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PHXFan is the leading sports blog for Arizona High School and College sports. It is the next generation of SportZine Magazine, which hit high school campuses throughout the Valley in 2003. More About PHXFan...
Arizona Sports (AZCentral)
High School Archive
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Peoria Invite title boosts Desert Vista’s wrestling status
A tournament title is always a significant accomplishment for any high school wrestling program – especially when that event is the Peoria Invitational, which is an established competition that draws some of the best teams in the state. But when Desert Vista High School won this year’s invitational, it had to be particularly sweet for [...] -
Season is slipping away from NAU women’s basketball
Laurie Kelly is still searching for answers. The head coach for the women’s basketball team at Northern Arizona University has been on a four-year search for the winning formula she used when she arrived at the Flagstaff school eight years ago. That system brought back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2006 and 2007. But the Lumberjacks haven’t [...] -
Saguaro HS makes tough call, fires football coach Sanders
John Sanders, it turns out, wasn’t bullet-proof. Some high school coaches become so successful, they begin to think they’re bullet-proof, that they can do pretty much what they want without worrying about repercussions. Sanders, the head football coach at Scottsdale’s Saguaro High School, decided to test that theory in the final regular game of the [...] -
Tucson high school pitchers keeping UA softball on top
When Mike Candrea put Stacy Iveson on his coaching staff in July, he added some great talent and experience to the University of Arizona softball program. But a significant added-value benefit became obvious when Estela Pinon signed her letter of intent to play for the Wildcats. The young pitcher led her Yavapai College team to [...] -
Interim coach Anders has ASU women’s hoops at 10-2
A head coach knows she’s hired the right assistants when she can step away for a season and the program doesn’t skip a beat. Charli Turner Thorne did just that last May, announcing that she would be taking a year-long leave of absence and turning the women’ basketball team over to Joe Anders for the [...] -
Brophy wins AZ Soccer Showcase to kick off nat’l tourney
Building a high school sports event that can be called a ‘national’ tournament takes time. But you have to begin somewhere. That’s what the Phoenix Regional Sports Commission did last week as it kicked off the inaugural Arizona Soccer Showcase. A sprinkling of out-of-state entries gave it a little of that national flavor. Five of [...] -
Semper Fidelis Bowl to showcase AZ prep football talent
High scho0l football players from across the country begin arriving in Phoenix this week to begin preparations for a new bowl game that will be televised to homes across the country. And Arizona will enjoy the lion’s share of attention. First is the venue. The inaugural Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl will be held Jan. 3 [...] -
VisitMesa.com hoops event draws top prep teams from AZ
The gyms are starting to fill up out in Mesa, as 11 high school basketball teams from around Arizona begin testing their mettle against teams they wouldn’t meet anywhere else. It’s time again for the VisitMesa.com Basketball Challenge, which has grown over the past four years into one of the best holiday prep events in [...] -
St. Mary’s HS stakes a claim to No. 1 by winning Nike TOC
How does a girls’ high school basketball team earn the right to be considered the best in the nation? It involves a lot of factors, but one thing needs to be included in the qualifications. That team has to win the Joe Smith Division of the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions that draws the nation’s [...] -
Running up the score in HS hoops – here’s how to avoid it
We can’t seem to get through a high school basketball season without at least a few teams throwing sportsmanship to one side by running up the score on some hapless opponent who can’t defend itself. It happens all across the country, and Arizona basketball is no exception. How about a score of 100-12? That would [...]
