Gridiron Weekly: Inside the Numbers at Flight Club

WEEKLY BLOG: 7/4/22

It was the second edition of the Just Chilly Flight Club 7-on-7 passing tournament and Big Man competition out at Copper Sky Regional Park in Maricopa last Saturday night. This year, it featured a later date and closed out the month of school competitions, which began on Memorial Day weekend.

Competitions during the month were held in the West Valley, Arizona State University (Tempe), University of Arizona (Tucson), Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff), and several other points in the state. Flight Club was likely the biggest of the fields with a full 32 teams in the passing league and 18 contending for lineman superiority.

The competitions are welcomed as teams practiced just amongst themselves during Spring Ball, even if they attended one of the many showcase events in May. It's always exciting to go against someone wearing a different color jersey than yours. While scores were kept, and teams were seeded and advanced throughout the bracket, it was a chance for coaches to evaluate how their players perform when asked to compete.

This tournament was put on by Arizona Varsity's own, Chilly, who invited the schools and began preparations for the event shortly after the season concluded in December. With eight fields for 7-on-7 games and an area in the middle for the big man challenge, there was a lot going on. The site worked for the amount of teams there and the first thing I noticed when setting foot on the field was the lushness of the grass.

For those that may not be familiar, 7-on-7 features a quarterback, a center (who only tosses the ball to the QB and is not eligible), and five receivers. Defensively, there is no pass rush and teams can use any combination of linebackers and defensive backs (seven defenders). Games were played with a 25-minute running clock (no timeouts) and drives began at the 40-yard line. Teams had three downs to reach the 25, three downs to make it to the 10, and three downs after that to score. Touchdowns were worth six with the option for the teams to take a free point for 7 or go for two from the 5-yard line and make it an 8-point drive (missing it resulted in scoring just 6). The defense could pick up two points (and possession of the ball at the 30) with an interception. Runs, reverses, and double passes are not part of the play calling.

Helmets and pads are still disallowed by the AIA until the end of July when schools begin their last stretch of training before the season (first week of August for the big schools). Because of this, tackling is not allowed. It's simply one-hand touch. Some schools use soft-shell helmets to help limit injuries. To simulate a pass rush, quarterbacks had four seconds to get a pass off, otherwise they were considered "sacked" and it was a loss of down. Teams had 30 seconds to get each play off once the ball was spotted. Defenders were allowed to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage. To assist in the calling of plays, each team had a coach behind the line of scrimmage to give verbiage for what play he wanted. In addition to the coach, some teams had a couple reserve offensive players behind the line of scrimmage to make quick substitutions.

The Big Man competition featured an obstacle course, a tug of war, and one-on-one battles. The one-on-ones were done bracket style and teams advanced round by round. Each school got 20 reps against one another with 10 on offense and 10 on defense. Defenders had to tag the coach while offensive linemen had to hold their ground for a few seconds and prevent them from getting there. Running the event was Red Dot Productions. Saguaro assistant coach Louie Ramirez made sure it was going smoothly and a couple Arizona HS football alums served as the coaches (and referees) for this part with Isaia Glass (Queen Creek/Arizona State) and Grayson Stovall (Hamilton/Arizona).

There were 29 different schools in the passing competition as three schools fielded a second team to fill in for a few late cancellations. With eight fields in use simultaneously plus the big man area, a lot is happening and it's impossible to see everything. In seven hours of being out there (the champion was crowned just after 1 a.m.), I saw 10 games involving 17 different teams (just over half the field), plus a couple stops in at the lineman competition. Here's a look going "Inside the Numbers" at a dozen of the schools that I saw:

While this number represents the average score by teams during pool play of the passing competition, it's also the number of miles traveled to Maricopa that was the fewest. On the south side of Ahwatukee, Desert Vista saved the most on gas. The Thunder have a new head coach this year in Nate Gill, a healthy quarterback that missed much of last season, and a receiver that got his first offer earlier in the day.

DESERT VISTA

LAST YEAR: Rebounding from a COVID-shortened 0-6 campaign in 2020, the Thunder went 5-6. This was Desert Vista's first season without Dan Hinds as its head coach since 2001 and it would prove to be the only season for that Ty Wisdom led the Thunder. Wisdom ended up returning to Nebraska and is the head coach at Millard South. DVHS finished the regular season with back-to-back wins over Cesar Chavez and Mountain Pointe.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYER: WR Eric Miller (170 receiving yards, two touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: LB Antonio Delgado (86 tackles, 7.5 sacks)

TALKING TO THE COACH: Gill said it was more the relationship with Chilly that brought the Thunder to Maricopa as opposed to the short trip. "We got invited. Chilly's my guy. I thought this would be a good opportunity for our guys to compete," he said.

