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Zone Read: Spring Ball, Short Yardage

Arizona Sports News online

Where’d April go? #AskingForAFriend

As the 2024-25 Arizona high school academic year winds to down, spring football ramps up.

This week “Zone Read” calls on friend of the column, Sports360AZ’s, Cody Cameron, for a knowledge drop like no other.

We also debut the new, hopefully semi-regular feature, “Short Yardage,” which will include a variety of small plate news bites from around the state.

Think Tapas with a distinct State 48 flavor.

First, a few things which caught Cody’s attention.

Watch Out for Williams Field

“Head coach Steve Campbell is the king of telling me his teams aren’t very good (even though they are talented and well-coached every year). This might be his best Williams Field team since the 2019 5A State Championship team. 

“The Black Hawks return a power offensive line, a unit that features multiple Division-I offered players, including Class of 2026 tackle Collin Campbell, Steve’s son. Williams Field has a top 1-2 punch tandem in the backfield returning in Q Skillings and Courshawn Hill, as well (over 1450 rushing yards combined and 20 TD’s). 

“A mix of experienced and young talent on the defensive side, but all 11 are athletic and fly to the football. Most importantly, this will be one of Coach Campbell’s best coaching staffs that he’s put together in his career. 

“Early prediction is that I expect the Black Hawks to win 8+ games this year.”

Mica Mountain Repeat?

“Mica Mountain ran through the 4A conference last year, finishing the historic (14-0) season defeating Arizona College Prep by almost 30 points in the state championship game. 

“The Bolts graduated many starters, and early indication on social media shows that the AZHSFB audience does not think Mica Mountain has enough talent to run it back. I remember doing prep work for that 4A State Championship game and I spoke to multiple Tucson-based coaches about the Mica Mountain program to get a better (but outside) perspective. The Southern Arizona coaches told me not only are they loaded, but they are building a powerhouse for years to come. 

“So, yes, maybe a few incoming seniors and juniors don’t have the crazy stats entering the new season. But the fact is, most of those kids would have been Day 1 starters for other teams. 

“Mica Mountain will be tested early when they travel to the Valley to take on ALA West Foothills. They will be tested later in the year when they play region foe Walden Grove. But I’ll have them as the #1 team in my 4A preseason ranking for a reason. They are on the 4A throne and I think they have the talent AND the coaching (first year head coach Jay Campos is awesome) to go back-to-back.”

Recruiting Hotbed 

“Lastly, I want to spotlight all of the school districts and coaches who have made a huge effort in helping their student athletes get recruited during the NCAA spring contact period. What used to be 1-2 showcases, has now blown-up to 10+ showcases/opportunities for kids all around the state to get recruited in-person FOR FREE!! This takes a lot of time and energy to put on, I just want to show thanks and appreciation to all of those people who make this happen. 

“Pretty soon, the Twitter/X feed will be blowing up with hundreds of new collegiate offers. Arizona truly is a hot bed for recruiting and we have amazing coaches and players here who deserve all the credit!”

Short Yardage

  • With Wyatt Horton out of eligibility, and off to Idaho State, Pinnacle’s quarterback room is, well…crowded.

Drew Varsano (senior)

Antonio Casias (senior, Cactus transfer)

Braxton Lowe (junior)

Jackson Reeder (junior, O’Connor transfer)

Grayson Bull (sophomore)

Beckett Moore (sophomore)

With Trace Carroll off to Chaparral, new PHS QB Coach Sam Keller, and incumbent OC Matt Hanshaw, will be busy this spring.

  • Speaking of Carroll, it’s good to see the first-year head coach bringing Chap Town back to their roots, assembling a staff that includes several Firebird alums, as well as others with CHS ties.

For a program that couldn’t get out of their own way on, or off, the field the last two years, Carroll’s juice will be a fresh approach to get things turned around.

  • The Chandler Unified School District just hits different.

Apparently the football between the lines competition has spilled over to swag bragging rights, as well.

Shortly after Basha announced their new licensing deal with Jumpman, long-time Hamilton offensive line coach, Mark Tucker, subtly clapped back on social.

Word gets around quick in the CUSD.

Any sponsorship you can do, we can do better.

  • In an offense littered with elite skill players, it’s time to give Brophy senior running back Harrison Chambers his flowers.

A two-year varsity starter and all-region player, the steady, versatile back has a chance to move into BCP’s Top 10 for career rushing yards with a solid fall.

Chambers’ experience and knowledge of the offense will also take some pressure off the Broncos’ completely remodeled offensive line. 

  • Love ballers who also put the “student” in student-athlete.

I give you Exhibit A: Chavez defensive lineman, Amare Bell.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound defensive lineman shows as much passion in the classroom, as he does in the trenches.

Bell holds a weighted 4.0 GPA and just received his first D-I offer from Cornell.

As a junior, he was a 1st-team All-Region and All-District player for Chandler Hovik.

  • Friday is “Meet the Coach(es) Night” at Maryvale and the return of the Carter’s to the Valley after coaching last year in Georgia.

The blueprint will look familiar.

The co-head coaches have a new hashtag for their new school: #4QM.

“The meaning behind 4Q mentality is that everybody seems to turn up the effort and urgency to complete the goal to win the fourth quarter,” Marcus Carter said. “For us to be successful, we have to live our every day lives this way.”

There’s a bigger picture to high school football far beyond the wins and losses under the lights.

Let’s not forget that. 

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