High school football two-a-days: Division II, Sections II and I
Leading up to the high school football season on Aug. 21, each day we'll look at two divisions and sections.
DIVISION II, SECTION II
The teams: Phoenix St. Mary’s, Surprise Willow Canyon, Surprise Valley Vista, Tolleson, Goodyear Millennium, Avondale Westview, Surprise Shadow Ridge.
The favorite: Westview. Was tough in Division I, will be even tougher in D-II.
The contender: Shadow Ridge. A young team last year, they got into the weight room and now are ready to make noise.
The dark horse: St. Mary’s. Returns seven defensive starters.
MORE TWO-A-DAYS: Divisions VI and V | Division IV | Division III:Sections IX | VIII and VII | VI | V | IV and III | II and I | Division II: Sections VI and V | IV and III
The players: Tre Campbell, Shadow Ridge, LB/WR, 6-3, 200, Sr.; Austin Ansbach, Shadow Ridge, QB, 6-1, 165, Sr.; Abel Navarrette, St. Mary’s, LB/TE, 6-2, 235, Jr.; Jorden Blake, St. Mary’s, FS/Athlete, 6-3, 175, Jr.; Chris Araiza, St. Mary’s, CB, 5-9, 160, Sr.; Jared Stangler, Willow Canyon, LB/K/P, 6-1, 220, Sr.; Mike Wilson, Willow Canyon, RB, 5-9, 170, Sr.; Grant Carpenter, Willow Canyon, WR, 6-2, 175, Sr.; Ruben Lebron, Tolleson, RB/DB, 5-9, 160, Jr.; Brandon Frost, Tolleson, LB, 6-1, 189, Sr.; Rakim Hicks, Tolleson, DT, 6-2, 340, Sr.; Aidan Diggs, Millennium, WR, 5-11, 160, So.; Stacy Campbell, Westview, RB, 5-9, 160, Sr.; Bryan Rodriguez, Westview, RB, 5-7, 150, Jr.; Creston Cooledge, Valley Vista, OL, 6-5, 275, Jr.; Akil Abdullah, Valley Vista, QB, 6-2, 175, Sr.
THE IRREPLACEABLES: Five players football teams can't do without
The intrigue: Marcel Lopez was hired as interim head coach at St. Mary’s just before official practices began after Todd Williamson was let go. Lopez is a St. Mary’s alum. … St. Mary’s will have to replace prolific passer Gabe Lodsada and his two top targets, but sophomore receiver Gino Caperon was offensive MVP on last year’s 8-1 freshman team. … Watch for Grant Carpenter to become a go-to player on offense for Willow Canyon. … Shadow Ridge strength coach Chuck Hudson is a world champion power lifter who has a 750-pound bench press. … Tolleson won five of its last six games last season but missed out on the Division II playoffs because its wins weren’t against teams that gave it enough power points. … Five of Millennium’s six losses last season came against state playoff teams. … Westview is moving down from Division I, where it went 8-3 last season and lost to Phoenix Mountain Pointe 31-21 in the first round of the playoffs. … Valley Vista junior offensive lineman Creston Cooledge will be key to protecting QB Akil Abdullah, who passed for 1,600 yards and 19 TDs and ran for 535 yards and 11 scores in just seven games last season.
FIND A GAME: 2015 Arizona high school football schedule
DIVISION II, SECTION I
The teams: Sierra Vista Buena, Vail Cienega, Tucson, Tucson Salpointe Catholic, Tucson Sahuaro, Tucson Sunnyside.
The favorite: Salpointe. Despite losing dynamic sophomore QB Jamyre Joiner, the Lancers will go smash mouth to still take the section.
The contender: Sahuaro. Great skills and speed.
The dark horse: Tucson. Coach Justin Argraves is one of the best in the business.
MORE: Where Arizona's top high school football talent has landed
The players: Casey Carnaghi, Sahuaro, WR/DB, 6-3, 190, Sr.; Stephen Choy, Buena, LB, 5-11, 205, Sr.; Wyatt Dansby, Cienega, RB, 5-10, 160, Sr.; Chris Vega, Cienega, LB, 6-1, 180, Jr.; Jacob Meeker-Hackett, Cienega, K/P, 6-0, 200, Sr.; Jeff Lockwood, Tucson, RB/LB, 5-10, 185, So.; DeAndre Williams, Tucson, 5-10, 175, Sr.; Efrain Segoviano, Tucson, OL/DL, 6-3, 260, Sr.; Justin Holt, Salpointe, DL, 6-2, 310, Sr.; Dylan Eickmeyer, Salpointe, OL, 6-3, 280, Sr.; Jake Ksiazek, Salpointe, LB, 6-2, 240, Sr.; Andrew Palomares, Salpointe, OL/DL, 6-3, 280, Sr.; Tyler Wood, Sahuaro, LB/TE, 6-2, 215, Jr.; Ronny Parra, Sunnyside, OL/DL, 6-2, 275, Sr.; Nick O’Hagin, Sunnyside, QB/DB, 5-9, 162, Sr.
BORDOW: Predictions for 2015 high school football season
The intrigue: A hand injury in the second game last season limited Sahuaro WR Casey Carnaghi, who is expected to be the Cougars’ go-to player this season. He had four catches for 135 yards in the first round of the Division II playoffs to give an idea of things to come this year. … Joe Thomas is Buena’s fourth head coach in five years. … After a college stint leading Pima Community College, Pat Nugent returns to high school coaching, taking over at Cienega, which went 11-2 in legendary coach Nemer Hassey’s final season. Hassey moved into an administrative role at Cienega. … Salpointe will run the ball behind a strong line. DL Justin Holt, a University of Arizona commit, and LB Jake Ksiazek will lead an improved defense. Two years ago, when the Lancers won state, they were plus-26 in turnover margin. Last season, they were minus-21. … Sunnyside pulled one of the bigger playoff upsets last season, eliminating Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge in the first round with a 35-14 win. Sunnyside went 7-5 last season.
Reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-460-1710. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.
PHOTOS: High school football preseason practice 2015