Gill acknowledged that 7-on-7 isn't quite the same as "regular" football, but his team tries to emulate what they want to do this fall. "It's definitely a different game, but we run our stuff," he said.

Gill said the month of June was extremely important to the Thunder and their bodies are transforming through their work in the weight room. It's a time to put them in a good mental position as the new season approaches. When asked about the team's goal for the day, it was about battling and overcoming adversity. "Compete at a high level. See how we respond when we get some blood on our lip, because there's some good teams here."

IN THE TOURNAMENT: I saw Desert Vista play in its first pool game at 6 p.m. Quarterback Braxton Thomas had three touchdown passes, but the Thunder dropped a 30-23 game to Mountain Ridge. Traven Vigenser likely steps into a top wide receiver role after transferring from Sierra Linda. He received his first offer last Saturday from North Dakota. The Thunder ended up winless for the night at 0-4, including a first-round loss to Mountain Pointe.

That's the total miles traveled down the I-17, plus a couple of other freeways by Coconino. The Panthers returned to the event from Flagstaff. CHS recently made headlines as its senior linebacker, Pierson Watson, committed to BYU. Coconino does't fit the mold of your usual passing team as the Panthers averaged 299 rushing yards last season and attempted just 11 passes per game.

COCONINO

LAST YEAR: Coconino finished 5-4 and returned to the 4A playoffs for the third straight season. The Panthers also defeated rival Flagstaff for the fifth consecutive year. CHS scored 26 or more points in eight of their nine games (two games lost to COVID-19).

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: QB Enoch Watson (569 passing yards, five touchdowns), RB Cooper French (1,552 rushing yards, 17 touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: S Jacob Clouse (47 tackles, two sacks), S Tyler Ragan (41 tackles, two interceptions)

TALKING TO THE COACH: The long trip down to the Valley had its benefits for head coach Mike Lapsley and his team. "Love the competition. I love to compete against these better teams," he said.

Even as a team that prefers to run the ball, events like this allow the Panthers to work on the other part of the offense. "We don't focus a ton on sevens. But, we need to get better in the passing game, so these are good reps for us," Lapsley said.

Many schools in the Phoenix area get out of the heat for a week-long camp either in California or to the northern climates of the state. Coconino will stay put and conduct a combine camp with coaches getting all the measurables on their players and other stats like 40 times. Like Desert Vista, Coconino had the mission of competing at Flight Club. "There's a lot of quality teams in the Valley and we're just blessed to be a part of it," Lapsley said.

IN THE TOURNAMENT: I saw Coconino in pool play against Coolidge. The Panthers were holding on to a slim lead, but Coolidge got a touchdown in the closing seconds for a 21-16 win. CHS finished 0-4, including a first-round bracket loss to Basha.

Without the lineman aspect to 7-on-7 play, schools can compete with one another despite large discrepancies in enrollment. This number signifies the total number of students at Bourgade Catholic. The Golden Eagles weren't intimidated by the schools it has gone up against this summer.

BOURGADE CATHOLIC

LAST YEAR: Coming off a playoff appearance in 2020, Bourgade finished 4-5 in 2021. The Golden Eagles were shut out three times by high caliber 3A teams Yuma Catholic, River Valley, and Sabino.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: RB Manuel Vasquez (358 rushing yards, four touchdowns), WR Gabriel Laborin (450 receiving yards, five touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: LB Erik Moreno (39 tackles)

TALKING TO THE COACH: Bourgade came into Flight Club with an impressive resume. The Eagles hosted and won a small school tournament, finished second at O'Connor, and went to the finals at Arizona State. "We've had a really good summer. Being able to see how we stack up against these teams is a lot of fun," head coach Marcel Lopez said.

Bourgade has a new quarterback in senior Cooper Trujillo. The 6-2, 175-pounder also plays basketball. "He's a confident kid. He's just learning the quarterback position. He's been growing this whole summer for us and he's going to do some really big things this year," Lopez said.

