5A Preseason Preview
Region (5A1 or 2) in predicted order of finish
Central- Mesa Mt. View (1), Corona del Sol (1), Basha (1), Gilbert (1), Highland (1), Mesquite (1), Dobson (1)
Notes… A very tough region from top to bottom as five teams made the playoffs last year. Mt. View, Corona and Basha come back loaded on both sides of the ball and all three could make a run for the region title. Don’t sleep on Gilbert with the return of Brandon Bialkowski and Jesse Brantley.
Expect Mt. View to be typical Mt. View. They return one of the state’s top rushers in Jacom Brimhall and Brad Heap has one of the strongest arms in recent Toro history. This is one Corona’s most talented teams and rumor is that Venturo will retire after this year. Chase Cartwright will start for the 3rd straight year and expect Michael Lange to grind it out on the ground behind a very talented offensive line. Kyle Homewood, J.P. Dyament and Todd Peat will lead that group. Peat and Kyle Benson anchor their D. Highland takes heavy losses to graduation but always plays solid football. One of the state’s top backs, Bobby Calvin, teased the Basha coaches by transferring in and out this Spring but the Bears will be fine with Michael Benjamin under center. Mesquite struggled to a 2-8 record last year and may lack the star power of the top teams in this region. Dobson will take the field with new head coach Alex Jacobson.
Top Players: Mike Aikens OT Mt. View, Brad Heap QB Mt. View, Jacom Brimhall RB Mt. View, Matt Gulbrandsen K Mt. View, Chase Cartwright QB Corona, Kyle Benson LB Corona, Michael Lange RB Corona, Todd Peat OL/DL Corona, Michael Benjamin QB Basha, Richard Parker S Basha, Jared Jones LB Basha, Jesse Gardner OL Basha, Dejon Walker WR Basha, Brandon Bialkowski QB Gilbert, Jesse Brantley WR Gilbert, Chip Sarafin OL Highland, C.J. Randall DE Mesquite, R.J. Rickert TE Mesquite, Terrance Martin RB Dobson. Kristian Cheek DL Dobson
Player of the Year- Jacom Brimhall – RB Mt. View
Desert Valley- Chaparral (2), North Canyon (1), St. Marys (1), Desert Mountain (2), Pinnacle (2), Horizon (2)
Notes… Desert Mt. and St. Mary’s are the only holdovers from last year’s Desert Valley Region. Chaparral moves up from 4A1 and North Canyon moves in after dominating the Metro for two years. Chaparral takes their losses off of last year’s 4a1 runners up but still has plenty of talent led by RB Dwayne Garrett. Garrett rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and has several D1 offers. His blockers will be inexperienced but talented. Finding a replacement for Spencer Stone will be key. Dominic Portacerrero enters his third season as North Canyon’s starter at QB and is just a junior. The Rattlers lose a ton of players but Coach Cole was happy with his team’s Spring Ball turnout. The two enigmas in this region are St. Mary’s and Desert Mountain. Both have been down in recent years but have the talent to field very good squads. The Knights are loaded with young talent while DM head coach Tony Tabor has to like what he has in his senior class. Pinnacle squeaked into the playoffs last year at 5-6 and must replace two 1AA players. The state’s top sack leader, Andrew Hurley, will move to LB. Horizon went just 1-9 last year and rides a 6 games losing streak into 2009.
Top Players: Dwayne Garrett RB Chaparral, Jacob Ehm OT Chaparral, Chris Fox LB Chaparral, Andrew Gustafson OT Chaparral, Brendan Murphy CB Chaparral, Danny Trittler WR Chaparral, Chase Gorham LS Chaparral, Dominic Portacerrero QB North Canyon, Antwuon Sanders DT North Canyon, Tavon Dodson RB North Canyon, Josh Fulton TE/DE St. Mary’s, R.J. McGill RB/CB St. Mary’s, Orange Mooney RB St. Mary’s, Laron Tarkington S St. Mary’s, Tyeler Davison OT/DT Desert Mountain, Charles Andrews TE/DL Desert Mountain, Dekota D’Angelo WR Desert Mountain, Alex Cappellini QB Pinnacle, Andrew Hurley LB Pinnacle, Ryan Stanford QB Horizon, Shem Casey WR Horizon
Player of the Year- Dwayne Garrett – RB Chaparral
Desert West- Centennial (2), Westview (2), Chavez (1), Millennium (2), Tolleson (2), Ironwood (2), La Joya (2)
Notes… An already tough region got tougher with the additions of Chavez and Millennium. Centennial and Westview have played for the last two region and state titles and I don’t see that changing. Both return a ton of talent. The Coyotes are absolutely loaded offensively with the return of most of their o-line, RB, QB and WRs. They take losses along the d-line but have one of the state’s top LB corps. The Knights return one of the state’s top players in Jourdan Grandon and may move out of their grind it out wing-t offense at times to take advantage of Grandon’s athleticism. Eric Ramsey will be the leader of the defense. Rattay has turned the Chavez program around; they are as fast as anyone is the state, skill-wise. Will they have the horses up front to push the big two in this region? One of the more consistent programs on the Westside, Millennium, moves up to the 5A ranks and has the state’s top recruit in Marquis Flowers. QB Mike Massey is a threat on the ground as well as in the air. Tolleson has the talent to give anyone in this region a scare. The Wolverines have a sound senior class and one of their better junior classes in recent memory. Depth may be a concern. As may be the case at Ironwood. They always have a player or two but have played very inconsistent over the years. RB Darrin Spencer and DL Phillip DelaTorre are the stars of this team. La Joya made progress last year, making the playoffs but lose their best player in Jeremiah Cornist and just hired a new coach super late. D.J. Hubbard is their go-to guy.
