Archive for October, 2009

    This week, Centennial displays its No. 4 national ranking (USA Today) as it takes on Westview HS in a game that will be televised on ESPNU, so that has to be considered the game for center stage.  But Westview is a long-shot to pull off an upset.
    So let's step back and take a look at a few games that may not have the significance - but should be more enjoyable for the fans in the stands.  We've skipped 5A competition altogether and dropped our focus down to a couple of 4A games and an important 3A contest.
    It's the small-school game, Tucson's Empire HS (9-0) taking on upset-minded Fountain Hills HS (7-2) that has perhaps the most significance, as this game is being played to determine who will sit atop the 3A South Region.  But it should also be a thrill a minute, with lots of points on the board. 
    Empire HS is a scoring machine, averaging 43 points a game and tallying more than 50 points in four games this season.  Junior quarterback Mito Mendivil, the coach's son, has been throwing 100 yards a game and senior running back Cody Woody adds 147 per game on the ground, with 21 touchdowns and over 1,300 yards total rushing so far.  When the defense keys on him, running mate Jake Korinko, another senior, gets better than 7 yards a carry.
    Mendivil's success in the air can be attributed in large part to his primary receivers, Bryan Jeffries (313 yards this season) and Noah Smith (265 yards).
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Most people realize they might not be the most elite athlete, but they also understand that they can be better and be a valuable contributor to their club or school team.  There is a point in time in your athletic career, and in most cases it happens fairly early in life, that you choose to be a competitive athlete.  You choose to give up your free time to practice, sometimes in uncomfortable conditions.  Once you have made the decision that competitive athletics is the path you wish to follow, you must take the responsibility to make that decision successful.
    Responsibility comes in many forms; the most basic is attending the team practice sessions for your sport.  Until someone creates a magical way of becoming an All-Star by hooking up to a USB port, you have to go out to the field or on the court and practice baseball, basketball, soccer, football, etc. in order to improve at the game. 
    To be better in practice you must be in condition to participate fully and concentrate on the lessons being taught.  Whether it's in school, at home, or on the field, if we are physically and mentally tired, we cannot improve.  
    One of the main goals in any military boot camp is to push soldiers to their mental and physical limits to see how they respond when under extreme stress, if they can function.  The most successful are always those that can physically handle all the tasks set before them, allowing them to mentally focus on achieving the goal.  The same is true in sports.  If your focus is not on gasping for air, rubbing sore and tired muscles or trying to figure out when the next water break will come, you can concentrate on the lessons being taught by the coach and you can improve your performance because of perfect practice.  To achieve the simple goal of attending practice, we must first take the responsibility to ensure our body is in condition to be at practice.
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    The 100 freestyle was the only individual event the Mountain View girls team did not capture at the HoHoKam Mesa City Swim Meet.  They also won all three relays, the diving competition, and the pentathlon.  That's how dominant the Toros were.
    Sarah Coleman from Westwood HS took first in the 100 freestyle (55.49), followed by Anna Froemming from Red Mountain HS (56.90) and Valerie Jaramillo from Mountain View (58.00).  Everything else belonged to the Toros as they finished first in the team competition with 726 points, completely blowing away the competition.  Red Mountain managed a second place with 417.5 points.
    Emily Christiansen won the 200 freestyle (1:59.65) and the 500 freestyle (5:14.99), Aubree Allen won the 200 intermediate (2:22.11) and the 100 backstroke (1:01.90), and Breeia Larson won the 50 freestyle (24.66) and the 100 breaststroke (1:04.45).  The Toros swept the 200 IM event, with Bailey Finkelstein finishing in second (2:22.95) and Sidney Draugnon taking third (2:32.34).
    Rachel Ray finished on top in the diving competition (334.90) and Kat Simonovic finished first in the pentathlon with a total time of 6:17.75.
    On the boys side, the Mountain View and Mesa HS split up the spoils, each with four first-place finishes in the individual events.  The Toros also won all three relays and the diving competition.  The result was a first-place finish for the Toros with 553.5 points, followed by Dobson HS (477) and Mesa HS (297).
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    Halloween appeared to have come a week early, when you consider the downright scary endings and heart-stopping plays during any number of Arizona high school football games this past week.
    The list starts with the weekend's marquee game between Hamilton HS, No. 1 ranked in 5A-I and unbeaten, and No. 2 Brophy Prep, a game that was decided by just three points.  The Broncos had to dig themselves out of a 21-0 hole at halftime to be able to tie the game at 21 with just over 10 minutes left to play.  It was a thrilling interception by Brophy's Alex Garoutte that he returned for a score to tie the game. 