Phoenix Christian, which won the 3A Metro West Region last year has been moved to the 3A Metro East. That makes the competition for this season wide open. "We have a good group of seniors coming back. We expect to compete for the region and be in the playoffs," Lopez said.

IN THE TOURNAMENT: I saw Bourgade compete against Mountain Pointe. With six minutes remaining, the Golden Eagles scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to make it a one-score game at 23-15. BCHS got the ball back with a chance to even it up, but threw an interception. A late score by the Pride made the final 32-15. Bourgade ended up at 0-4 and was bumped out of the bracket by Campo Verde.

That's the enrollment for the state's largest high school - Hamilton. It turned out the Huskies faced five 6A schools out of their seven games on the night. A couple other numbers you can apply to Hamilton are 47 and 16. 47 was the number of sacks the Huskies had in 2021, the most out of the 29 schools in the field. 16 was the number of points Hamilton allowed in pool play. Two were due to an interception, so the defense allowed just 2 touchdowns in their three pool play games (where the Huskies went 2-0-1).

HAMILTON

LAST YEAR: Hamilton returned to the Open Division for the third straight year. The Huskies went 10-0 in the regular season, highlighted by a 21-14 win over Chandler which ended the Wolves' 45-game winning streak. HHS advanced to the semifinals, where it was defeated by Saguaro (31-24).

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: RB Nick Switzer (829 rushing yards, five touchdowns), WR Tre' Spivey (394 receiving yards, seven touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: S Genesis Smith (40 tackles, four interceptions), LB Alex McLaughlin (80 tackles, two sacks), DE Chandler Davis (64 tackles, 8.5 sacks)

TALKING TO THE COACH: Head coach Mike Zdebski was out of town, so I talked to Jeremy Kitamura, who is the Huskies' quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. This is a special senior class at Hamilton. The group went 9-0 as freshmen in 2019 with seven of the wins coming via shutout. That Hamilton Frosh team outscored its opposition, 510-22 (including a 42-point win over Chandler). The past two years, many of those players have risen through the ranks to varsity squads that have reached the Open finals and Open semifinals the past two seasons. "For our guys, we have a lot of experience. This '23 group is one of the best classes we've had," Kitamura said.

Roch Cholowsky has been Hamilton's backup QB the past two years, and started a pair of Open playoff games in 2020. He's also a bigtime baseball prospect that hit .357 last season and verbally committed to UCLA. Because of that, he's been away from the football team for much of the spring and summer. Cholowsky played at Flight Club and Kitamura said it was the second time he's thrown a football this offseason (with the team). It has allowed the coaches to get looks at the younger guys at the position.

With such prolonged playoff success, it can be difficult to get "up" for an event on a Saturday night in June, but Kitamura said "If you're going to come to compete, play to win." He said, "The biggest thing we've tried to instill is to finish. We've been to State finals once and semifinals twice (in the last three years). Our concentration now is to try and finish."

IN THE TOURNAMENT: After the 2-0-1 start in pool play, the Huskies were seeded No. 7 in the bracket. Hamilton defeated Basha's B team and Saguaro (last year's Flight Club champ). That put the Huskies in the quarterfinals, where I watched them battle Mountain Pointe. A late touchdown from Cholowsky to Braylon Blount gave the Huskies the lead for good in a 30-23 victory. Hamilton was knocked out in the semis by ALA-Queen Creek (23-21). Wide receiver Malcolm Lee, Smith, and McLaughlin were all named to the All-Flight Club Team by the media staff at Arizona Varsity.

While that number represents the amount of players on a football field during a normal Friday night game, it's also the number of interceptions Red Mountain had last year - the most among the field at Flight Club. The defensive coordinator from that team, Kyle Enders, is now the head coach after Mike Peterson announced his retirement from coaching in January.

RED MOUNTAIN

LAST YEAR: Red Mountain rebounded from a 3-4 year in 2020 and finished 11-3. The Mountain Lions reached the 6A semifinals with dramatic one-point victories over Centennial and Brophy. However, RMHS was defeated by Highland one step short of the 6A finals.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: QB Carter Crispin (2,585 passing yards, 27 touchdowns), RB/WR Lenox Lawson (819 rushing yards, 577 receiving yards, 15 combined touchdowns), Ja'Kobi Lane (990 receiving yards, 14 touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: DE Braeden Kaczmarek (29 tackles, five sacks), Tanner DeMassa (80 tackles, two interceptions)

TALKING TO THE COACH: One luxury that Enders has is Red Mountain returning its starting quarterback for the first time since 2015 (Kyle Buckles). During pool play, Crispin was rotated with Kyle Heap. During the bracket portion, they rolled with Crispin. "He manages the game well. He's a student of the game. This is his third offense in three years and he's done a good job of grasping it in the spring and summer," Enders said.

