SUNRISE REGION FOOTBALL CAPSULES

SUNRISE REGION FOOTBALL CAPSULES

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

BASIC

Coach: Cliff Frazier, 16th year (48-93)

2006 record: 3-7 (1-5 Southeast)

Returning starters: Five offense, five defense

Top players: WR/DB Greg Henderson (Sr., 5-9, 175), C/DT Javier Hernandez (Sr., 5-11, 275), WR Jeff Pozdol (Jr., 6-1, 190), WR Justin Burdno (Jr., 5-9, 175), G/DT Craig Bell (Sr., 6-2, 305), DE/G Bladen Ficarrotta (Sr., 5-9, 185), LB Neal Russell (Sr., 6-2, 185)

Outlook: The Wolves had trouble scoring last year, averaging 14.5 points per game, but Frazier believes the offense could be a strong suit this season.

Henderson (43 catches, 543 yards), a first-team All-Sunrise Region performer at wide receiver and defensive back, gives Basic a stellar player on both sides of the ball. Frazier said the team will try to get the ball to the speedy Henderson as much as possible and try to get outside more this season.

Burdno and Pozdol also are experienced receivers, but the defense will have to improve after allowing 30 or more points in five games last season.

CORONADO

Coach: Alex Moore, third year (5-15)

2006 record: 1-9 (0-6 Southeast)

Returning starters: Five offense, five defense

Top players: WR T.J. Knowles (Sr., 6-7, 210), MLB Colton Schofield (Sr., 6-1, 205), LB/RB Matt Church (Sr., 5-8, 190)

Outlook: Strength is in numbers for the Cougars this fall. The team is up to 55 varsity players, leaving Moore with more depth than ever and also leaving more positions up for grabs as the season starts.

Knowles is one of the area's top returning receivers after catching 41 passes for 672 yards and nine TDs. Knowles will be the top target for whoever starts at quarterback. Brady McManus started at quarterback as a sophomore in 2005 and passed for 857 yards a year ago but is battling for the starting spot.

The team will use a platoon of five running backs early as the coaches wait for a starter to emerge.

"We're in a situation where we have a good problem," Moore said. "We have 55 kids on our varsity, and that's a good problem to have."

DEL SOL

Coach: Preston Goroff, fourth year (16-17)

2006 record: 10-3 (6-0 Southeast)

Returning starters: Six offense, six defense

Top players: OT/DT Otto Hansell (Sr., 6-3, 305), OT/DT Pono Huihui (Sr., 6-1, 275), G/DE Pat Mendes (Sr., 5-10, 250), ILB Mike McCune (Sr., 5-9, 200), RB/SS Bryan Grenier (Sr., 5-11, 185)

Outlook: After winning the league title last season, the Dragons won't surprise opponents this year.

"We know that some other teams in the league will be gunning for us this year," Goroff said. "We know we've got a little bit of a bull's-eye on us this year."

Without all-state running back Tim Johnson, who rushed for an area-best 2,749 yards and 32 TDs, Del Sol will go to more of a ball-control offense. The Dragons hope to take advantage of a huge and experienced offensive line, led by second-team All-Sunrise Region picks Hansell and Mendes.

Grenier and fullback John Kirschbaum will lead the ground game with help from junior Jordan Molina. And senior quarterback Matt Burge is back after passing for 1,145 yards and 12 TDs a year ago.

FOOTHILL

Coach: Marty Redmond, third year (18-5)

2006 record: 7-3 (5-1 Southeast)

Returning starters: Six offense, seven defense

Top players: OL/DL Alex Bair (Sr., 6-5, 260), OL/DL Jordan Monga (Sr., 6-2, 285), DL Mike Garciaguirre (Sr., 6-2, 300), LB Rocco Riviezzo (Sr., 5-10, 190), WR/DB Chad Paradis (Sr., 5-9, 160), SS/RB Derek Muaava (So., 6-2, 195)

Outlook: The Falcons will have a new look this season, largely because of the departure of four-year starting running back D'Angelo Jones. Jones rushed for 2,511 yards and 34 TDs as a senior and finished his career as the state's all-time leading rusher. Without him, the Falcons will switch to a spread offense rather than the power running attack used in the past.

The line should be the strength of the offense, with all-stater Bair returning along with three other starting linemen. Foothill will use a committee of three running backs, at least early in the season, and sophomore Aaron Dupin is slated to start at quarterback, replacing two-year starter James Silvas, who also graduated. The Falcons also have to replace Ryan Erekson, their leading receiver last year.