Top Players: Dain McFarland QB Centennial, Anthony Hughes RB Centennial, Nick Rowland OL Centenial, Dylan Lusk OL Centennial, Junior Nieves OL Centennial, Austin Arias LB Centennial, Austin Garday LB Centennial, Kyle Coffey CB Centennial, Matt Baugh WR Centennial, Jourdan Grandon QB Westview, Brennan Bowen OL Westview, Eric Ramsey LB Westview, Nate McOwen WR Westview, Davonte Neal WR Chavez, Adam Dixon CB Chavez, Mike Massey QB Millennium, Marquis Flowers S Millennium, Seth Galliard OL Millenium, Andrew Erwin LB Millennium, Patrick Browne RB Tolleson, Daniel Limon OL Tolleson, Jalen Roebuck LB Tolleson, Darrin Spencer RB Ironwood, Phillip DelaTorre DL Ironwood, D.J. Hubbard RB La Joya
Player of the Year- Jourdan Grandon – QB/CB Westview
East Valley- Marcos de Niza (2), Desert Ridge (1), Mt. Pointe (1), Skyline (1), Westwood (1), Casa Grande (1), Perry (2)
Notes… Westwood is the only holdover from the East Valley Region of old.
Top Players: Ramon Abreu LB/RB Marcos, Justin Rodriguez WR Marcos, Zach Schira QB Marcos, Tevin Newell WR Marcos, Billy Rone OT Marcos, Sam Papa LB Desert Ridge, Paris Clark WR Desert Ridge, Kevin Pantastico QB Desert Ridge, Juan Baron OL Desert Ridge, Jared Weaverstad OL Desert Ridge, Ben DeMarr TE Mt. Pointe, Joey Leal LB Mt. Pointe, Alex Lewis OL Mt. Pointe, De’Andre Currie RB Mt. Pointe, Chris Brown DT Skyline, Justin Addie OL Skyline, John Holtz OL Westwood, Junior Elliott RB Casa Grande, Mo Latu DT Perry
Player of the Year- Ramon Abreu – RB/LB Marcos de Niza
Fiesta- Hamilton (1), Brophy (1), Chandler (1), Red Mountain (1), Mesa (1), Desert Vista (1)
Notes… From top to bottom, this may be the best region in the state. All of these teams were playoff teams last year. Hamilton is still the champ until dethroned and they have the tools to make a run at a repeat. Brophy returns a big offensive line to block for 2,000 yard rusher Max Leonesio. The biggest key will be filling in for their losses on defense. Gone are three D1 DLs and all of the starters from a very good LB corp. Chandler lost a wealth of talent and speed. It is impossible to replace the likes of Markus Wheaton and Bryce Lamb but the cupboard is not bare. ASU commit Taylor Walstad should get the bulk of the carries and it appears they have a QB battle between Kyle Yount and Brett Hundley. Red Mountain will have a ton of seniors but their top player is RB Derek Molina. Molina rushed for well over 1,000 yards last year. Mesa is my surprise team in the state. I think they have a ton of senior talent, yet no one is talking about the Jackrabbits. Kyler Frackell is a jack-of-all-trades and a D1 prospect. It feels funny picking Desert Vista last in this region but like I said, this region is so deep; anyone has a chance to earn a playoff spot. Anders Battle is the last of the Battle clan and is a D1 prospect, already holding offers from NAU and Air Force. Cody Sokol returns at QB.
