Harville played for Dobson sporadically last season. He started the season with the Mustangs before becoming academically ineligible. He was reinstated and played a few games but quit the team before the season ended.

Harville is expected to start at shooting guard for Hamilton. He averaged 11.4 points on 53 percent shooting last season, and added 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

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Hurley was injured in the second quarter in the first round playoff game when he was engaged by a Glendale Ironwood lineman, then had his legs taken out by another Ironwood player.

Zupke said it was an obvious chop block and called it “a cheap-shot play,” but no penalty was called.

Hurley had 73 total tackles, a sack, an interception and fumble recovery this season, and though his stats were down this season because he moved from defensive end (where he had 20 1/2 sacks as a junior) back to outside linebacker, he’s the team’s captain and emotional leader.

Pinnacle hosts Desert Valley Region foe Scottsdale Desert Mountain on Friday for a second time this season.

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This Tigers lost a good deal of that talent to graduation, including Elliot Clark and Eric Donzella.

But one player coach Jay Caserio was counting on to contribute significantly this year was Matt Alvarado. He played well down the stretch and was named a captain for this season.

At this point, though, Alvarado’s season is in jeopardy.

Alvarado came down with a rare spinal disorder a few months ago called transverse myelitis, which limited the use of his right arm. The 6-foot-2 senior is improving every day, but at this point, Caserio said it is impossible for him to compete.

“This is a player that has been a part of our program for four years and has never missed a basketball function,” Caserio said in an e-mail. ” It is a huge loss for our team.”

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The Firebirds have three players this year that could make a similar impact.

Nick Tomsick is a transfer from Broomfield, Colo. who averaged 20.7 points and 3.5 rebounds last season. He will be a nice complement to Chapman in that they can share the scoring load.

Mark Boskailo moved to the United States in the mid-1990’s from Bosnia, and he has one thing you can’t teach: height. Boskailo is 6-foot-8, and while only 195 pounds, has made big strides this offseason, coach Aaron Windler said.

“He has really progressed over the past several months, and we expect him to have a big year,” Windler said in an e-mail.

Boskailo has a teammate who he can see eye to eye with in 6-foot-8 freshman Josh Boyd. Boyd is the first freshman to ever play for a Windler-coached team, but he has the type of talent to be an immediate impact player.

Chaparral lost Gus Gabel to Princeton after last season, but with these reinforcements, should be right in the mix in 5A-II.

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The 4A-II East Sky Region sent four teams into the state tournament on Friday, and all were eliminated in the first round.

Scottsdale Notre Dame was creamed by Tucson Santa Rita. Scottsdale Coronado was soundly beaten by Peoria Liberty. Gilbert Williams Field fell behind early and then lost to No. 13 seed Tucson Amphitheater in overtime.

The biggest shocker, though, was Phoenix Arcadia, which had been playing the best football of anyone in the second half of the year, losing at home to Douglas.

So was this an overrated region from start to finish? One bad week? Honestly, probably a mixture of both. If Arcadia had another shot, it could probably beat Douglas.

And that’s the beauty of football this time of year. One good week and you’re alive to see another day. One bad week, and it’s time to clean out the lockers.

The 4A-II conference is still hard to figure, but one thing is now clear: We’ll have a new state champion, and it won’t be coming from the East Valley.

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Paradise Valley’s talented runner was kicked out of the contest after a skirmish with a Buckeye player on an onside kick in the fourth quarter. It was hard to tell who initiated what, but Parker seemed to be ejected for poking the opponent in the eye.

A player ejected from a game is suspended for the next contest, so Paradise Valley will be without Parker this week in a quarterfinal matchup at No. 1 Cottonwood Mingus.

“Done deal,” Paradise Valley coach Donnie Yantis said. “There’s no appeal process. No excuses.”

Mikah Ruffino will fill in for him, while Jake Brown - who missed the first game against the Marauders - will get his number called early and often.

Parker will be the scout team quarterback in practice this week, emulating Mingus’ offensive schemes.

“Tyree’s going to help us win (in other ways),” Yantis said.

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It sets up a Fiesta Region rematch (which was exactly what nobody in the region wanted to deal with, even though losing was the only way to avoid such collisions).

Mesa will play at Phoenix College against Brophy, where the Jackrabbits lost 26-18 in mid-October, a game closer than the score indicates (and the score indicates a close game).

What a job Mesa’s defense did to Red Mountain’s offense (except for one drive in the third quarter which briefly put Red Mountain back in the game, mostly because the Lions remembered they have a good QB in John O’Connor and a good WR in Elizha Cordova). Oddly enough, the Lions never went back to the hurry-up, line-up-and-throw style after that drive the rest of the game.

More importantly, what a job Kelley Moore has done in three years at Mesa.

As for Red Mountain, Jim Jones’ team lost a few key starting linemen to injuries during region play, which is also when his team couldn’t stop the likes of Phoenix Brophy, Chandler Hamilton, Chandler and 5A-II power Peoria Centennial.

Jones groused about Mesa Mountain View not being in the Fiesta Region while Mesa and Red Mountain were.

His point: If it was supposed to be about geography, where’s the geography?

“It’s a damn shame they had to go through a schedule like we did,” he said. “It’s not fair to anyone in Arizona high school football.”

It’s a good point.

Let’s at least throw out the possibility there was anger and frustration involved because his team had just been kicked in the teeth by Mesa to end its season.

Then again, the Jackrabbits lost a slew of close games during region play and lost power points because of the Laveen Cesar Chavez debacle. The Jackrabbits never said a word.

(Incidentally, neither did Phoenix Desert Vista, and if this really was about competitive balance and putting all the perennially premier teams in one region, Desert Vista belongs in the Central).

As for Jones, he’s Red Mountain’s only football coach since it opened in 1989. This may have been his last game as the school’s coach, but he wasn’t about to tip his hand one way or another afterward.

One way or another, though, his decision won’t drag on, but a sour ending to a strong start this season wouldn’t be fair after 20 years.

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Nunez, a 5-foot-8, 200-pound senior and two-year starter, suffered a knee injury during the Broncos game against Mesa Red Mountain, which eventually required surgery.

Nunez has 20 tackles this season, but his ability to clog the middle is important for the Broncos’ run defense.

The Broncos had used a rotation of replacements, primarily having center Hank Jenkins play both ways. Brophy hosts No. 14 Glendale Mountain Ridge at Phoenix College on Friday night.

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Ellison and the Titans clinched the 4A East Valley Region championship with a 35-14 victory against previously unbeaten Williams Field High School last Friday night. Quarterback Colby Kirkegaard was 11 of 17 passing for 216 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

The Titans begin the postseason on Friday night when they host Douglas.

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