    The clock wound down to the 3-minute mark before Hamilton's Yannick Mets split the uprights for a 40-yard field goal to give the Huskie's their 24-21 victory.  Max Leonesio had two scores for the Broncos and Hamilton QB Travis Dean accounted for two running scores.  The Huskie's junior defensive back, Mike Monroe, had two interceptions in the second half.
    Next up on the list had to be Chandler HS beating Desert Vista HS with two heart-stopping plays inside of the final two minutes of the game - the last with just two seconds left on the clock!  A pass from Desert Vista QB Cody Sokol to Ryne Rezac for 29 yards and a TD tied the game at 22 at the 1:38 mark (thrill #1).  But then Chandler QB Brett Hundley marched his Wolves down the field and found Michael Okonkwo in the end zone as the clock wound down (thrill #2) for a wild 29-22 victory.  Hundley was 15-of-28 for 149 yards passing and ran for another 145 yards, while the Wolves piled up 513 yards of total offense.
    Apache Junction HS and Corona del Sol HS provided even more excitement...
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    More and more Phoenix-area high school graduates are staying home and helping local college teams, competing in a wide variety sports and earning honors for their efforts.
    Adam Garcia has stepped in as a sophomore to fill the goal keeper spot for Phoenix College and has already earned conference-wide recognition for his play.  Garcia (pictured), who played at Westview HS, has been named the Keeper of the Week by the Arizona Community College Athletic Association, the second time this season he has earned the distinction. He had three shutouts for the week, including a game against Arizona Western when he stopped 10 shots on goal.
    Phillip Aholt, who played football at Cactus Shadows HS in Cave Creek, is playing now for Scottsdale Community College.  He set a school record with six touchdown passes in a 47-7 win over Phoenix College and was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Week.
    And at Grand Canyon University, junior Brittany Anderson from Estrella Foothills HS in Goodyear led the GCU golf team to a fourth-place finish at the Sonoma State Invitational at Santa Rosa Golf Club in California.  She placed 11th with a two-round total of 158 (78-80), 14 strokes over par.
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    Xavier Prep HS in Phoenix just drew a big circle around Oct. 21 on the school sports calendar.  That was the day the Gators golf team carded its 145th consecutive win to set a national high school girls record.
    And none too soon.  It was the last regular-season match that broke the record.  Now the Gators move on to attempt another repeat as 5A state champions.  It would be their 12th consecutive, which has to be an Arizona record as well.
    The previous national record of 144 straight matches ran from 1992 to 2004, set by a team from Green Valley HS in Nevada. Xavier began their record run in 1996.
    Xavier beat Salpointe Catholic (Tucson) to tie the record and then broke it with wins over Highland HS and North Canyon HS, playing on the course at the Camelback Golf Club in Scottsdale. It was Xavier (149), Highland (175) and North Canyon (193).
    Kaira Martin was medalist for the match, with a nine-hole total of 35, followed by teammate Daffodil Sanchez, who tied for second at 36 with Natalie Hare from North Canyon and Shelby Phillips from Highland HS. Xavier's Sarah Schmelzel shot a 37.
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    It was a great night of volleyball... two top-notch teams competing and a victory for a great cause as well.
    Desert Vista HS, ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps, and No. 9 Mountain PointeHS renewed their rivalry on the court and, at the same time, helped wage the attack on breast cancer.  Their Thursday match was themed "Dig Pink in Tukee" and is part of the Dig Pink national program to create awareness for breat cancer and raise funds for research.
    Last season, the first time the event was held in Ahwatukee between these teams, the evening raised $12,000 and this year the goal was announced to be $15,000.  More than 1,000 teams participate across the country in a program created by the Side-Out Foundation; Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe beat them all last year in amount raised.
    Just for the record, Desert Vista won the match, 3-1, in games of 25-23, 25-17, 20-25, and 25-23.  Betsi Metter had 16 kills to lead Desert Vista, while teammate Kyle Hartman logged 10 of her own.  Kelsey Brown was on top of the serving game with 3 aces; Brooke Huneycutt had 8 blocks and Hartman had 5; and Renae Sneigowski recorded 31 digs and Metter was right behind her with 29.