Top Players: Zach Bauman RB Hamilton, Christian Westerman OT Hamilton, Tevin Hood DT Hamilton, Devon Carrington S Hamilton, Max Leonesio RB Brophy, A.J. Steimel TE Brophy, Alex Garoutte K/S Brophy, Hank Jenkins OL Brophy, Taylor Walstad RB Chandler, Michael Jordan TE Chandler, Kyle Yount QB Chandler, Brett Hundley QB Chandler, William Poehls OT Chandler, Jeremy Morris CB Chandler, Derek Molina RB Red Mountain, Craig Frum LB Red Mountain, Kyler Frackrell QB/S Mesa, Kolter Anderson TE/DL Mesa, Ely Lozano DB Mesa, Anders Battle CB Desert Vista, Cody Sokol QB Desert Vista, Mike Flaster DL Desert Vista
Player of the Year- Max Leonesio – RB Brophy
Gila Valley- Lake Havasu (2), Kofa (1), Yuma (2), Cibola (2), San Luis (1), Gila Ridge (2)
Notes… This region adds Lake Havasu as they move up from 4A1 and add Gila Ridge in their first full varsity season. Kofa ran through the region last year, going undefeated in region play but I expect Havasu to contend even with the loss of star RB Brent Michaels. Gila Ridge didn’t hire a coach until late which doesn’t look good for this young team.
Top Players: Jesse Ray OL Havasu, Jordan Lake DL Havasu, Timmy Lee RB Kofa, Lucky Castaneda DL/TE Kofa, David Ricci DL Kofa, Trevor Montgomery LB Kofa, J.C Baker RB Yuma, Donte Jackson QB Yuma, Roy Thompson RB Cibola, Robin Aceved OL Cibola, Adrian Lugo LB Cibola, Hugo Becerra RB San Luis
Player of the Year- J.C. Baker – RB Yuma
Metro- South Mountain (2), Trevor Browne (1), North (1), Fairfax (2), Camelback (2), Maryvale (1), Central (2), Alhambra (1), Carl Hayden (2)
Notes… This year’s Metro is basically a combination of the 5A1 and 2 Metro from last year, minus North Canyon and Chavez (which were arguably the two top teams) and adding Fairfax in their first year of full varsity play. Of the remaining teams, only North and South had winning seasons in 2008. So to say this region is up for grabs is an understatement. Depth is going to be key for every team in this region. Can Carl Hayden break their losing streak? Fairfax fields a quality staff with former head coaches Roger Britson, Vito Maynes and Dylan Weinmiller on staff as assistants to Kevin Belcher.
Top Players: Juan Silva QB South Mountain, John Jones RB South, Sam Kulitea LB South, Patrick Ward OL South, Darrion Murphy RB Trevor Browne, Jesus Guzman DL Trevor Browne, Reggie Gilbert DL Fairfax, Sunia Pupoa DL Fairfax, Frankie Garcia RB Camelback, Devante Stokes DB Maryvale, Edwin Garcia DL Maryvale, Dallas Nichols LB Central, Jaleel Tenner RB Central, Jose Castanon LB Alhambra, Francisco Bustillos DL Carl Hayden, Emmanuel Caddy DL Carl Hayden
Player of the Year- Darrion Murphy – RB Trevor Browne
Northwest- Valley Vista (2), Mt. Ridge (1), Willow Canyon (2), Boulder Creek (2), Deer Valley (2), O’Connor (2), Goldwater (2), Kingman (2)
Notes… To be honest, every team in this region is rebuilding and it is completely up for grabs. Valley Vista probably has the most speed and performed very well in all competitions this summer. RB Charles James makes people look silly. Mt. Ridge is the lone 5A1 team so they have an advantage in numbers alone. Willow Canyon has been absolutely huge and that hasn’t changed. Devin Dashnaw is a man-child at 6-6 300+. Boulder Creek lost most of their offensive production with the graduation of Taylor Davis and Dashawn Briggs. RBs Phillip Bayus and Mike Contreras will be their go-to guys. Deer Valley has been solid over the years and should be competitive in ’09. Kingman and O’Connor both bring in new head coaches in Rob York and John Rodriguez. York was at a huge disadvantage, having taken over after Spring ball. Goldwater head man Ed Cook had to be elated when stud RB Bobby Calvin transferred back.
