Articles

Desert Ridge claims first semifinal berth, defeats Gilbert
The battle of double-digit seeds in the 5A-I state football playoffs belonged to the team on a major roll -- the Desert Ridge Jaguars. Quarterback Jordan Becerra ran for three touchdowns and passsed for another and backfield mate Joey Counts added a pair touchdowns as the 10th-seeded Jaguars knocked off sister school and No. 15 seed Gilbert High, 49-22, in a quarterfinal game at Desert Ridge.
Football Les Willsey November 19, 2010

3A semifinals give Florence, Snowflake chance for redemption
Are Blue Ridge and Show Low destined for a rematch in the 3A football title game? Or can either Florence or Snowflake pre-empt that program? The answer comes Saturday afternoon and evening when the 3A semifinals commence at Paradise Valley High School. The doubleheader kicks off at 4 p.m. with Florence meeting Blue Ridge followed at 7 by Show Low and Snowflake.
Football Les Willsey November 19, 2010

Desert Ridge runs for 462 yards, stuns Chandler in 1st round
With a shift in emphasis to the running game late this season due to an injury to quarterback Parker Rasmussen, Desert Ridge ran headlong into Chandler High in the first round of the 5A-I playoffs Friday night and ended up running all the way to the second round. The Jaguars spread-run offense cranked out 462 yards rushing and the defense made a goal-line stand in the final 40 seconds to preserve a 38-35 upset win over the host Wolves.
Stories Les Willsey November 12, 2010

5A-II football playoffs serve up hefty helping of rematches
The 5A-II state football playoffs are similar to 5A-I in that there is a prohibitive favorite in defending champion and top-seed Chaparral. Beyond that the 5A-II opening-round games do not look anything like their 5A-I counterparts. The matchups ffigure to run like clockwork according to the seeds with perhaps the usual exceptions in a 9-8 or 10-7 matchup. And rather than one rematch of a regular-season meeting, there are four of eight in the initial battles for 2010 5A-II supremacy.
Football / Cross Country Les Willsey November 11, 2010

5A-I football offers intrigue with first-round matchups
The 5A-I state football playoffs offers some suspense in the early going. Perhaps more so than in recent years so fans should rejoice in that aspect. Hamilton (5A-I) is the prohibitive favorite to be sure with an unbeaten record and defending state-champion status. And it is a bit of an odd year when Mesa Mountain View and Brophy are double-digit rather than single-digit seeds and qualify with .500 records.
Football / Cross Country Les Willsey November 11, 2010