    October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and later, on Oct. 28, Corona del Sol HS and Perry HS will designate their match as a Dig Pink event.  More information is available at www.side-out.org.
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    Life is tough if you're playing football in either 3A or 5A competition this year. Unless you're still unbeaten, you don't have a lot of relevance.  There are still 16 teams in Arizona high school ball that remain undefeated; eight of those are in either 3A or 5A-II.
    In 3A, Empire HS (Tucson) is 8-0 and still can't get better than a fifth place ranking. Gimme a break!  Fountain Hills HS at 6-2 is ranked No. 4 and the lone exception to the unbeaten rule of thumb.  The top three are Blue Ridge HS (7-0), Estrella Foothills HS (8-0), and Wickenburg HS (8-0). 
    In 5A, Westview HS is ranked No. 4 and the only team with a loss (6-1).  Centennial HS is at the top (8-0), followed by Chaparral HS (7-0), Marcos de Niza HS (7-0), Westview, and Sunnyside HS in Tucson (7-0).
   Not much is likely to change this week.  Unless a major upset occurs, the better games are pretty much defined, with the Hamilton HS v. Brophy Prep match-up taking center stage. Hamilton is ranked No. 1 in 5A-I and Brophy No. 2. 
    Hamilton will ride its pair of senior running backs for every yard Brophy will yield.  Michael Allen comes into the game with 679 yards on 62 attempts, with eight TDs to his credit.  Zach Bauman is right behind, with 583 yards on 60 carries and 10 touchdowns.  The Bronocs will counter with Max Leonesio, a real workhorse who has carried for 126 rushes already and piled up 966 yards and 16 TDs, and QB Dallin Parker who threw for 239 yards last week in a tough 26-18 win over Mesa HS.
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    There was no lack of great story lines coming out of this year's 1A-3A swimming and diving championships... two brothers joining forces to help win a relay, a brother-sister act that earned titles in the same event, a couple of freshmen stepping up to win championships, and one competitor who came to the meet to be the lone representative for his school's boys' team - and left with two championships!
    Add to all that an assortment of state-meet records that were broken, due in part to the fact that this is only the third year since the small schools got their own state meet.
    Teams results found Valley Christian HS winning the girls competition with 423 points, followed by Phoenix Country Day School (316), Pusch Ridge HS (275), St. Gregory HS (196), and Desert Christian HS (144). On the boys side, first place went to Red Rock HS (Sedona) with 386 points, followed by Pusch Ridge HS (247.5), Desert Christian HS (202.5), Valley Christian HS (186), and Bourgade Catholic HS (133).
    The Valley Christian girls team is a repeat champion, as is the Red Rock boys team.  Valley Christian won the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 100 breaststroke, and 400 relay.  Quinn Robertson, a senior, led the charge for Valley Christian with wins in the 50 freestyle (24.67) and 100 freestyle (55.25).
    For the Red Rock boys team, it was scoring by Evan Decker that propelled the win, as he finished first in the 200 intermediate (2:03.67) and the 100 freestyle (49.58).
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We're coming to that time in the Arizona high school football season that brings with it 'must-win' games and much-anticipated upsets, when the teams that have been continually improving sneak up on those that are resting on their past accomplishments.
    We see Gilbert High School at 2-1 in region play, holding on for last-second wins in recent games, now meeting up with cross-town rival Mesquite HS, which is looking for it's third consecutive victory... Skyline HS clinging to slim promise of post-season play and needing a win over Westwood HS, a No. 10 ranked team in 5A-I... McClintock HS facing Apache Junction HS in 4A-I play, needing a win over the prospectors before having to take on No. 2 Cactus Shadows and No. 4 Saquaro HS... Tempe Prep in 2A ball trying to snap a two-game losing streak... and the list goes on and on.
    So who ya gonna watch?  Here are some games to consider in each of the 5A and 4A divisions...
    In 5A-I: Chandler HS is expected to have its top rusher from last year back in cleats this week, as senior running back Taylor Walstad hopes to be recovered sufficiently from a knee injury to be able to contribute yardage that will be needed in this Fiesta Region match-up with Red Mountain HS.  With Walstad out of the line-up for the past five games, Chandler sports a mediocre 3-3, 1-2 record, but that isn't indicative of the strength of the Wolves.  QB Brett Hundley has already run up over 1,000 yards of offense in a balanced run/pass offense, spreading the passing among three top-flight receivers in Malcolm Holland, Jeremy Morris, and Michael Jordan.
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