Oregon Ducks land Arizona blue-chip linemen Yruretagoyena and Johnstone

Three linemen have now committed to major programs; Joe Germaine takes job at Queen Creek; Corona del Sol coach placed on paid leave; Arizona football previews start next week.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Craig Morgan
By
Jul 22, 2010, 2:00pm
The Arizona Republic reported that two of the state’s top offensive linemen gave verbal commitments to attend Oregon. They are Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.) OT Andre Yruretagoyena (6-foot-5, 273 pounds) and Hamilton (Chandler) OT Tyler Johnstone (6-5, 265), who, along with Christian Westerman (Texas) gives Hamilton two offensive tackles who have committed to major colleges.

In more recruiting news…

Also from the Republic, Centennial (Peoria, Ariz.) DE/LB/RB Jebron Harrington has given Arizona State a commitment, but still must qualify academically…

Chaparral junior WR/CB Davonte' Neal (5-10, 175) received a scholarship offer from Louisiana State…

Mountain View (Mesa) TE/DE/LB Justin Newman (6-4, 200) is headed to Army next year…

Scott Hoffman, who led Desert Ridge (Mesa) to the 5A-I state baseball title, gave Arizona State a commitment.

Hoffman was 13-0 with a 1.80 earned-run average last season. He had 76 strikeouts in 66 innings and batted .485.
The Arizona daily Star reports that former Pueblo (Tucson) G/F Michael Perez was extended an offer by St. John's, a Big East school, while playing basketball for the Compton Magic during a tournament in Long Beach, Calif.

SOLLENBERGER TO KICK OFF SEASON
Only one month remains before the 2010 Arizona high school football season kicks off. The Fifth Annual Sollenberger Classic will take place Aug. 21 in Flagstaff between defending Class 5A Division I champ Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) and Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) at Northern Arizona University.
 
Over the next four weeks, MaxPreps will preview the upcoming season with a look at each class, from 5A down to 1A’s eight-man football. We’ll start with 5A next week, so stay tuned.
 
In the meantime, let’s catch up on some news and notes that piled up around the state while I was on vacation.
 
GERMAINE RETURNS
One of the Valley of the Sun’s most celebrated high school players has moved into the coaching ranks. Former Mountain View (Mesa) quarterback Joe Germaine, who led the Toros to the 5A state championship in 1993, has accepted the head coaching job at Queen Creek.
 
Germaine still holds a bit of infamy in Valley circles as well, after leading Ohio State on a last-minute, game-winning touchdown drive in the 1996 Rose Bowl to beat Arizona State and crush the Sun Devils’ national championship hopes.
 
Germaine, who played locally for the Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers, was also the quarterbacks coach at Chandler Basha from 2004-07.
 
CORONA COACH PLACED ON LEAVE
Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) football coach Zane Zamenski has been placed on paid leave while the Tempe Union High School District investigates allegations that he made inappropriate comments toward his players, a district spokeswoman told MaxPreps.

Linda Littell, director of communications for the district, said Zamenski has been "assigned to home" until the investigation is complete, which the district hopes to do by the end of the week.

The decisions stems from a letter that was sent to school and district officials, alleging Zamenski made repeated lewd references when speaking to Aztecs players. The anonymous letter stated it was written on behalf of 13 families of Corona players.

Zamenski was set to begin his first year as the Aztecs’ coach after Gary Venturo retired.

RULING COMING SOON
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe is expected to decide this week if he'll allow the lawsuit the families of three Chavez (Laveen, Ariz.) football players filed against the Arizona Interscholastic Association to go to trial.

The AIA wants the case dismissed. The lawsuit alleges that the AIA acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner when it placed Cesar Chavez's football team on probation in October for an alleged recruiting violation. Cesar Chavez was placed on probation for one year based on a report from the school and the Phoenix Union High School District about a North High player's statement that a Cesar Chavez coach tried to recruit him.

TOUGH TIMES FOR TOROS
Mountain View (Mesa, Ariz.) lost a vital piece of its team for the season when TE/DE Sam Kamp had surgery to repair a broken clavicle suffered in a passing league game in mid-June.

Kamp Has already committed to Oregon to play football and will not lose his scholarship. He was considered one of the top players for the Toros, Class 5A Division I quarterfinalists a year ago. Mountain View’s current senior class has not had as much success at the various levels of football as previous classes, leading to speculation this could be a down year for one of the state’s most stories programs.

Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 18 years. He currently serves as the Phoenix correspondent for CBSSports.com, covering the Arizona Cardinals and other local teams. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at craig@wordsmithonline.com.

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