VarsityXtra

Red socks don’t go with purple and gold uniforms, but those at Queen Creek High School who wore the combination Friday weren’t concerned with fashion.
Every Bulldogs football player and cheerleader wore red socks for the 4A Division II state quarterfinal game against Phoenix Greenway in memory of former classmate and teammate Lorin Merkely.
Merkely, who graduated in May and whose favorite color was red, passed away earlier in the week due to cancer.
Additionally, many of the football players shaved their heads, several fans wore No. 62 T-shirts and 62 red balloons were released before the game in Merkely’s honor.
Last Friday Merkely was presented the game ball after Queen Creek beat Phoenix Moon Valley in a first-round playoff game.
Merkely was a part of the football program for four years and was a starting offensive guard last season.

Chandler Seton Catholic senior volleyball player Molly Barlow intends to sign a letter of intent with High Point University (North Carolina) later this month, according to her mother, Lisa.
Barlow (5-foot-9) is an outside hitter for the 28-4 Sentinels, who are the No. 2 seed in 4A Division II state playoffs. Seton, last year’s runner-up, hosts Page on Wednesday in the first round of the tournament.

One of the best matchups in the Valley this week has lost some of its luster.
When No. 3 Scottsdale Coronado travels to No. 5 Gilbert Higley on Friday, the Dons will be without Kaylin Ashley, one of the state’s top running backs.
Ashley, who leads all of 4A-II with 1,322 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, is out with a sprained MCL. He suffered the injury near the end of the first half of last week’s win over Chandler Seton Catholic, but not before rushing for 268 yards and two scores.
Coronado coach B.J. Pasquel said Ashley might miss next week’s regular season finale against archrival Phoenix Arcadia as well, but he should return for the first round of the playoffs.
“Knowing him, he’ll probably be back as good as new,” Pasquel said.
Ashley isn’t the Dons’ only good running back – David Alfaro and Josh Castillo are each averaging at least 6.9 yards a carry – but replacing his speed and athleticism will be impossible.
“We have some depth at running back, but he’s a game changer,” Pasquel said. “Everytime he touches the ball, there’s a chance he could score. But we have other kids who can run. They’re obviously not as explosive as him.”
Ashley’s injury has spoiled the possibility of a stellar individual matchup as well. His counterpart at Higley, Chris Campbell, is second in 4A-II with 1,070 rushing yards.

      Some relatively good news has come out of Phoenix Arcadia this week. It appears the shoulder injury which knocked quarterback Colby Kirkegaard out of Friday’s 14-7 loss at Queen Creek is nothing more than a deep bruise, according to coach Jim Ellison.
      The junior, who leads the East Sky Region with a 57.1 completion percentage, will be a game-time decision for this week’s contest against Gilbert Higley.
      Ellison said Kirkegaard has full range of motion in his throwing arm and the injury seems to be getting better every day. Kirkegaard is working with a therapist and will sit out most of this week’s practice in order to improve his chance of playing.
      To understand Kirkegaard’s importance to the Titans, consider they averaged 37.3 points in the first six games with him at the helm. He directed Arcadia into the end zone on its first possession against Queen Creek. After he was knocked out of the game in the middle of the second quarter, though, the Titans attempted only three passes, one of which was intercepted, and failed to score.

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.

It will be interesting to see where Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep’s Andy Wilder winds up next season and what position(s) he plays at the next level.
While most scouting services don’t have Wilder ranked among the top 30 prospects in Arizona, he is certainly one of the most versatile players in the state if not the most.
The 6-foot-3, 190 pound senior, who splits time between safety, receiver, kicker and punter has the ability to play any and all of those positions in college, according to his coach, Scot Bemis, and “If he just focused on one thing, he’d be phenomenal.”
Any colleges that don’t have Wilder on their radar yet only need to view a tape of last week’s game against Phoenix Washington to get an idea of his value.
Wilder accounted for 21 points in the Saints’ 45-0 victory with a receiving touchdown, an interception return for a touchdown, six extra points and a 32-yard field goal.
Additionally Wilder is averaging 37.6 yards per punt, second in the state according to MaxPreps.com, and of his 28 kickoffs, 19 have resulted in touchbacks.
Army, Colorado, Idaho State, Montana State, Northern Arizona, UNLV and Weber State are among colleges which have shown interest so far, but that list is sure to grow between now and signing day in February.

