Page 4 - AIA 1A Football Championship Program

Old schOOl vs. new schOOl highlight first rOund 1A mAtches
By Jose Garcia AZPreps365.com
The old guard versus the new guard.
That’s what the first round of the 1A Conference playoff fea- tures in three of the four matchups. In the bottom half of the 1A bracket, new 1A schools Tempe Prep and San Manuel will battle two of 1A’s mainstays, Bagdad and Mogollon, respectively.
In the upper part of the bracket, the biggest surprise of this 8-man football this season, Anthem Prep, will face another 1A power, Superior High, while 1A oldies but goodies, Williams and St. David, will stage a more traditional 8-man duel.
The new 1A playoff entrants added some welcomed intrigue to this season, but rewriting who advances to the semifinals is a more difficult task. Anthem Prep, San Manuel and Tempe Prep aren’t the favorites in their first round games.
But they wouldn’t mind drafting another success story in a season filled with plenty of them despite COVID-19 still hovering around and playing some tough first round opponents.
First round
All games Nov. 13, 7 p.m.
Anthem Prep (5-1) at Superior (5-0): Anthem Prep put the right people in place to produce its best regular season so far. The first thing it did was re-recruit LeRoy McGrue, a former Anthem Prep offensive coordinator, to run the program. Once McGrue’s wife, Andrea, who was pregnant, gave her blessing to McGrue to coach it was game on for Anthem Prep. This is the first time that An- them Prep will finish with a plus .500 record. “I reviewed Anthem Prep’s game film from the last two years and came away really impressed,” said McGrue, a Northern California coaching prod- uct and former United States Marine who’s been coaching since 1997. “They just needed to believe it.” The next thing Anthem Prep did was move 6-4, 200-pound Jacob Crawford from backup to starting quarterback. “Jacob’s got a rocket,” said McGrue about his quarterback, who threw a 1A regular season high 1,518 yards. “He’s just raw.” The junior has thrown only two interceptions in 98 attempts and has rushed for 809 yards, the highest total by any player participating in the 1A playoffs. The team’s former starting QB, the very athletic and coachable Gunner Dukeshier, is still con- tributing on offense and defense. This year’s senior class has also stepped up, including 1A’s second leading receiver Ryan Osha, who was also second in the state in sacks with seven, and defen- sive tackle Cyrus Peterson. Junior MLB/kicker Andy Gandolfo was second on the team with 40 tackles. Anthem Prep lost the “heart beat of the team,” Ben Dixon, the team’s fastest player, in Week 2 to an injury but is still motivating his team, McGrue said. ... “We are very excited for the playoffs,” Superior coach Ryan Palmer said. “It has been a difficult year navigating the COVID waters, but we hope to finish strong. We have yet to play our best game, and we are looking forward to the challenges ahead.” Superior, the preseason favorite in 1A, hasn’t been tested this year. It only played one playoff team in the 2020 field, Tempe Prep, which it defeated 54-7. The much improved Matthew Cruz, a junior, has
thrown only one INT in 42 pass attempts this season and 15 touch- down passes for a very balanced offense. Three receivers (Joshua Marquez, Nathan Duarte, Adam Navarrette) each have more than 200 yards receiving, and three running backs (Matthew Diaz-Gon- zalez, David Drennan, Navarrette) have each totaled more than 200 rushing yards. Navarrette, one of the fastest players in 1A, is leading his team with 11 touchdowns. Senior defensive end Marc Mendoza and Diaz-Gonzalez, a senior captain, lead the team in tackles. Mendoza has tallied six of his team’s 19 sacks. Superior is seeking its fourth straight trip to the 1A final.
Williams (4-1) at St. David (5-0): St. David’s coach Braden Davis rehauled his defense so his program could become a playoff con- tender. After three shutouts and allowing only 26 points so far, Davis is very pleased with the way his defense progressed, and de- fensive coordinator Greg Barker deserves a lot of credit for that. LB Jake Goodman, CB Talon Haynie, LB Brayden Merrill, DE Kason Jacquez and DL Bobcat Pacheco are some of this year’s defensive standouts. Haynie and Goodman lead the team in tackles, and Jac- quez led his region in sacks. “Those guys have anchored our de- fense,” Davis said. Sophomore DB Koy Richardson was leading his region in interceptions and CB Reo Larson was right behind. The trenches is another area in which St. David also improved vastly. The o-line is anchored by Pacheco and guards Jordan Merrill and Zac Judd. On offense, QB Logan Davis, Davis’ son, had a 134.0 rat- ing. Jacquez (314 receiving yards) is Logan’s top target but Larson and Robby Gooding are also threats. Haynie also leads St. David in rushing, averaging about 130 yards per game. Because of the coronavirus, St. David’s plan to book a strong freedom game op- ponent was nixed and its final regular season opponent, Ft. Thom- as, had to cancel. But despite not playing a full schedule this year, St. David is glad it can still suit up. “We’re very happy where we are right now and grateful we’re in the playoffs and also extremely grateful that we’re still playing football in this crazy, weird year of
First-year Anthem Prep head coach LeRoy McGrue and his son, Maxwell, share a moment after a victory. (Photo courtesy of Ken Conz)