Are the top teams in 5A-II and 4A-II better than the top teams in 5A-I and 4A-I? Defending 5A-II champ Peoria Centennial started this whole argument by pounding Chandler Hamilton last year.
There was some evidence for the theory this past week when 5A-II’s Scottsdale Chaparral hammered perennial 5A-I power Mesa Mountain View and 4A-II’s Glendale Cactus used a backup quarterback to beat 4A-I Peoria in overtime.
Prep insiders used to scoff at the notion that Division II teams could hang with Division I teams. When the conferences were split before the 2005 season, the lower division sported weak state tournament fields of teams with losing records, but the state’s continued growth and the maturation of some of these programs has put that theory to bed.
Centennial has a chance to further Division II’s reputation when the Coyotes play 5A-I No. 2 Phoenix Brophy this week.
Other top storylines from the week
2. The 2009 girls volleyball season got off to a roaring start at the Mesa Westwood Tournament of Champions, perennially one of the state’s premier events. Two-time defending Class 5A-I state champ Phoenix Xavier beat 2006 5A-I champ Gilbert 25-23, 25-22 in Saturday's final. The two schools have won the last four large-school state titles. The Tigers defeated Phoenix Desert Vista in a rematch of last year’s semifinal.
3. The 5A-I Central Region was supposed to be the next-best thing to the dominant Fiesta Region this year. Don’t believe the hype. Mesa Mountain View, Chandler Basha, Tempe Corona del Sol and Gilbert all lost this week, and the region went 1-6. It is 4-12 overall.
4. On the flip side, the five teams in the Class 4A Division I Desert Sky Region (Apache Junction, Cave Creek Cactus Shadows, Scottsdale Saguaro, Tempe McClintock and Queen Creek) are a combined 11-0. This is a region that lost powerhouses Scottsdale Chaparral and Phoenix Paradise Valley after realignment.
5. Tucson Santa Rita coach Jeff Scurran returned to Tucson Sabino for the first time since directing the school to three state titles (1990, 1992, 1998) and a state runner-up (1997). He left with a 27-16 victory. Defensive back Cameron Gaddis had a 97-yard interception return early in the final quarter that gave Santa Rita the lead for good.
Happy birthday, Vern
On his birthday, Tucson Amphitheater football coach Vern Friedli, 73, the state’s all-time leader for victories at 312, used the wishbone option to crush Tucson Flowing Wells and vault the Panthers to their first 3-0 start since 2003.
The Fab 5
1. Jake Brown & Tyree Parker, Paradise Valley: Brown, a senior running back, carried 18 times for 295 yards and three touchdowns, including a 96-yard run in 49-35 win over Phoenix Arcadia. Parker, his senior backfield mate, ran for 267 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries, helping the Trojans set a 4A state record by rushing for 592 yards.
2. Colby Kirkegaard, Phoenix Arcadia: The senior quarterback completed 9-of-17 passes for 287 yards and a 60-yard TD. He also passed for a two-point conversion, ran in a two-point conversion and had runs of 14 and 26 yards.
3. Justin Rodriguez, Tempe Marcos de Niza: The senior receiver caught six passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran 46 yards to set up a touchdown in the Padres’ 53-20 defeat of Surprise Valley Vista.
4. Chad Snider, Glendale Kellis: The senior QB completed 16-of-20 passes for 294 yards and six touchdowns in a 55-12 victory at Flagstaff Coconino.
5. C.J. Teran, Douglas: The junior quarterback completed 20-of-29 passes for 334 yards and four TDs in a 27-20 win over Nogales.
On deck
1. Defending 5A-II state champ Peoria Centennial, Arizona’s No. 1-ranked team overall, takes on 5A-I’s No. 2 team, Phoenix Brophy, which is ranked No. 4 overall in Arizona. No. 7 Paradise Valley hosts two-time defending 4A-II champion Scottsdale Notre Dame. Both teams are 2-0, and the winner of this one will be considered the early-season favorite for the 4A-II crown. Also, the Ahwatukee Bowl has meaning again when resurgent Phoenix Mountain Pointe faces rival Phoenix Desert Vista. Mountain Pointe running backs De'Andre Currie and Davon Jones have 953 combined rushing yards in three games
2. The inaugural girls volleyball Nike Tournament of Champions runs through Sept. 20 in Chandler. The event will showcase 32 teams from Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Matches will be held at Chandler’s four high schools: Chandler, Perry, Hamilton and Basha, with the division championship matches beginning late Saturday afternoon at both Perry and Basha.
3. Phoenix Carl Hayden has lost 66 consecutive games. Hayden's best chance to end that streak comes when San Luis visits. Neither school has scored a point this year. Like many other games this week, this one is on Thursday due to Rosh Hashanah.
Recruiting news
Sierra Vista Buena LB DeAndre Little committed to UTEP.... Mesa Red Mountain senior swingman Paul Newendyke gave Grand Canyon University an oral commitment to play basketball. Newendyke, 6-3, averaged 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists last season... Red Mountain 6-4 senior center Kameron Knutson committed to San Diego for women's basketball. Knutson averaged 16 points, six blocks and 10 rebounds last season…. Scottsdale Saguaro DE Jordan McDonald took an official visit to Fresno St…. Top OLs Kody Innes (Saguaro) and Nick Rowland (Peoria Centennial) took an official visit to Washington.
Craig's cranium
The sky is surely falling at Mesa Mountain View this week. Following last week’s 42-7 loss to Class 5A-II powerhouse Scottsdale Chaparral, the always-rabid and sometimes-unreasonable Toro faithful are wondering how they reached this point.
Mountain View owns arguably the state’s best tradition for a big-class school, with eight state titles and a history of deep playoffs runs, even when the well seemed dry due to graduation the previous season. Up until last week, the thought of falling to a Scottsdale school would have drawn laughs at Brown and Lindsay roads. Ditto for falling to a team from a lower class other than Peoria Centennial.
In losing to the Firebirds, the Toros suffered their most humiliating defeat since a loss to Scottsdale Desert Mountain in Bernie Busken’s final season as coach (2000-2001) – a loss that precipitated a well-documented argument between Busken and an assistant coach.
So what gives? For starters, The Toros lost all of their starters from last year’s defense, which led the team to a 12-1 record and a 5A-I state semifinal berth. Coach Tom Joseph said the defense will start seven juniors and one sophomore this week at Tucson Sunnyside.
The Toros are also small, even smaller than usual for this bunch of perennial overachievers. That much was apparent when they lined up against the huge Firebirds. But what really surprised Joseph was the gap in speed.
"We have decent speed, but Chaparral – wow – they have really good speed," he said.
Want to know what else is different at Mountain View than most other powerhouse schools? The kids that live in the neighborhood are the kids that play on the team. You don’t see a lot of transfers. That’s always the way it’s been at Mountain View, and likely the way it will always stay. In this day and age, that may work against the Toros.
"We don’t have the athletic depth that we used to have," Joseph said. "But I still think we can be successful if we do things the right way, and I think there are greater lessons to be learned from that than winning. We still care about winning, but not when it comes at the expense of something else."
Can the Toros still succeed with an old-school mentality? Time will tell.
Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 17 years. He currently covers the Arizona Cardinals and other pro and college teams in Arizona for CBSSports.com. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at craig@thewordsmithonline.com.