Redmond believes the defense should be a strength, especially on the line, where the team's size and strength should be a factor. The Falcons might not be the high-scoring team they've been in the past, but Foothill always seems to contend in the Southeast.

GREEN VALLEY

Coach: Matt Gerber, second year (5-6)

2006 record: 5-6 (3-3 Southeast)

Returning starters: Five offense, three defense

Top players: RB Frank Satterfield (Sr., 5-10, 175), TE/DL Cody Aughney (Sr., 6-4, 215), QB/DB Dominic McGovern (Sr., 5-9, 170), WR Justin Shannon (Sr., 5-8, 165), WR Michael Crutcher (Sr., 5-11, 170), FB/DL Derrick Garrett (Jr., 5-11, 215), LB Zach Gallegos (Sr., 5-9, 200), MLB/OL Robert Adell (Sr., 5-11, 195)

Outlook: Gerber is hoping to get the Gators back to the playoffs this season and would like to advance beyond the first round.

The skill players look like the team's strength, led by second team All-Sunrise Region pick Satterfield, who rushed for 1,111 yards and 13 TDs as a junior.

Garrett returns at fullback, and Gerber expects junior Quincey Bagsby to help the running game. The quarterback position is up in the air, with McGovern battling junior Nick Libonati. Gerber said both would see time in the season opener but expects to settle on a quarterback early. The position was unsettled all season in 2006, with the Gators using three signal callers much of the season.

Aughney, who caught 19 passes for 290 yards and three TDs, leads what Gerber believes is a strong receiving unit that should help the team be more balanced and take pressure off Satterfield.

LIBERTY

Coach: Lou Markouzis, fifth year (9-22)

2006 record: 4-6 (2-4 Southeast)

Returning starters: Three offense, three defense

Top players: RB/DB Garrick Powell (Sr., 6-1, 185), WR/DB Austin Niggemeier (Jr., 6-4, 195)

Outlook: After winning five games in their first three years of existence, the Patriots showed life last season, missing the playoffs by one win.

Though the team graduated 27, losing most of its starters, the Patriots have two offensive weapons in Powell and Niggemeier. Powell became the school's first 1,000-yard rusher last season, running for 1,182 yards and 12 TDs in earning second-team All-Southeast Division honors.

Niggemeier didn't play last season but gives the team a threat at wideout.

The fact that the rest of the team is new might be a plus. Markouzis said this group didn't go through the rough times of the school's first three seasons.

"This team hasn't been through the mental abuse that the team we've had the last three or four years did," Markouzis said. "Mentally, when you get beat by 50-60 points every week, it takes a toll on you. Mentally we're not going into the season with a fear factor like we probably have had the last couple seasons."

SILVERADO

Coach: Andy Ostolaza, first year

2006 record: 9-3 (4-2 Southeast)

Returning starters: Five offense, five defense

Top players: MLB/FB Kolton Villa (Sr., 6-3, 238), RB/LB Telvin McMillian (Sr., 6-0, 206), OT/DT Daniel Wiley (Sr., 6-3, 343), TE/LB T.J. Alofipo (Jr., 6-1, 228), DE Keenan Graham (Jr., 6-3, 196), RB Teran Madu-Jules (So., 5-8, 168)

Outlook: The Skyhawks lost several players to graduation, but Ostolaza, who was the defensive coordinator at Del Sol last season, inherits a team with good size and speed.

The coach will ditch the option attack used last season in favor of a power offense to take advantage of big running backs Villa and McMillian. McMillian ran for 696 yards and seven TDs, and Villa rushed for 427 yards and three scores. They will get help from speedy sophomore Madu-Jules.

The biggest question mark for the offense will be in replacing second-team All-Sunrise Region quarterback Kevin Rath, who accounted for much of the team's offense last season. Rath passed for 1,192 yards and 14 TDs and rushed for 758 yards and 15 TDs.

Nick Underwood, a 6-foot-7-inch senior, will take over under center. Ostolaza said his quarterback is making the adjustment from the option system to the new formation, but the coach said Underwood has a strong arm and is quick enough to be a weapon as a runner.

Villa, a first-team All-Sunrise pick at linebacker last year, will spearhead the defense.