Top Players: Charles James RB Valley Vista, Kyle Lillie OL Valley Vista, Dan Tipton OL Valley Vista, Tirrel Turner DB Valley Vista, Calvin Martin WR Mt. Ridge, Cougar Beubein QB Mt. Ridge, Devin Dashnaw OL Willow Canyon, Garrick Shelton RB Willow Canyon, Mario Lugo OL Boulder Creek, Sean Fugate DL Boulder Creek, Mike Contreras RB Boulder Creek, Phillip Bayus RB Boulder Creek, Tristan Draper DB Boulder Creek, Zack Brown TE Boulder Creek, Jacob Doyle WR Deer Valley, Derek Stevens DL Deer Valley, Travis Seefeldt OL Deer Valley, Bobby Calvin RB Goldwater, Cody Lambson LB Goldwater, Matt Perez DB Goldwater, Andrew Link OL Kingman, Kyle Lombardi DL Kingman
Player of the Year- Charles James – RB Valley Vista
Southern- Salpointe (1), Sunnyside (2), Ironwood Ridge (2), Marana Mt. View (2), Tucson (1), Rincon (2), Buena (1)
Notes… Just because Salpointe is suspended from the playoffs this year doesn’t mean that Coach Bene won’t have the Lancers playing hard. They have been one of Tucson’s top 5A team over the past few years and that will continue if they can find replacements for QB Trevor Eggleston and RB Christian Ramirez. I like to call Sunnyside the Mesa Mt. View of Southern AZ. They reload every year, win with undersized players and out play most of their opponents. The Blue Devils look strong on both sides of the line. Ironwood Ridge not only loses a great senior class but their head coach. New head man Matt Johnson has his work cut out for him but is capable as evidenced by the job he did at Rincon a few years ago. Marana Mt. View was down last year, going just 4-7. Big RB Myles Williams will be asked to carry the load. Tucson High surprised some folks last year with a 5-6 record. Can they repeat? They have a pretty brutal early schedule, hosting Desert Vista at home then traveling to CDO and Westwood. Both Rincon and Buena finished 2-8 last year.
Top Players: Sean Craig TE Salpointe, Josh Sene DL Salpointe, Chase Gallagher S Salpointe, Bobby Way RB Salpointe, Zach Neveleff LB Salpointe, Jacob Arzouman OL Salpointe, Marty Calles WR Sunnyside, Adam Torralba DL Sunnyside, Tommy Clardy LB Sunnyside, Adrian Brahler RB/DB Ironwood Ridge, Alex Banales DL Ironwood Ridge, Tyler Damore QB Ironwood Ridge, Myles William RB Mt. View, Grant Radcliffe DB Mt. View, Ben Cannon OL Tucson, William Mills LB Tucson, Angel Gomez LB Tucson, Emilio Pedraza RB Rincon, DeAndre Little LB Buena, Ryan Witt WR Buena
Player of the Year- Sean Craig – TE Salpointe
5A1 Rankings
1. Hamilton
2. Mt. View
3. Corona del Sol
4. Brophy
5. Chandler
6. Basha
7. Salpointe
8. Gilbert
9. Red Mountain
10. North Canyon
5A1 All State
QB- Chase Cartwright - Corona
RB- Jacom Brimhall – Mt. View, Max Leonesio - Brophy
WR- Jesse Brantley - Gilbert, Paris Clark (JR) – Desert Ridge
TE- Sean Craig - Salpointe
OL- Christian Westerman (JR) - Hamilton, William Poehls - Chandler, Jesse Gardner – Basha, Hank Jenkins – Brophy, Mike Aikens – Mt. View
DL- Josh Fulton – St. Mary’s, Tevin Hood - Hamilton, C.J. Randall - Mesquite, Chris Brown - Skyline
LB- Jared Jones - Basha, Kyle Benson - Corona, DeAndre Little - Buena
DB- Devon Carrington - Hamilton, Jeremy Morris - Chandler, Kyler Frackrell - Mesa, Adam Dixon - Chavez
K- Matt Gulbrandsen – Mt. View
P- Michael Benjamin - Basha
All Purpose- Davonte Neal (SO) – WR/S- Chavez
Return- Derek Molina – Red Mountain
5A2 Rankings
1. Centennial
2. Marcos de Niza
3. Westview
4. Chaparral
5. Sunnyside
6. Millennium
7. Desert Mountain
8. Pinnacle
9. Ironwood Ridge
10. Valley Vista
5A2 All State
QB- Dain McFarland - Centennial
RB- Dwayne Garrett - Chaparral, Bobby Calvin - Goldwater
WR- Danny Trittler - Chaparral, Justin Rodriguez - Marcos
TE- Eric Ramsey - Westview
OL- Nick Rowland - Centennial, Dylan Lusk - Centennial, Brennan Bowen (JR) - Westview, Billy Rone - Marcos, Jacob Ehm - Chaparral
DL- Tyeler Davison – Desert Mountain, Mo Latu (JR) - Perry, Andrew Hurley - Pinnacle, Phillip DelaTorre - Ironwood
LB- Austin Arias - Centennial, Austin Garday - Centennial, Ramon Abreu - Marcos,
DB- Jourdan Grandon - Westview, Marquis Flowers - Millennium, Kyle Coffey - Centennial, Brendan Murphy - Chaparral
K- Diego Hildago – Boulder Creek
P- Victor McBride - Chaparral
All Purpose- Anthony Hughes – RB/DB - Centennial
Return- Charles James – Valley Vista