10 reasons why 1-and-done high school sports year was fun
A year ago, the Arizona Interscholastic Association was under fire after conferences were reconfigured, according to sport, participation and competitive balance.
There was appeal after appeal after appeal with the top division in some sports pared down so much that practically everybody got to go to state.
It's over now.
Normalcy returns next school year. The giants go back to their perches.
But for a year, it was fun.
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Here are 10 reasons why:
No. 1 Metro magic
It was cool to see Phoenix Alhambra celebrate a state baseball championship. It came in Division III, a year after playing at the highest level. It had been 41 years since a Phoenix Union High School District school won a state baseball title. Under the old system, this wouldn't have happened. The joy on the players' faces said it all.
No. 2 Stepping up
Because they had been so good at one level, both Peoria Centennial and Scottsdale Saguaro were moved up a division. After Centennial lost an appeal to stay at Division II, the defending state champs, behind strong senior leadership led by quarterback Isaac Steele, went out and won the Division I championship, beating Southeast Valley powers Chandler Hamilton, Phoenix Mountain Pointe and Mesa Desert Ridge along the way. Saguaro did the same thing, winning Division II a year after taking Division III.
No. 3 Pusching back
Unranked in preseason, Tucson Pusch Ridge was bumped up a division in football, despite its small enrollment, but showed incredible resiliency in the Division IV playoffs, rallying from behind in the last three playoff games to win it all, a great way for coach Troy Cropp to bow out.
MORE: Complete high school sports coverage
No. 4 Huge turnaround
Maybe no school experienced as a big a turnaround in a season than Phoenix North Canyon’s boys basketball team. After going 2-23 in Division I, the Rattlers were resurrected in Division III, winning 19 games and reaching the state quarterfinals, beating Casa Grande 55-53 to get there. It refueled coach Mike O’Guinn, who saw his teams suffer through four consecutive 20-plus-loss seasons.
No. 5 Hoops passion
The Apache and Navajo Indian reservations found celebration in the smallest division in basketball with San Carlos’ boys and Sanders Valley’s girls taking home the big trophies in Division V. Valley’s girls won their last 22 games after moving down a division. San Carlos boys, who moved down two divisions, won almost twice as many games with the move. It went 30-4.
No. 6 Participation numbers
Because of the Phoenix district's struggles in sports, most of the 10 schools got to play two divisions under where it would be based just on enrollment. That created increased numbers, especially in football, where Phoenix North coach Bernie Busken was able to brighten Friday nights with wins. North had a rare winning season (6-4), which created a buzz at the school after going 1-9 in Division I the previous season.
No. 7 South Mountain rising
The move down from D-II to D-III helped Phoenix South Mountain’s girls basketball team capture its first state championship since 2008 and put 5-foot-10 senior Najiyyah Pack on the map as the Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year. The move got South Mountain out of the same division as Chandler Seton Catholic, and it won 25 games, getting past another strong private school, Chandler Valley Christian, 58-55 in the final.
No. 8 Reason to play
In any other season, there would have been no media coverage for a game between two winless football teams late in the season. But Anthem Boulder Creek and Phoenix Horizon was a spotlight game on Oct. 16 to see which one would be the odd team out in the 17-team Division I. Horizon lost 55-35, but Boulder Creek ended up having to forfeit its only win because of an ineligible player (discovered only after the AIA released its brackets). Still, the only state playoff team without a win gave No. 1-seed Chandler a game for a quarter (it was tied 7-7 after 12 minutes), before falling 35-14.
No. 9 Prospecting for gold
Apache Junction was something of a baseball juggernaut in the 1970s and ‘80s. But the ever-growing East Valley kind of swallowed up the school in sports. The baseball team got a reprieve moving not one but two divisions down, and it seized its opportunity. Led by second-year coach Ray Figueroa, the Prospectors struck gold in Division IV, capturing state with an extra-inning win over Glendale Joy Christian. It was their first state title since 1983. They won 28 games a year after losing 21.
No. 10 D-I hoops parity
There were only 27 teams in boys basketball in the highest division, and, on any given day, anybody could beat anybody. It made for a great state tournament. Tempe Corona del Sol had lost some major parts, and didn’t get it going until late. By then, Phoenix Sunnyslope, led by Dane Maggi, was riding great confidence, and surprised everybody by getting to the final. But, in the end, Mesa, led by the Hatch brothers (Drew and Mark), won it all, beating the Vikings 51-48 in the championship game with Shane Burcar doing a masterful job of coaching.
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-460-1710. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.
