It was a decade of growth and change in Arizona high school athletics. Spurred by the state’s unbridled population boom, the number of schools on the prep landscape nearly doubled, stiffening the competition and altering the traditional power structure.
While upstarts like Chandler Hamilton raised the state’s national profile by playing national powers from Ohio and Florida, old guard coaches said goodbye after long and storied careers, and a new wave of talented players such as Phoenix St. Mary’s Jerryd Bayless, Phoenix Mountain Pointe’s Nicole Powell, Hamilton’s Terrell Suggs, Mesa Mountain View’s Todd Heap and St. Mary’s Andre Ethier took their games to the highest level.
As we close out the decade for which there is still no name, MaxPreps takes a look back at the biggest stories from 2000-2009 (next week, we’ll look at the top 10 athletes of the decade). If we missed one, don’t fret. Just send us an e-mail at the address below and, if it’s worthy, we’ll make note of it in next week’s column.
Travis Dean, Hamilton
File photo by James Conrad
The Top 10 stories of the decade
1. Chandler Hamilton is top dog: Critics contended the Huskies reached the 5A-I football summit through illegal recruiting in the early years of the program, a district that allows rampant transfers between schools and a host of off-campus activities that promote the school in unseemly fashion. Others believe top-notch facilities, talent and a commitment to excellence were the keys. Whatever the reasons, when the Huskies won their fifth 5A or 5A-I title of the decade this month, they cemented their status as the state’s premier program.
2. The transfer issue, open enrollment and recruiting: No matter which side of the issue you took, open enrollment, rampant transfers and accusations of recruiting were the hottest and most contentious topic in Arizona high school sports over the past decade. With the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) strapped for cash and bodies, the policing of these issues is left to the schools. There is plenty of integrity and honor at Arizona’s high schools, and most play by the rules. But human nature dictates the flip side, and that is a sad but true reality of a culture where winning is paramount in the eyes of some parents, players, coaches and administrators.
3. Three-peats, three-peats, three-peats: Scottsdale Saguaro’s three-peat as Class 4A-I state football champs from 2006-2008 was punctuated by an epic, Tim Ruben-led drive for the winning field goal against 2009 champ Tucson Canyon Del Oro. Peoria Centennial turned the trick in the same years at the 5A-II level before falling in the 2009 semifinals to Tempe Marcos de Niza. Mesa Mountain View did it in 5A-I boys basketball from 2005-07, and none of the title games were even close. Other notable three-peats: In 4A-I baseball, Scottsdale Chaparral from ‘03-‘05; in 1A baseball, St David from ‘00-‘02; in 4A-I boys hoops, Glendale Apollo from ‘05-‘07; in 3A boys hoops, Fountain Hills from ‘05-’07; in 4A-I girls hoops, Phoenix Washington from ’06-’08; in 3A girls hoops, Tuba City from ’00-’02; in 2A girls hoops, Tucson Pusch Ridge from ’05-’08 and Thatcher from ’01-’04 (both four-peats); in girls volleyball, Phoenix Xavier from ’07-’09 and in 1A girls volleyball, Joseph City from ’00-’02.
4. More for Moro: Four years without a title is not long for most football programs. To Lakeside Blue Ridge, it’s an eternity. The Yellow Jackets made sure a second straight group of kids didn’t make it through their high school careers without a title when Blue Ridge won its 13th overall state title with a 41-21 victory over Show Low in the 3A championship. The victory gave coach Paul Moro his 11th 3A title (four this decade) – and there are no plans for retirement any time soon.
5. Football legends say goodbye … except one: Jesse Parker (Phoenix Camelback, Mesa Mountain View, Gilbert), Karl Kiefer (Tempe McClintock, Phoenix Mountain Pointe), Pat Farrell (Phoenix St. Mary’s), Jim Jones (Mesa Red Mountain) and Gary Venturo (Tempe Corona del Sol) won 14 state titles and more than 1,000 games at the helms of their respective programs. One-by-one, they all left the head coaching ranks this decade for various reasons. Kiefer retired as the winningest coach in Arizona history and now sits at No. 3. Parker sits at No. 2 and would desperately love to be a head coach again, but feels he is unlikely to land a job at his age (70). Farrell is still active at St. Mary’s, while Jones and Venturo called it quits this year. The one still going? Tucson Amphitheater’s Vern Friedli, who at 72 is now the state’s winningest coach with 317 victories and no plans for retirement.
6. Bernie Busken and the fall of mighty Mesa Mountain View: The three-time state champion coach’s forced resignation for verbal and alleged physical abuse of players in 2002, precipitated the downfall of Class 5A’s most decorated football program. Mountain View won its eighth state title the season after Busken left, then lost an epic, three-OT, changing-of-the-guard game to Hamilton the following year. The Toros have not won a title since and they don’t appear close to recapturing their glory days.
7. The Division I and Division II split in the 5A and 4A conferences: Massive growth, a cry for even playing fields and the desire to give more kids a chance to compete for state titles prompted the split. Critics contended the split watered down the playoff fields, with more than half of each division making the postseason in the first block of the change. There are still cries to create separate 4A, 5A and 6A conferences to give each conference more weight, but the support has weakened, and as Arizona continues to grow and add new schools, each division will add enough teams to mute the argument entirely.
8. Wrestling team championships and Mesa High's three-peat: After years of lobbying by coaches, the AIA instituted separate team championships (dual-meet formats) instead of deciding the team champ off the same meet that crowned individual champs. Mesa High promptly won three straight titles from 2006-2008 and finished as the runner-up in 2009, losing to Tempe Corona del Sol by a single point.
9. The advent of the power rankings system: Coaches had complained for years that unworthy teams were making the playoff field because each region, no matter how weak, was awarded essentially the same amount of representatives. While the new system has done a much better job of pitting the best teams against each other, especially in the later rounds, some contend the recently-abandoned CalPreps power points system was better. Critics also argue that the new system does not allow coaches to fully evaluate their talent and give kids at the end of the bench more time to develop. When every game is so meaningful, you can’t afford those luxuries, so some kids suffer.
10. Gator bait: Phoenix Xavier’s dominance in girls athletics is nothing new. Since 2000, Xavier has added 35 team titles to its trophy case. But when the Gators capped the decade and the 2009 fall season by winning titles in every sport in which they entered a team (volleyball, golf, swimming, cross country and badminton), the state’s collective jaw dropped a little lower.
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 serves as the Phoenix correspondent for CBSSports.com, covering the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns and other pro and college teams in Arizona. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at craig@thewordsmithonline.com.
