Southern-II Region: Nighthawks have a shot at winning state title
GEOFF GRAMMER
Tucson Citizen
The three-way tussle between Sunnyside, Ironwood Ridge and Mountain View for the 5A Southern-II Region championship in 2007 was as entertaining a race as you can have.
A forfeit and a loss without its starting quarterback playing pushed Sunnyside into third place in the standings, but a full-strength Blue Devils squad eventually advanced the deepest in the state playoffs.
Mountain View loses star power in Dan Moore, but should again be tough in the trenches.
But Ironwood Ridge, led by one of the state's best defensive units and driven by a playoff loss to Sunnyside, has not only region title hopes, but has a shot at making a run at a state championship.
If star linebacker Jake Fischer can repeat last year's late-season prowess as a running back (he closed the season with back-to-back 100-yard playoff games), the offense should be good enough for the Nighthawks to take the next step in the postseason.
FOCUS ON: 5A SOUTHERN-II REGION
Revenge still on linebacker's mind
Jake Fischer, RB/LB, Ironwood Ridge
GEOFF GRAMMER
Tucson Citizen
The stat sheet showed Ironwood Ridge outgaining
Sunnyside 332 yards to 188.
The dominant Nighthawks defense, playing on its home
field, held the Blue Devils to four first downs. Only
one Sunnyside drive lasted more than four plays.
But the perennial powerhouse that is Sunnyside pulled
together enough to beat Ironwood Ridge 21-14 on Nov. 16,
2007 in the Class 5A Division II quarterfinals, ending
what Ironwood Ridge linebacker Jake Fischer thought
could be a potential championship season.
"That game, that loss, that's been on my mind probably
every day since then," Fischer said.
He enters his senior season as a highly-recruited
linebacker, but he will see his role at running back
increase to make Ironwood Ridge even better.
The 5-foot-11, 225-pounder posted back-to-back 100-yard
rushing games in the 2007 playoffs.
"I'll do whatever we need to win," Fischer said.
"Linebacker is still my favorite, though..."
"We're going to have another real strong defense, but I
think the team as a whole is ready to win a state
championship this year."
Ironwood Ridge: Defense could take
Nighthawks far
GEOFF GRAMMER
Tucson Citizen
The bar for athletic success at Ironwood Ridge High
School is set high. Deep playoff runs and state titles
in multiple sports from the 2007-08 school year have
helped cement the school's status as one of southern
Arizona's best sports schools.
If coach Gary Minor's football team is to take its
consistent success to the championship level in 2008 and
add to the school's ever-growing trophy case, it will be
because of a defensive unit that could prove to be one
of the best in Arizona.
Led by as good a tandem of high school linebackers as
you'll see anywhere in seniors Ray Cottman and Jake
Fischer, the Nighthawks defense is punishing, stingy,
opportunistic and any other adjective you can tag on a
unit that should be southern Arizona's best for a second
straight year.
Helping the offense keep pace will be Fischer's skills
at running back. He closed out the 2007 season with
consecutive 100-yard rushing performances in the 5A-II
playoffs.
Mountain View: Lions will use speed
instead of power
GEOFF GRAMMER
Tucson Citizen
There probably isn't any one player who can or will
replace the production of graduated running back Dan
Moore, the 5A Southern-II Region co-offensive player of
the year in 2007.
But the Mountain View High School offense will have
plenty of firepower in a spread formation that will use
the athleticism and speed of quarterback C.J. Evanson,
running back Eric Davis and receiver/running back
hybrids Mark Vera and Myles Williams.
In Davis, a 5-foot-7, 155-pound primary running back,
the Mountain Lions certainly won't get the same
punishing running style the 220-pound Moore displayed a
season ago, but his speed will be dangerous in the space
created in the offense.
Josh Carter is an offensive tackle who is one of the
area's best college prospects. His frame (6-5, 290)
makes colleges take notice, but his skill is what has
recruiters drooling.
"He's got great feet for a player of that size," Schmidt
said.
Rincon/University: Rangers know they
have long road
Starting over with 15 freshmen
KEN BRAZZLE
Tucson Citizen
Pat Ryden was not promised a bed of roses when he
accepted the Rincon/University head coaching job last
year.
The team did the most with what it had, jumping out to a
4-2 start before losing its final four games to finish
with a 4-6 record.
Instead of building on last year's rookie coaching
season, Ryden is starting anew in 2008.
"I knew coming in it wasn't going to be easy," Ryden
said. "I knew moving up to 5A, it was going to be pretty
much a rebuilding type thing. But we are excited about
things. The attitude of our kids is tremendous. We're
going to have 15 freshmen on our team."
The Rangers have juniors Dominic Grigsby, Raymond
Williams and Emilio Pedraza at running back.
Senior Devin Stewart is the frontrunner to start at
quarterback.
"We're still a couple of years away from competing with
the type of teams we have to play in 5A," Ryden said.
"We have some kids I think can be good football players
for us.
Sunnyside: Defense the key to Blue
Devils' success
GEOFF GRAMMER
Tucson Citizen
Gone are offensive playmakers such as running back Jovan
Stevenson and quarterback Jaime Valdez.
Gone are several starters on the offensive line.
And gone is the notion Sunnyside is the runaway winner
of the Class 5A Southern-II Region.
But the usual lofty goals of a state title run remain at
the South Side school, a perennial southern Arizona
power in Richard Sanchez's 15 years running the program.
"We expect to battle again for a 5A Division II state
championship," Sanchez said.
The Blue Devils will rely on a strong defense - led by
one of the city's best linebacker corps in Manny
Aguilar, Alan Levario and Adam Torralba - while a young
offensive line learns on the job.
Sanchez feels depth will be an issue, saying his team
will have to stay healthy to match last year's
postseason run that ended in the 5A-II semifinals.
Helping that depth will be several newcomers from an
8-0-1 junior varsity team.