VarsityXtra

A quick look around the Desert Valley Region, which has a couple interesting matchups on Friday in Phoenix schools Pinnacle vs. St. Mary’s and Scottsdale schools Desert Mountain vs. Horizon (plus what should be a snoozer of a Thursday night TV game in Chaparral vs. North Canyon).

–Desert Mountain shook things up again this week in the wake of scoring three offensive points in a 27-17 loss to Pinnacle last week.

It’s not often a team returns both an interception and blocked punt for touchdowns, only to lose, but it happened to the Wolves last week, and Tony Tabor shook up his play-calling and offensive coaching staff as a result.

He called this week’s practices the best of the year, but there’s more bad news for the Wolves.

Leading receiver Dekota D’angelo is out for at least the rest of the regular season (and possibly the postseason) with a partially torn ligament in his knee.

Easily the team’s leading receiver (31 catches for 345 yards) and its long-snapper, there’s a small chance he could rehab enough to get through the playoffs, but while hopeful, the Wolves aren’t holding their breath.

–St. Mary’s gets QB Bryan Holland back after he barely played last week with a shoulder injury. Originally fearful it was a tear or separation, Holland instead has done rehab after he took a hard hit two weeks ago against Horizon, and the Knights think he can at least make serviceable throws.

Last week he played but only handed the ball off while St. Mary’s used R.J. McGill and Laron Tarkington to run a “Wildcat” type of offense. It worked to the tune of 363 yards rushing against Chaparral, but lost 32-14.

Tempe Marcos de Niza diver Sam Dorman made a verbal commitment to the University of Miami (Fla.) earlier this week.

Dorman is a two-time defending diving champion in 5A Division II (he finished second in state as a freshman). He visited the Coral Gables campus twice.

Dorman will attempt to three-peat at the 5A-II state championships on Nov. 7 at Kino Aquatic Center in Mesa.

Scottsdale Horizon quarterback Ryan Stanford was named this week’s Arizona Cardinals high school player of the week.

The two-year starter completed 17 of 32 passes for 346 yards and four touchdowns in the Huskies’ 43-20 win over North Canyon last Friday night.

Horizon’s offense also got 186 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 23 carries from running back Matt Jones in the victory.

A plaque will be presented to Stanford by a Cardinals alumnus at a ceremony at Horizon on Friday at 11:30 a.m. during a lunch time.

Horizon (5-3, 1-2 Desert Valley) hosts Scottsdale Desert Mountain (5-3, 1-2) on Friday.

Mesa Mountain View point guard Jennifer Schlott has made a verbal commitment to play basketball at Utah State.
Schlott, a 5-foot-6 senior who will be starting for the fourth year in a row this fall for the Toros, averaged 9.7 points per game and 3.7 assists per games last season. She has been chosen to the all-East Valley region team each of her first three seasons. Mountain View was 5A-I state runner-up Schlott’s freshman year, reached the quarterfinals her sophomore year and advanced to the semifinals her junior season last year.

Charlie Hall, who coached Chandler High football for 10 years in two different stints, died on Sunday. He was 81.
Hall posted a record of 40 wins, 52 losses and two ties and is tied for the longest coaching tenure in school history at 10 years with Bill Austin. Hall’s first stint was 1952-1958 and he returned as coach from 1962-64. Hall’s 1958 team that went 6-4 in 1958 was honored last Friday night at the Chandler-Desert Vista game. Funeral arrangements are pending. Hall’s best record came in 1953 when the Wolves were 7-3.
Funeral services are 10 a.m. Saturday at Chandler First Church of the Nazarene, 301 N. Hartford St.

Last week was the final “easy” week for the East Valley’s cross country runners. City or district meets are usually competitive, but low-key and fun since the athletes tend to get to know one another as the years go on and are familiar with each other.
All of the results from the city and district meets can be found online at http://www.arizonatrack.com/arizona/2009_Results/2009_XC/meetschedule.html.
This week, the intensity gets turned up, especially in the 4A-1A conferences, as the regional meets begin.  In 4A, the top three (or if a region has seven or more teams, top four) teams and top 10 individuals not on qualifying teams advance to the state meet, which is Nov. 7 at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix.
The majority of 4A teams in the East Valley will be at one place on Friday, as the 4A-II East Sky and 4A-I Desert Sky regions have a combined meet at Freestone Park in Gilbert.  Also on Friday is the 4A-II Black Canyon Region meet at Sereno Park in Phoenix. The 1A/2A Metro-West Region meet is on Saturday at Phoenix Country Day School.