Changes to the offense include new terminologies. With a pair of Division I receivers (depending on where you play Lawson), Red Mountain wants to get more opportunities to get their playmakers the ball. "We're trying to go a lot faster with more tempo. We've got athletes on the edge."

Enders is calling the defense for the Mountain Lions and Bryan McDaniel is the new offensive coordinator. He has coached previously in the Mesa District at Westwood and Skyline. Lane was out of town on a college visit, which Enders said they encourage. The expectation is "when you're in town, you're here". For the night, the goal was to get better. "We run our stuff, but want to get better as the games progress," Enders said.

IN THE TOURNAMENT: Red Mountain was 2-1 in pool play and was the No. 11 seed in the bracket. I watched the Lions in the first round against Hamilton's B team. True to the narrative, it was Red Mountain's defense that made the difference with DeMassa and Chris Castaneda each intercepting passes in an 18-7 victory. The offense showed it could score as well, but the Lions were eliminated in the second round by ALA-Queen Creek (37-30).

Another big number. This one represents the team in the Flight Club field that had the most passing yards in 2021. It's the ALA-Gilbert North Eagles, led by NAU-commit Adam Damante. The team played its first season in 2017 in the Canyon Athletic Association and joined the AIA in 2018. The Eagles have competed at the 3A level, but were bumped up to 4A for the '22 season.

ALA-GILBERT NORTH

LAST YEAR: American Leadership-Gilbert North started 5-0 in 2021, including a three-point win at home over Yuma Catholic. The Eagles' only blemish during the regular season was a 38-35 defeat to ALA-Queen Creek. In the playoffs, ALAGN had a semifinal rematch with Yuma Catholic, but the Shamrocks took that one, 31-26.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: QB Adam Damante (3,382 passing yards, 46 passing touchdowns, five rushing TDs), WR Brandon Phelps (933 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: DE Bric Jobe (44 tackles, eight sacks, three fumble recoveries), S Boston Norris (50 tackles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries)

TALKING TO THE COACH: Despite being smaller than many other schools in the field, the learning curve isn't as difficult in a passing tournament when you have a school that typically runs it on Friday nights (30 pass attempts per game and four games with 40+). "A lot of people are drawing things up in the sand for this stuff and they're not running what they (normally) run. This is what we do. If we're not having success here, it's a red flag," head coach Randy Ricedorff said.

ALA-Gilbert North was one of the teams that placed a second squad into the field due to a late opening. The participation has been strong in the offseason and fielding a second team helps reward more kids with opportunities to play in tournaments. "We've had two teams in every tournament. So, a lot of kids are getting reps. I'm a big believer in reps and getting better," Ricedorff said.

The offense was clicking as the Eagles scored 35 or more points in four of their six games. "We want to come out here and compete. We've just got to go and execute our stuff and win," Ricedorff said.

IN THE TOURNAMENT: ALA-Gilbert North finished 3-0 in pool play and was the No. 4 seed. I watched them in their first-round game against Tempe and they were impressive. In their first three offensive plays from the 40-yard line, the Eagles scored three touchdowns. Following that 39-2 win, ALAGN knocked out Higley before falling by a single point (36-35) to Campo Verde in the quarterfinals.

This is the number of Flight Club tournaments that there have actually been. The first one was an underground operation by Chilly in the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020. Details aren't available as it's something that isn't discussed. However, of the eight teams from that event, three of them have competed in each of the next two seasons. So, we'll call Mountain Pointe, Mountain Ridge, and Cactus, our Original Three.

MOUNTAIN POINTE

LAST YEAR: Mountain Pointe bounced back after a 1-7 season in 2020 to go 4-7 and make the 6A playoffs. The Pride began the year with victories over Corona del Sol and Brophy by 1 and 3 points, respectively. A 4-2 start went the wrong direction down the stretch with four straight losses. That dropped MPHS all the way down to the 16 seed, where it was defeated by Highland in the first round.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: QB Chris Arviso (1,821 passing yards, 11 touchdown passes), RB Jaylen Rushing (688 rushing yards, seven touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: S/LB Izaac Patterson (84 tackles), OLB Khalil Hayes (34 tackles, two sacks)

TALKING TO THE COACH: Head coach Eric Lauer was not at the event, so I talked to new defensive coordinator Adam Spudich. He previously held the same position at Maricopa. "We have about six to eight seniors that will constantly be rotated in on the varsity team. The leadership has been great from our linebackers - Izaac, Gary (Tucker), and Syrus (Renteria). I have no doubt they'll lead us to a lot of wins this year," Spudich said.

