Locals gear up for holiday tournaments

NORTH VALLEY – It's not too early to be making plans for holiday prep sports tournaments. Cactus Shadows High School will again host its annual Great Desert Shootout from Dec. 27‑29. The tournament will include local teams Boulder Creek, O'Connor, and, of course, Cactus Shadows.

In girls basketball, Cactus Shadows, Goldwater and O'Connor will each be a part of the Nike Tournament of Champions at Centennial from Dec. 27‑30. Boulder Creek, meanwhile, will travel to Tucson for the Flowing Wells Tournaments from Dec. 27‑29.

Boys soccer tournaments are quiet during the holiday break, but O'Connor will be playing in the Mesa Tournament Dec. 20‑22.

Cactus Shadows' girls soccer team will be among the field at the Greenway Tournament, which will be held at various sites Dec. 18‑23. Boulder Creek is scheduled to play in the Moon Valley Cup Dec. 26‑29.

Wrestling tournaments continue through Christmas. Boulder Creek will participate in the prestigious Moon Valley Tournament Dec. 22‑23 and returns right after the New Year to compete in the Joseph City Tournament Jan. 5‑6.

O'Connor will wrestle in the McClintock Tournament prior to Christmas (Dec. 15‑16) and will travel to Round Valley for a tournament after the New Year (Jan. 5‑6).

Cactus Shadows' wrestlers will be at the Joseph City Tournament Jan. 5‑6, but have no tournaments prior to the holiday break.

Full schedules and brackets for all the tournaments will be released soon.

Cactus Shadows star featured at SI.com

CAVE CREEK – Cactus Shadows senior football player Kyle Watkins (see page 1) is featured this week on SI.com, the Internet site for Sports Illustrated. Each week, the magazine features an outstanding player and student from across the country. Watkins got its attention with his state‑record 21 catches against Higley in the 4A‑II state championship game Dec. 2 at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The story can be found at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/dave_krider/12/05/ptp.watkins/index.html