quickly Gaylord recovers from the injury.

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Although Friday’s game against Higley looks lopsided because of drastically different records heading in (Williams Field is 7-0; Higley 1-6), this game means a lot for both sides.

With the way the school boundaries are set up, many of the Williams Field students actually drive past Higley to get to school. There are neighborhoods in which some kids go to Higley and others to Williams Field.

Between five and seven of the Black Hawks’ current starters played for Higley’s freshman team three years ago, Campbell said.

You can bet Higley wants nothing more than a win over a group of players it used to play with.

Williams Field’s win over Notre Dame knocked 4A-II’s No. 1 team off its perch for the second time this year (Notre Dame had beaten former No. 1 Paradise Valley earlier in the season). Tucson Santa Rita, last year’s state runner-up, takes over as the new No. 1.

No movement in 4A-I this week as the top-5 all won.

4A-I
1. Canyon del Oro: The Dorados played much of their tough competition early, and won’t really be tested until the season finale against Tucson Sabino.
2. Cactus Shadows: As unimaginable as it was heading into the season, the Falcons could very well finish this season 10-0 if they can beat Saguaro on Friday. But that’s a big if.
3. Cienega: The Bobcats are rolling and this offense could be hard to stop in the postseason. Ronnie Burton and Willie Willis are quite the 1-2 punch on the ground, and Trent Simon is one of the state’s best wide receivers on the outside.
4. Saguaro: The Sabercats broke the 4A rushing record last week against Moon Valley, a nice bounce back after getting thrashed by Canyon del Oro. The game against Cactus Shadows on Friday is a big one.
5. Sabino: The Sabercats have won four straight, but the competition has been weak. We’ll get a better indication of Sabino when it plays Canyon del Oro on Nov. 6.

4A-II
1. Santa Rita: The top three teams all could make a case for No. 1, but Santa Rita’s body of work last year, coupled with its win over Sabino and competitive game against Canyon del Oro earlier in this season gives the Eagles the nod. A pretty tough game against Tucson Amphitheater coming up this week.
2. Williams Field: This is the most athletic team I’ve seen in 4A-II this season. An easy week against Maricopa is coming up, but the Black Hawks still have to face Phoenix Arcadia down the road.
3. Mingus: The Marauders keep rolling, but I’m not completely sold yet. Mingus has four cupcakes to finish the season, so it will almost certainly finish undefeated, but the real tests will come in the postseason.
4. Notre Dame: How will the Saints react to their first loss since 2007? Notre Dame might not have the same overall talent as the past two seasons, but the coaching and discipline will still keep them in the state title mix.
5. Buckeye: The Hawks haven’t been overly impressive the last two weeks, but they continue to win. A big game against Peoria Liberty looms on Oct. 30.

Before Friday’s game against Phoenix Greenway, Paradise Valley coach Donnie Yantis knew his team was at a crossroads, and he told them as much.

“I told the team before the game that we could go up the mountain, or go down the hill,”  Yantis said.

The Trojans, buoyed by the return of star running back/linebacker Jake Brown from an ankle injury,  began the ascent with a 42-37 win.

Paradise Valley began the season as the state’s top-ranked team in 4A-II, but secondary woes and Brown’s injury contributed to a 2-3 start.

Although the Trojans are just 3-3 on the season, the victory over Greenway gives them the early edge in the Black Canyon Region, with a crucial test against Glendale Cactus looming in two weeks.

The team is now the healthiest its been since the preseason and Yantis said the defense continues to improve.

“Our goal is to peak at the end,” he said.

Tucson Canyon del Oro was up to the challenge, holding onto its No. 1 ranking in 4A-I  by dispatching Scottsdale Saguaro.

Our 4A-II No. 1, Notre Dame, gets a test this week against rankings newcomer Williams Field.

