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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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Chaparral HS elevates Dave Huffine to head FB coach
When a school strings together three consecutive state championships, it becomes synonymous with that sport. Chaparral and football. Football and Chaparral. And any major change in leadership is generally considered big news in the world of prep sports. Such is the case with Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, which will have a new head football [...] -
Lots of good hoopin’ at MLK Classic, but little suspense
Arizona State’s Wells Fargo Arena was supposed to be center stage for the top high school basketball talent participating in this year’s MLK Classic. But, if you were looking for exciting finishes off buzzer-beating shots, the Tempe gym probably wasn’t the best place to be. The average margin of victory for the six boys’ and [...] -
Finally…Ironwood Ridge HS wins Flowing Wells Invite
The Ironwood Ridge High School wrestlers did more than win the Flowing Wells Invitational Saturday in Tucson. They exorcised the ghost of last year. Sunnyside High School dominated last year’s Flowing Wells tournament, considered the top prep tournament in the state, and blew away the Ridge, which settled for a very distant runner-up spot. Tucson’s [...] -
St. Mary’s girls headline top field in MLK hoops tourneys
The Martin Luther King holiday has, at least in Arizona, become synonymous with high school basketball since the school holiday is filled with great tournaments across the state. This year’s MLK Basketball Classic features high school games at three different sites on Monday and a junior college event tomorrow at Mesa Community College. Arizona State [...] -
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 [...] -
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 [...]