NORTHEAST DIVISION

CANYON SPRINGS

Coach: Matt Jenkins, third year (15-8)

2006 record: 8-4 (4-2 Northeast)

Returning starters: Six offense, three defense

Top players: QB Devonte Christopher (Sr., 6-1, 190), RB DeCasio Collins (Sr., 5-10, 190), WR Juron Criner (Sr., 6-4, 205), OT Robert Cutts (Sr., 6-3, 250), DE Kyle Delgado (Sr., 6-3, 250), FS Jacob Houghtailing (Sr., 6-1, 190), S Timmy Hicks (Sr., 5-9, 175), CB DeMario Lay (Sr., 6-0, 180), DE Chris Rosemond (Sr., 6-3, 205), WR Raveon Samuel (Sr., 6-5, 200), WR Mikey Satajwan (Sr., 5-9, 170), SS Antonio Williams (Sr., 5-9, 180)

Outlook: No area team can match the Pioneers' returning skill players.

Christopher is the area's top returning passer after throwing for 2,736 yards and 33 TDs as a junior. He also rushed for 519 yards and three scores.

Criner (36 catches, 788 yards) and Samuel (57 caches, 937 yards), both all-state receivers, give Christopher two long, athletic targets. And the running game has depth, with Collins (1,115 yards, 11 TDs) back and joined by Rancho transfer DeShawn Stewart (656 yards, seven TDs).

The team's biggest question will be the offensive line, where the Pioneers lost all five starters to graduation. Jenkins believes the defense will be improved, especially against the run.

CHAPARRAL

Coach: Fernando Carmona, fourth year (8-22)

2006 record: 3-7 (2-4 Northeast)

Returning starters: Five offense, five defense

Top players: RB/LB Quentin McCloud (Sr., 5-11, 200), C/DT Leonardo Alfaro (Sr., 6-0, 285), WR David Herrera (Sr., 5-10, 175), QB/S Tyquise Anthony (Sr., 6-3, 185), OLB/WR Jose Olague (Sr., 6-1, 180), CB/WR Troy McMurray (Sr., 5-8, 160), OT/DT Jeff Morgan (Jr., 6-3, 305)

Outlook: Carmona is hopeful the Cowboys can contend for a playoff berth in what he believes is a much-improved division.

McCloud was the team's leading tackler last season and is back to lead the defense. He also will be the team's top ball carrier this year. Carmona said he expects McCloud to get 15 to 20 carries a game and said "we'll go as far as Quentin takes us."

Anthony, a transfer from California, gives the Cowboys a steady quarterback, and Carmona said the senior is a strong leader.

The offensive line is big and could be a strong point, but injuries have hampered the unit early, and only eight linemen are on the varsity roster.

DESERT PINES

Coach: Paul Bennett, third year (8-13)

2006 record: 7-4 (4-2 Northeast)

Returning starters: Nine offense, nine defense

Top players: RB/LB Michael Ball (Sr., 5-10, 220), TE/DE Charles Smith (Sr., 6-6, 230), WR/CB Josh Williams (Sr., 5-10, 170), RB/LB Kimani Bullard (Sr., 6-1, 175), FB/LB Genesis Faga (Jr., 5-11, 200), FB/DE Dennis Scott (Jr., 5-11, 220)

Outlook: The Jaguars went from one win in 2005 to seven last season, and Bennett hopes that's just the beginning. The team returns nearly all of its starters, including a healthy Ball.

Ball, who has committed to UNR, missed three full games and most of a fourth with a dislocated elbow but still ran for 1,126 yards and 14 TDs.

He'll get help on offense from Williams, a big-play threat, and elusive backup running back Kwame Banks.

On defense, the linebackers should be a strong group with Faga and Bullard joined by Banks and Michael Sanchez. Smith, a big defensive end, will help lead the defense.

The offensive line is young, and the team must find a replacement for two-way all-state lineman Michael Cosgrove.

"I think we'll continue to move forward," Bennett said. "I think we're going to take our lumps, but we're going to get stronger. Hopefully what you want is to be at the right place at the end."

ELDORADO

Coach: Frank Tousa, third year (4-15)

2006 record: 2-7 (2-4 Northeast)

Returning starters: Six offense, four defense

Top players: QB Manny Estrada (Sr., 6-1, 210), RB Tone Gatewood (Jr., 5-9, 160), OL Marc Matta (Sr., 5-10, 260), OL/DL Rayshod Arberry (Sr., 6-5, 310), TE/LB Derrick Knight (Sr., 5-11, 200), LB Andrew Shark (Sr., 6-2, 185)

Outlook: The Sundevils were a different team in the final three games of the 2006 season than they were at the start, and Tousa hopes the squad can build on that late-season success.