For anyone attending the Gilbert Perry-Gilbert Williams Field football game Friday, be sure to arrive early so when the captains start to make their way to midfield for the coin flip you can give them a standing ovation.
The players representing Williams Field deserve your support.
In April, students Randy Deal, Parker Skidmore and brothers Luke and Dylan Beaver were involved in a one-vehicle rollover accident which claimed Dylan’s life. The other three suffered varying degrees of brain trauma but are on the road to recovery.
Football is playing a big part. While most days after school Deal, Skidmore and Parker are in therapy, they do attend practice whenever they can.
Skidmore, who was the team’s top running back last season, is still an active member of the team, kicking extra points. Beaver and Deal are unable to play because of their injuries, but have become extensions of the coaching staff. Beaver, a receiver and kicker last year, works with the kickers, and Deal, who was the team’s top lineman, is an extra set of eyes for line coaches during drills.
To honor the memory of Dylan Beaver and the recovery efforts of Luke Beaver, Deal and Skidmore, the coaches have named those four captains for the Black Hawks’ homecoming game.
“We want to remind them that they’re still part of the team,” coach Steve Campbell said.

As offensive schemes go, there is none in Arizona more quarterback-friendly than the one being run at Mesa Desert Ridge.
In the past two seasons, Jaguars QBs have set or tied three state records. Josh Cain broke the 5A record for passing yards in a season (3,617) last year, and Kevin Pantastico on Friday smashed the state mark for passing yards in a game (595) and tied the 5A record for touchdown passes in a game (six).
If Desert Ridge advances to the state quarterfinals like it did last season, and Pantastico stays healthy, Cain’s record might not even last 12 months. Pantastico, with 1,058 yards through three games, is on pace to throw for 4,232 yards in 12 games, a total which would also be a record at any level.
Desert Ridge’s quarterbacks aren’t necessarily the most naturally talented, but with Jeremy Hathcock coaching ’em up, they’re always among the most entertaining.

The path to an undefeated regular season for No. 1 Scottsdale Notre Dame has become much clearer of late. Coming into the season, the consensus was the Saints’ toughest competition would come from within the Black Canyon Region. That doesn’t appear to be the case any more.
Phoenix Washington, the only team in the region Notre Dame has never defeated, is off to a 1-3 start.
Phoenix Moon Valley and Phoenix Greenway, believed to be the Black Canyon’s second-best teams, are both a disappointing 2-1, each having lost to the only quality opponent it has faced. 
And neither Phoenix Cortez (2-1) nor Glendale (0-3) are threats.
That leaves Chandler Seton Catholic (4-0) and Marin Catholic (1-1) of Kentfield, Calif., as the most imposing obstacles remaining. Seton will attempt to upset the Saints this week while Marin Catholic gets its chance to ruin perfection on Oct. 18.
Don’t count on either team prevailing. A 10-0 regular season for Notre Dame is as sure a thing as there is in the always unpredictable world of high school football.

Starting a sophomore at quarterback can make a coach go gray quickly, so at Scottsdale Coronado B.J. Pasquel is slowly brining along Alex Buya.
Buya’s primary responsibility this season has been to transfer the ball from center to running back – 60 of the Dons’ 72 offensive plays have been runs.
When he has been called on to throw, though, Buya has been highly effective. The 6-foot-2, 176-pounder completed five of six passes, one for a touchdown, in Coronado’s season opening win at Flagstaff Sinagua. In last week’s victory over Phoenix Cortez, Buya hit on three of six attempts and two went for scores.
With his eight completions, Buya has thrown for 311 yards, second most in the East Sky Region, and his touchdown passes have gone for 48, 63 and 47 yards.
Just as impressive, he has yet to throw an interception.