Mountain Pointe was striving to play its best and continue into the tournament, but also go about it the right way. "We're always excited to show what we can do. Win as many games as possible, but with the best sportsmanship possible," Spudich said.

IN THE TOURNAMENT: I watched Arviso throw four touchdown passes in the Pride's first game of pool play, a 32-15 victory over Bourgade Catholic. He was named to the All-Flight Club Team along with running back Christian Clark, defensive back Javier Jones, and Tucker. Mountain Pointe won its pool with a 3-0 record and scored 104 points. The winning continued in the bracket play with decisions over Desert Vista (by 21) and Mountain View (by 31). The Pride was stopped by Hamilton in the quarterfinals, 30-23.

MOUNTAIN RIDGE

LAST YEAR: Mountain Ridge had its best season since 2010 as the Mountain Lions went 8-4 and upset Mountain View in the first round of the 6A playoffs. It also marked the first winning season for MRHS since 2010. After giving up a shocking 74 points to Liberty in its opener, Mountain Ridge reeled off a five-game win streak, including a stirring 21-point comeback against Centennial in the game's last 16 minutes.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: QB Brendan Anderson (3,037 passing yards, 39 touchdowns), WR Terrance Hall (1,243 receiving yards, 18 touchdowns), WR Ryland Sands (519 receiving yards, five touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: LB Saxon Davison (84 tackles, three sacks, four forced fumbles), DE Jacob Reynolds (38 tackles, seven sacks, two forced fumbles), DE Jason Kirkland (14 tackles, six sacks, two fumble recoveries), S Hayden Allen (64 tackles, three interceptions)

TALKING TO THE COACH: One difference that head coach Doug Madoski has seen with this year's team is buying in to what needs to take place in between football seasons. "It's been a big effort in the weight room. There's been a lot of commitment in the guys for the offseason conditioning program," Madoski said.

Madoski is in his fourth year with the Lions and establishing the way that things should be done is paying off for the team. "They've learned how to practice now. They're practicing with a higher intensity now and with more purpose," Madoski said.

Mountain Ridge started off at the GBAC tournament on Memorial Day weekend, played up in Flagstaff at the NAU event, and completed the summer in Maricopa. The goal was to get a little better each time. "Chilly does a great job of bringing in great teams. For us, we want to make sure they're meaningful," Madoski said of choosing which events to participate in.

IN THE TOURNAMENT: It was one of each for Mountain Ridge in pool play with a win, a loss, and a tie. I watched the first of the pool play games against Desert Vista. Korey Johnson normally plays defense (and was on Saturday), but he also stood out at receiver with a pair of touchdown catches in a 30-23 victory. The loss was by just two points to North and the draw came against Shadow Ridge. The Mountain Lions edged Brophy in a high-scoring 37-34 game to start bracket play. However, the run ended in the second round against Basha.

CACTUS

LAST YEAR: Cactus had its first perfect regular season since 2005. The Cobras didn't just go 10-0, they defeated eight of their opponents by 40 or more points. The season included wins over 5A teams Sunrise Mountain and Desert Edge. With the Open, which debuted in 2019, Cactus was selected as one of the top eight teams for that bracket. So, CHS left the 4A bracket and faced Saguaro in the quarterfinals. The Sabercats ended Cactus' undefeated season with a 42-21 win. After the season, head coach Joseph Ortiz left for the open Perry job and longtime defensive coordinator Brian Belles was elevated to the head coaching position.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: RB Damian Jiles (911 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns), ATH Will Galvan (510 rushing yards, eight touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: LB Tovia Vito (80 tackles, three interceptions), DE Dom Solano (64 tackles, 6.5 sacks), S Polo Banuelos (52 tackles, three interceptions)

TALKING TO THE COACH: Aside from the coaching change, perhaps the biggest move for the Cobras is taking last year's 4A West Valley Region Player of the Year Galvan and having him play slot receiver and defensive back. Galvan threw for 1,333 yards and 24 touchdowns last year. "Having Will at wide receiver and defensive back excites us because he's able to do so much more," Belles said. Danny Avila and Braiden Lagafuaina rotated at QB throughout the tournament.