Eldorado won two of its final three games and showed life on offense. The Sundevils scored 108 points in those final three games after scoring 59 in the first six.

Tousa expects a better year out of Estrada, who he said is in better shape after hard work in the offseason. He passed for 912 yards and 12 TDs last year. Gatewood, who led the team in rushing last year, should lead what Tousa hopes is an improved ground attack. The coach hopes to compete for a playoff spot.

LAS VEGAS

Coach: Chris Faircloth, fourth year (37-6)

2006 record: 12-2 (6-0 Northeast)

Returning starters: One offense, three defense

Top players: QB Marvin Campbell (Sr., 6-3, 205), OL Garrett Gardner (Sr., 6-2, 225), WR Zerrick Pryor (Sr., 5-9, 170), RB Emery Schexnayder (So., 5-10, 210), RB Robert Hackett (Sr., 5-8, 180), LB Colin Shumate (Sr., 6-1, 230), DL Ben Moser (Sr., 6-3, 240), DL Joseph Bringhurst (Sr., 5-10, 205), DB Isiah McNeal (Sr., 5-8, 175)

Outlook: The Wildcats have won the last two Class 4A state titles, but there are few familiar faces on the roster. Campbell is the lone returning starter on offense, and he shifts from wide receiver to take over at quarterback for the graduated O'Ryan Bradley, who was the state player of the year.

Campbell, who also is a standout baseball player, has a strong arm but little experience at the position.

"I have all the confidence he'll do a great job," Faircloth said. "He just has a good presence on the field, and he's a real good leader."

Schexnayder and Hackett saw time at running back last year, and Faircloth believes they will provide a strong running game. Schexnayder ran for 317 yards as a freshman, and Hackett was supposed to be the starter last season but was injured in the first game and missed most of the season.

Faircloth also is confident his linemen will be a strength, but the team will have to come together quickly, as it plays a brutal nonconference schedule.

The Wildcats open with Pine View (Utah) and then play Madera (Calif.) and Skyline (Utah), which has won 13 of the last 19 Utah large-school championships. Those three teams have accounted for all of Las Vegas' losses the last two seasons. The Wildcats' final non-division game is against always-tough Cimarron-Memorial.

"Hopefully we don't lose them all, but 0-4 going into league is a possibility," Faircloth said. "Probably a bigger possibility than I'd like to admit."

RANCHO

Coach: Gary Maki, fourth year (3-27)

2006 record: 0-10 (0-6 Northeast)

Returning starters: Five offense, eight defense

Top players: OL/LB James Korte (Jr., 6-1, 210), OL/DL Arnold Avila (Sr., 5-11, 215), OL/DL Jiries Totah (Sr., 6-3, 308), QB James Cammack (Jr., 5-9, 170), WR/OLB DiJon Holman (Jr., 6-1, 170)

Outlook: The Rams have lost 17 straight games and were outscored 464-99 last season, but things may be looking up.

The team's field is complete, though well behind schedule. After three years of playing all road games and practicing in a park, Rancho got on its new field Saturday for its scrimmage with Moapa Valley. The facility wasn't finished, so the team's first practice on the field was Tuesday, and some of its equipment, including blocking sleds, hasn't been brought back to campus from Hartke Park.

Maki likes his seniors' work ethic and said they lead by example. He said the junior class has the strong athletes, led by quarterback Cammack, who got experience under center as a sophomore.

Maki believes the team has playoff potential and could surprise if it avoids injuries to key players.

"A lot of schools have that one marquee athlete, and we don't have that," Maki said. "They epitomize what you want as a team. They win together and lose together."

VALLEY

Coach: Jim Massey, fourth year (21-13)

2006 record: 3-8 (3-3 Northeast)

Returning starters: Three offense, one defense

Top players: QB Kerwin Williams (Jr., 5-9, 165), WR Rigo Sosa (Sr., 5-9, 180), C Brian Carter (Sr., 5-11, 185)

Outlook: The Vikings have little experience, especially on defense.

On offense, Williams steps in at quarterback after playing running back on the junior varsity last season. Little is returning in the way of offensive production, as the team lost its leading rusher, passer and receiver.

Massey said the team lacks size and will rely on its quickness.

The coach is confident in his team despite its lack of size or experience.

"We can play with every team we line up against," Massey said.