Call it the Saturday hangover. Given what transpired at Phoenix College on Friday night, consider yourself forgiven for having cobwebs.

–It’s not only clear Brophy and Chandler can play with Hamilton, but it’s also clear there are four teams in 5A-I who’ve separated themselves from the pack: The aforementioned three plus Phoenix Mountain Pointe.

Brophy coach Scooter Molander talked at length during the week about competing, staying relaxed when things are good or bad for the full 48 minutes, and, regardless of the final score, taking away a knowledge or belief they’re capable of beating the Huskies come playoff time should their paths cross again.

Done and done on all three accounts.  It’s much easier for the Broncos to say those things because outside a huge collapse against upcoming Phoenix Desert Vista and Yuma, the Broncos will have at least one home game to open the playoffs. Anything beyond that is too far away and unpredictable in power points and not worth the speculation.

–Brophy’s tackling in the first half was awful, especially considering the Broncos are viewed as one of the better tackling teams in 5A.  Some of that was trying to bring down Hamilton’s Zach Bauman, who’s low to the ground and so powerful below the waist because his legs never stop.  Part of that was the Huskies running attack via option, Wing-T and QB keepers had Brophy scrambling and guessing all the first half.  Part of that was Brophy’s defense being on the field for about 80 percent of the first half.  Part of that was just bad tackling.

–Mistakes by both teams (Brophy in first half, Hamilton in second half) pretty much negated each other out. Brophy threw three interceptions and muffed a punt fair catch.  The Huskies fumbled a snap and committed seven penalties in the second half, two of those penalties took away long gains on offense while a third moved Brophy near the goal line where it scored the team’s first touchdown.

Some Huskies were pretty incredulous about the officiating, so the AIA might be getting another tape, not that it’s going to change any outcomes.  It didn’t in the Brophy-Centennial game.

–Besides Bauman’s eight-yard run on 3rd-and-1 which ran the clock out, the Huskies other huge play was a 27-yard end around near midfield by backup QB Kyren Poe on 2nd-and-8 with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation.

Hamilton had run successfully all night behind right tackle Christian Westerman (as it usually does). When the Huskies would run outside, they saw Brophy defenders trying to slice through the gaps on the backside trying to chase the play out wide.

So needing a first down and to kill more clock, the Huskies went to a bread-and-butter running plays on the right side and again got Brophy flying toward the ball, only Poe came back against the grain, took the flip and ran down the left side.

Gutsy call given the situation.

“It’s the kind of play where if it works you look great, and if it doesn’t you’re up all night going, ‘Why the hell did we run that play?’” Hamilton coach Steve Belles said.

–Brophy’s Max Leonesio gained 35 yards rushing from two  Statue of Liberty plays. He gained 40 yards from the other 15 carries.

–Hamilton is now 4-2 against Brophy going back to the 2005 state championship classic, but both of Brophy’s wins against the Huskies came in the playoffs.

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.

Just when Taylor Walstad was getting healthy and ready to see more action in the Chandler backfield, another key cog is out.

Receiver/defensive back Jeremy Morris suffered a sprained knee last week and will miss the next two weeks.

Morris has 17 receptions for 219 yards and five TDs for the Wolves as one of their vertical offensive threats in the passing game. He also has 23 tackles and two interceptions at cornerback.

Morris will have to wear a brace and will be out this week against Phoenix Desert Vista and likely next week in what’s shaping up to be a more interesting out-of-region matchup against Mesa Mountain View.

Fellow two-way teammate Malcolm Holland will be a game-time decision because of a hobbled hip, but Chandler coach Jim Ewan said he was a better than 50-50 chance of playing.

Mesa Skyline’s leading rusher and one of its top tacklers, Michael Bailey, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, Coyotes coach Pete Jonovich said Wednesday.
“They think there might be an ACL (anterior crucitate ligament) tear,” Jonovich said. “They’ll do an MRI in about two weeks to know for sure.”
Bailey, a senior who plays quarterback, receiver and in the secondary, injured his knee on a scramble in the third quarter of last week’s 45-14 loss to Mesa Westwood. Bailey has 488 yards rushing and four touchdowns for the 2-6 Coyotes. He is also their second-leading tackler on the year with 44. Skyline visits Gilbert Perry on Friday.