4A-1
1. Canyon del Oro: Ka’Deem Carey continues to impress, and the Dorados continue to put a stranglehold on the top spot in the rankings.
2. Cactus Shadows: A fourth big test against Apache Junction this week. The Falcons have passed the first three, but by the slimmest of margins. Can Apache Junction end Cactus Shadows’ incredible early season run?
3. Cienega: This is probably the most dangerous team no one is talking about. Another blowout win last week.
4. Saguaro: The Sabercats are licking their wounds after the first loss in coach John Sanders’ tenure as coach. They should win easily this week against Moon Valley before a big game next Friday against Cactus Shadows.
5. Sabino: Although the next three weeks might be a cakewalk, the season ending game against Canyon del Oro will be fun.

4A-II
1. Notre Dame: The Saints were hammered by the flu bug last week, but did what they had to do in a workmanlike 27-14 win over Tempe. It wasn’t long ago when Notre Dame was the upstart program with something to prove. This week, they’ll try to hold down Williams Field, the new kids on the block.
2. Santa Rita: Outscored its opponents 124-0 in the past two games.
3. Mingus: An impressive showing in a 40-point win over Paradise Valley on Friday. The Marauders have thrust themselves into title contention.
4. Williams Field: A pretty easy win over Seton has the Black Hawks 5-0 and boosted into the top-5. A quick question: How do some other polls have Liberty ahead of Williams Field? Both teams are undefeated, but Williams Field beat Liberty twice last year with nearly identical teams.
5. Buckeye: The win over Arcadia early was impressive, but we might not know how good Buckeye actually is until the game against aforementioned Liberty in three weeks.

Well, it finally happened. On Friday night Tucson Canyon del Oro beat Scottsdale Saguaro to end the Sabercats’ 37-game winning streak.

With that in mind, I wanted to put into perspective just how much talent Saguaro has run through its program in the last four years.

Here’s a list of the players from the streak that have gone on to play Division I ball or currently have scholarship offers. If I forgot anyone, feel free to let me know in the comments and I will add them in:

Class of 2006
Max Tabach, S/WR: Arizona State.
Shane Anderson, S/WR: Nevada.
Alex Ruben, LB/RB: Boise State (walk-on),

Class of 2007
Tim Ruben, QB/DB: Boise State (walk-on).
Chris Merrill, DL/OL: Arizona
Joe Kellogg, DL/OL: Boise State.
Derek Bisgard, DL/OL: Army.

Class of 2008
Beau Burton, RB/DB: Utah.
Paul Porras, WR/DB: Rice.
Corey Adams, DL/OL: Arizona State.
Max Smith, LB/TE: Arizona State.
Kody Koebensky, OL/DL: Arizona State.
Erik Brown, WR/DB: Fresno State.
Cole Rarrick, QB: Arizona State (walk-on).
Justin Jungblut, OL/DL: Boise State.
Sebastian Sica, OL/DL: Northern Arizona.

Class of 2009:
Jordan McDonald, OL/DL: multiple offers.
Kody Innes, OL/DL: multiple offers.

Class of 2010:
Cyrus Hobbi, OL/DL: multiple offers.

Williams Field quarterback Nick Gaylord, who has been out since spraining a ligament in his foot in the season opener, will play sparingly tonight against Seton, coach Steve Campbell said.

Gaylord has been limited in practice this week, but Campbell said the regular playbook will be available when his dual-threat signal caller is in the game.

Backup Tom Ross has played well in Gaylord’s absence, completing 25-of-39 passes for 637 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

Chandler Seton quarterback Justin Sieczkowski will start against Williams Field this week after missing Friday’s game against Scottsdale Notre Dame with a sprained ankle.

He suffered the injury two weeks ago against Scottsdale Coronado.

Sieczkowski is 66-of-128 for 1,001 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions this season in three games this season.

Coach Rex Bowser said the team is happy to see its quarterback return.

“They know what he’s capable of doing,” Bowser said. “They have great confidence him in.”

After high hopes entering the year, the Sentinels are 1-3 to start the year, with a crucial game against Williams Field coming up on Friday.

“We need to get this thing turned around,” Bowser said.