With the recent success (28-7 over the past three years), the Cobras were tabbed by the AIA for a realignment change to the 5A Conference. "Our goal is to win. It was time for us to move up to 5A. We know our schedule is a gauntlet. Week to week, we're going to have to bring it," Belles said.

Cactus begins this season at Desert Mountain (11-2 last year). The rest of the freedom games include an Open team (ALA-Queen Creek), a team that won nine games last year (Mesquite), the 3A champion (Snowflake), and another Open team (Basha). "Our goal is always to compete. These tournaments are hard to win because they're really long,"

IN THE TOURNAMENT: Cactus went 2-1 in pool play and scored 107 points, the most of any school. After defeating former head coach Ortiz's Perry team in the first round, I watched the Cobras go against North. Behind sophomore quarterback Luke Haugo, the Mustangs took a seven-point lead into the late stages of the game. Cactus scored a touchdown and decided to go for the win with the two-point conversion. Danny Avila completed the game-winner to Nikko Boncore for a 29-28 win. The Cobras pushed Basha in the quarterfinals, but fell 30-22.

No, we're not highlighting one of the many .500 teams that will make a college bowl this year and then lose it, that's the height of Cesar Chavez offensive tackle and defensive end Zachary Cook. The Champions battled all the way to the end of the 1-on-1 phase of the big man and faced Basha in the finals. Cook was named the MVP in the lineman challenge.

CESAR CHAVEZ

LAST YEAR: Despite losing more than 30 players off of the 2020 team that only got to play three games, Cesar Chavez went 5-5. The Champions beat the teams they were expected to beat (5-0 vs. non-playoff teams), bud didn't have enough for the stronger teams (0-5 vs. playoff teams).

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: QB Jorge Beltran (971 passing yards, 11 touchdowns), RB Deven Highsmith (624 yards, eight touchdowns), WR Myseth Currie (414 receiving yards, six touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: LB Omega McDaniels (66 tackles), S Nate Pazos (64 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles)

TALKING TO THE MVP: Cook said he loved the event and it was very competitive. I asked what he learned from his coaches in practice that he was able to apply to the event. "Use more energy, be strong, and don't give up," Cook said.

Of the three parts of the challenge, the 1-on-1's were his favorite. He does play on both sides of the ball, but prefers the offensive line. Cook warns that there's more talent in the trenches at Chavez. "We're coming up. We've got bigger men this year and stronger men. We're coming up," Cook said.

IN THE TOURNAMENT: Cesar Chavez went 0-3 in pool play, but lost to Brophy by just one touchdown. In the tournament, the Champions were seeded No. 30 and had to face No. 3 Paradise Honors in the first round. It wasn't your ordinary 30 vs. 3 matchup as Chavez battled hard, but dropped a 42-41 decision.

That's the amount of passing yards minus rushing yards for Campo Verde last year. Significant in that it was the first time since 2015 that the Coyotes didn't have more rushing yards than passing. Campo has long been thought of as a running team, but perhaps that is changing.

CAMPO VERDE

LAST YEAR: The record shows that Campo went 4-6 in the regular season. However, with a schedule that had all five freedom game opponents make the playoffs and three of the Coyotes' region opponents make the postseason, the power points were high enough to get CVHS in with a No. 12 seed. While the Campo Verde season ended in the first round at Sunrise Mountain, it was the fifth consecutive year in the playoffs. This was also the first year for head coach Ryan Freeman.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYER: Jace McGavock (234 rushing yards, three touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: DE Colby Adkins (44 tackles, seven sacks)

TALKING TO THE COACH: Campo Verde graduated both QBs from last year, its top running back, top two receivers, and top four tacklers from last year's team. For a team with so much turnover, the Coyotes' showing was the most impressive of the evening. "The kids are playing really well as a team. We're young. We don't have a lot of varsity experience in our program. Ashton McPherson is a first year quarterback. We have two offensive linemen and two wide receivers returning," Freeman said.

The quality play hasn't just happened all summer. It's taken time for the improvement. "We went to the U of A passing tournament and it was very ugly. They're just blue-collar players and said they've got to get better and they definitely have over the last two weeks," Freeman said.

