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Teams chasing Sunnyside, Sabino, Salpointe again
MICHAEL
CACCAMISE
Tucson Citizen
The 2003 winners of the three big high school football
regions in southern Arizona all stand a good chance to repeat.
Sabino was the Class 4A Kino champ and Sunnyside the
Sonoran Region champ last season, while Salpointe Catholic narrowly took
home the 5A Southern championship.
Sunnyside isn't just expected to win the Sonoran
again, but also to defend the 4A state championship it won in December.
Sabino, meanwhile, sits in the Kino Region, often dubbed as the toughest 4A region in the state.
"We'll have to wait and see how it plays," said Sabino
coach Jay Campos, in his second year in charge of the Sabercats."
Salpointe won its region in its last regular season
game last season, a 37-21 defeat of previously unbeaten Mountain View.
The Mountain Lions, 10-2 last year, should be the team
to challenge Salpointe and its back-to-back region championships.
"We don't mention last year. We just mention this
year," Mountain View head coach Wayne Jones said. "We'll be
competitive."
Ironwood Ridge and Cienega, meanwhile, are two
upstarts who qualified for state last year in just their schools' second
years with a varsity squad.
Both lost some quality players, but will have their
first class of seniors who have been at the school all four years.
Santa Rita, the other local team to qualify for state
last year, lost several key players but also will challenge.
"We have the kids to have a good team, but it all
depends if they mature together," Santa Rita coach Louis Nightingale
said.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
Based on coaches and Citizen staff polls
Class 5A South
1. Salpointe Catholic
2. Mountain View
3. Canyon del Oro
4. Tucson High
5. Sahuaro
6. Flowing Wells
7. Sierra Vista Buena
Class 4A Kino
1. Sabino
2. Cienega
3. Catalina Foothills
4. Amphi
5. Pueblo
6. Palo Verde
7. Desert View
8. Douglas
Class 4A Sonoran
1. Sunnyside
2. Ironwood Ridge
3. Santa Rita
4. Cholla
5. Nogales
6. Catalina
7. Rincon/University
8. Marana |
