Ready
for football? Too
late, it’s here
If
it seems like an early
start to the high
school football season,
you’re not alone.
Count Boulder Creek
football coach Dan
Friedman as one of
those who can’t believe
football is here.
“In
all my years of playing
and coaching, I’ve
never had two games
in August,” Friedman
said.
The
Jaguars will play
the first of those
two games this weekend
as the 2007 season
gets underway a week
early. Because of
a handful of new schools
across the state,
the Arizona Interscholastic
Association allows
an 11th game for some
schools and an early
start for others.
“The
AIA contacted us and
asked us if we wanted
to play on Week Zero,”
Friedman said. “(Opponent)
Valley Vista also
agreed to move the
game.”
Valley
Vista, which is playing
its first‑ever
varsity game, will
host the 7 p.m. contest
Aug. 24. The Surprise
school is in a similar
position to Boulder
Creek in 2006 when
the Anthem school
played its first varsity
season. But unlike
the Jaguars, Valley
Vista decided to enter
a region without seniors
in its first season.
“They’re
still at the infancy
stage,” Friedman said
of Valley Vista. “I
guess we’re toddlers
now.”
Boulder
Creek’s game this
weekend is one of
seven featuring 5A
teams. Friedman’s
former team, Goldwater,
will begin play the
following week at
home against Yuma.
Pinnacle, meanwhile,
plays its first game
since moving up to
5A Aug. 31 at Ironwood
Ridge.
In
4A football, 15 games
are on the “Week Zero”
schedule, but Cactus
Shadows isn’t involved
in any of them. The
Falcons, who won the
4A‑Division
II state championship
last year, will
officially begin 4A‑I
play Aug. 31 when
they travel to Higley,
the team they beat
in the state finals
last season.
THERE
IS GOOD news out
of Sandra Day O’Connor
High School, where
four baseball players
have been invited
by a Los Angeles Dodgers
scout to participate
in this weekend’s
Dodger Elite Tournament.
Nick
Carrillo, Maverick
Lasker, Zack MacPhee
and Travis Lane have
all been invited to
the weekend event
Aug. 24‑26 at
Dodger Stadium.
Legendary
manager Tommy Lasorda
will talk to the players
and give instruction
on the field.
The
foursome from O’Connor
is part of a group
of 75 elite high school
players across the
country that are selected
to play.
The
winners of the “Lasorda
Cup” are then invited
to a future Dodger
game and are introduced
in pregame.
Proud
mother Karen Carrillo
wrote in to tell us
it is “quite an honor”
for players to be
selected to play in
the event. Way to
go, guys.
ONE
OTHER QUICK note
from O’Connor. Former
boys basketball star
Curtis Mitchell has
accepted a full scholarship
to Phoenix College
to play for the Bears.
Mitchell’s
mother, Susie, wrote
in last month to say
“the coach there is
really good about
getting his players
to (NCAA) Division
I or II colleges after
the first year, so
we’ll see what happens.”
Mitchell
was part of the Eagles’
2006‑07 team
that shattered state
single‑season
3‑point shooting
records.