It remains to be seen if last year was an aberration and Campo will be back to predominately being a running team, or if McPherson, a senior with a quick release, will be able to air it out a little more. Freeman said the goal in being at Maricopa was to compete. "We're not known as a passing league team. We want to give it everything we've got and continue to grow as a program," Freeman said.

IN THE TOURNAMENT: Campo Verde went 3-0 against its pool, which consisted of Mountain View, Perry, and Basha's B team. I watched the Coyotes rally against Perry and get a touchdown reception from Mason Shea (who played both ways) to take the lead. McPherson then hit Alston Garcia for the two-point conversion. Garcia was one of the top receivers overall. In the bracket, CVHS defeated Bourgade Catholic, Arizona College Prep, and ALA-Gilbert North. That got the Coyotes all the way to the semifinals, where they gave Basha its toughest test of the tournament. The blue-collar Campo kids battled, but fell short by a 21-16 score.

That's the number of championship belts (we don't do your standard trophies here) that were handed out to the winners of the big man and the passing competitions. Both were won by Basha. The Bears continued their strong play in both areas this summer. The skills players won competitions at the GBAC, University of Arizona, and Flight Club. The bigs were victorious at the GBAC and again at Flight Club. For a team that went 10-0 and lost in the Open, this BHS team has the feel of one that has unfinished business to take care of in 2022. It's early, and the schedule is difficult, but so far, the Bears are on target.

BASHA

LAST YEAR: Basha had its first undefeated regular season in its 18-year history (10-0). Offense was the name of the game as the Bears busted 40 points eight times. But, the defense was not to be overlooked as well as Basha held eight opponents to less than 20 points. The Bears had an Open spot wrapped up after their final regular season game (a 44-30 win over Mountain View) and then had their bye week in Week 11. That was followed by another off week as the Open games (8-team bracket) didn't start until the second week of the playoffs. Basha was defeated by Liberty in the Open quarters.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE SKILL PLAYERS: QB Demond Williams Jr. (2,632 passing yards, 20 touchdown passes; 644 rushing yards, 14 TD runs), RB Deshaun Buchanan (731 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns), WR Bryson Dedmon (1,014 receiving yards, nine touchdowns)

ON THE DEFENSE: LB Wyatt Milkovic (132 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles), S Tommy Prassas (42 tackles four interceptions), CB Cole Martin (67 tackles, shuts down half the field)

TALKING TO THE COACHES: We'll start with Tim Kelly, the Bears' offensive line coach. I spoke with him after the Bears won the lineman competition and he said the guys have been working real hard this summer. "We go through some OTAs in the morning before workouts. They all come in and work hard and they lift weights," Kelly said.

In practice, the linemen work on game situations. It will start with a walk through slow and then it will be picked up at full speed. "Tonight, they were real good at resetting their hands and moving their feet. In 1-on-1's, you've got to get that guy to commit one way or another and not give him 2-way options," Kelly said.

This is the fifth season for Chris McDonald as the Bears' head coach. In a single-elimination bracket, you can't have one off game or it will end your night. "They've got up for every game. One possession can win or lose a game," McDonald said.

I talked to McDonald after the semifinal win and he said the change in the line play has been like "night and day" since he first started at BHS. "Our kids came in and they're expecting to win. Our line won. We want to win this and take both belts."

TALKING TO THE MVP: Williams had four touchdown passes in the 32-17 win over ALA-Queen Creek to win the tournament. He said he's enjoyed building up the team chemistry for the season and getting his teammates prepared for tournaments. This will be his third year as a starter (and he still has two more left). As far as his improvements, it comes with technique. "I'm not using as much full-body strength. Just using hips and my arm strength," Williams said.

While many don't feel a 7-on-7 game compares very well to "real football", Williams sees some similarities while also knowing he becomes more dangerous in an 11-man setting. "I feel like it's pretty realistic besides the O-Line and the escape factor, which is part of my ability too," Williams said.

Last year's Basha team had a lot of young players (very few seniors that made a big impact). With the success the Bears had, Williams gives three words why people need to look out for another run from BHS this year. "We got depth."

IN THE TOURNAMENT: It was an 8-0 night that began at 6:30 p.m. with a win over Tolleson and ended at 1:05 a.m. with the final victory over ALAQC. The standout players for the Bears were Williams Jr., Dedmon, cornerback Miles Lockhart, and Martin.

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