Page 29 - 2020 Sollenberger

4. HORIZON: One had to feel for a couple teams that qualified for the Open Division last year as they competed without their standout quarterbacks. Pinnacle was one and Horizon the other. The Huskies senior signal-caller, Jake Martinelli, was sidelined with a knee injury with two weeks left in the regular season. He was the 5A Northeast Region Player of the Year. Horizon posted its best record under coach Ty Wisdom - 9-2. Wisdom is 28-15 in four seasons thus far. All are winning seasons and three have resulted in playoff appearances. Wisdom welcomes back more experience on the defensive side of the ball. The offensive line will be the biggest in his tenure, led by seniors Erich Berg (6-4, 255), Jackson Sebastiani (6-4, 290) and OL Nathan Cender (6-2, 290). Horizon’s move to the San Tan Region will be a step up from most of its former Northeast Valley Region foes. The Hus- kies open with 6A Pinnacle but lost a freedom game with Desert Edge.
5. SUNRISE MOUNTAIN: Sunrise Mountain qualified for the playoffs for the sixth straight year in 2019, four of those under current coach Steve Decker. The Mustangs have won five playoff games in that time with their best recent finish 11-2 in 2017. Decker and company have had little trouble scoring points in his tenure. This year defense is the strength on paper with seven returning starters - three each at linebacker and in the second- ary. A pair of first-team all-region players head the list - defen- sive lineman Will Howland and linebacker Owen Thomas. Senior wide out Zeke Marshall has the best numbers of any returning skill positon player - 556 yards receiving and 8 TDs. Sunrise Mountain is inexperienced at quarterback, receiver and the de- fensive front. Its top competition in a somewhat new region will come from Desert Edge and Millennium. The non-region slate has two 4A schools and a 6A school - Mesquite and Cactus the former, and Liberty the latter.
6. CAMPO VERDE: Campo Verde enjoyed the best finish
in school history reaching the 5A title game and winning a school-record 10 games in the process. The Coyotes hope to maintain the momentum garnered from 2019, but must do so with a new head coach. The school’s only coach until the 2020 season was Max Ragsdale, who has gravitated to the school’s athletic director. One of his right-hand men - defensive coordina- tor Ryan Freeman - is the coach on the spot. Freeman has been on staff with Ragsdale for 15 years at two stops. Campo Verde knows what it’s like to compete in a top-flight region and that doesn’t change this year. With a decent amount of returning players - more on defense - Campo should be up to the task the region demands. The running game has excelled in the school’s decade-long history and will be led by senior Caden Calloway, who rushed for 1,739 yards and 22 touchdowns. Three offensive linemen who started are back. The question comes at quarter- back and in the receiving corps. All three of its top receivers graduated. The passing game was inconsistent, but featured the home-run ball enough to be effective. Defense returns six play- ers with the linebacking and secondary quite seasoned. Campo Verde’s season opener was to be with Desert Edge, but is now with familiar foe Williams Field. Campo and Williams Field faced off in last year’s 5A final.
*7. CIENAGA: Look for Cienega to be the favorite to win the Sonoran II with more experience returning than any team in its region. That is, if the Bobcats and most of their southern Arizona brethren get the go-ahead to play. The Bobcats were 9-3 last year, reaching the playoffs for the fourth year in a row under veteran coach Pat Nugent. Cienega has seven veteran starters on offense with a trio of those first-team, all-region selections last year - linemen Andrew Husfelt and Hunter Schlagel and running back Gabe Levy. Schlagel doubled on defense and earned Region Player of the Year on that side of the ball as a noseguard. Senior quarterback Ryan Swoger has good speed and is a dual threat. The defense has all returning linebackers and three of five players from the secondary. Along with Schlagel up front, senior linebacker Dillon Silva is the leading tackler back with 83.
8. SALPOINTE CATHOLIC: Salpointe reached a primary goal of qualifying for the Open Division playoffs last year. The Lancers couldn’t quite give coach Dennis Bene the going-away present most wanted. The Lancers dropped a 24-16 decision to eventual champ Chandler in the semifinals. Taking the reins at Salpointe is longtime assistant Eric Rogers, who has been part of the staff off and on as an assistant for the better part of a decade. Salpointe was heavily senior-oriented last year and led by University of Texas-bound Bijan Robinson. Robinson rushed for 7,036 yards in his career with 103 touchdowns. He was named the state player of the year. The Lancers return junior quarterback Treyson Bour- guet, who settled in for seven games as starter after transferring from Marana. Rogers says to pay attention to some seniors and juniors likely to excel - senior linebacker Breyton DePoint, senior defensive lineman Brees McCraren, senior wideout-defensive back Parker Pelletier, junior lineacker Jace Springer (6-2, 220), ju- nior running back Anthony Wilhite, senior defensive back Julian Robles, and junior receiver-defensive back Kamden Gambrell.
9. GILBERT: There’s no escaping competition for Gilbert when
it comes to region opponents. The Tigers have hovered at or
just below .500 in recent years, but have also qualified for the playoffs the past two seasons thanks to the caliber of folks
they face. Gilbert possesses more experience than most years on both sides of the ball. Improvement on defense, however,
is paramount to reaching the postseason and if there making any kind of run. The Tigers gave up 421 points, far and away
the most in the region. Coach Derek Zellner will employ a new defensive scheme to generate improvement. The key returning first-team all-region performer is senior linebacker Daniel Fulton, who amassed 140 tackles. Linebacker mates Wyatt Zellner and Angel Hernandez form a nice trio. Zellner has competition going at quarterback after five seasons of Plummers (Jack and Will). How well the new defense is picked up and the hope of ensuing improvement drives the Tigers’ destiny this season.
10. SUNNYSLOPE: Sunnyslope works in new coach Sam Jacobs, a veteran with several stops as an assistant mostly in the West Valley. The Vikings need to replace several offensive skill spots, including quarterback and receiving corps. Jacobs believes the running game will be the team’s forte with several veteran line- men back. Defense is deep in the secondary and good experi- ence returns up front. Sunnyslope qualified for the playoffs last year, finishing 6-5 and losing in the opening round to Cienega by three. A new set of region opponents are in store for the Vikings - Desert Mountain, McClintock, Cactus Shadows, Paradise Valley and Barry Goldwater.
* - Waiting approval to play games as of Sept. 21.
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