Ironwood Ridge had a setback on Tuesday when Cienega came in and beat the Nighthawks on their own court. It was a huge win for the Bobcats but it also came five days after getting swept by Sahuaro.
What to look for on Friday:
All the 6A Southern Region teams have a bye week.
Cienega (5-0) at Salpointe (4-1) and Amphitheater (3-2) vs. Sahuarita (1-4) are the only non-region games in Southern Arizona.
Pending district approval, Sahuaro has recommended Darren Blakely to take over the baseball program at the school. Blakely, a longtime minor-leaguer coming out of the University of Hawaii, played for Team USA in the 2003 World Cup in Cuba and now resides in Tucson.
Tombstone head coach Mike Hayhurst has his Yellow Jackets rolling again. The program hasn’t had a winning record since 2007 (7-3) and finished 2-8 two years ago, one year before Hayhurst was rehired.
The 16th Annual TYR High School Classic Swim and Dive Invitational will be held Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center on the University of Arizona Campus. The meet will be presented by Sahuaro High School and Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics.
Flowing Wells High School will be inducting their Fourteenth class into the Sports Hall of Fame on Friday September 30, 2016. The induction ceremony will be prior to the football game against Amphitheater High School.
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BOYS GOLF: Gavin Cohen wins Flowing Wells Tournament of Champions
Salpointe beat Pueblo 47-14 Friday night to move to 4-1 on the year. It was an important victory for the Lancers considering the strength of the Kino Region in the 4A Conference. A loss now would have made the path to the playoffs more difficult with Cienega (5-0), Canyon del 0ro (3-2) and Catalina Foothills (4-1) remaining on the Salpointe schedule.
As expected, the Southern Region was well represented in the initial 5A Power Rankings released Thursday morning. Ironwood Ridge (8-1) was the top rated team, Cienega (6-2) came in at No. 3 and Sahuaro (6-1) was ranked No. 8. The rankings will be updated daily so expect some movement Friday morning with Sahuaro beating Cienega 3-0 Thursday night at home.
FOOTBALL: Salpointe at Pueblo Preview
The 5A Southern Region is arguably the most difficult in Southern Arizona regardless of conference size. Four of the five programs in the 5A Southern Region have a place in my Top 10 rankings including Ironwood Ridge, Sahuaro, Cienega and Marana Mountain View.
Flowing Wells Tournament of Champions
Sept. 23-24: Silverbelle Golf Course
Arizona Christian added All-Southern Arizona infielder Shae Bushey to its 2017 recruiting class this past week. Bushey, an infielder from Cienega, batted .439 in her junior year with two home runs, four triples, 10 doubles and 21 RBIs.
Cactus Shadows junior standout Jake Benanti played as even as can play to capture the championship of the Rivalry Cup held this past Friday and Saturday at the Stonecreek Golf Club. Benanti shot an even 71 on Friday and an even 71 (142) to defeat Highland senior Brock Goyen 142-148.
Cienega went 4-6 last year and missed the state playoffs. Watching other teams play in the postseason was territory the power-program was not used to but that nightmare appears to be over thanks, in part, to a 42-0 win over Flowing Wells Friday night because that win gave the Bobcats a 4-0 record. Going back to last year, the Bobcats have won seven in a row.
Former Ironwood Ridge standout fulfills dream, becomes Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader
Ironwood Ridge improved to 5-0 on the year after beating Rincon/University 3-1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-13, 25-22) Tuesday night at home. With the win, head coach Bill Lang joined Juanita Kingston and Sandy Novak in the 400-win club for girls’ volleyball from Southern Arizona.
Tucson area Top 10 Volleyball Rankings
VOLLEYBALL: Marana wins Flowing Wells Invite & The Gregory School takes Wolfpack
Pusch Ridge outlasted Safford 40-17 to improve to 2-1 on the year and it took a perfect night from a backup quarterback trying to make his own identity on a championship team to get it done.
Mountain View put together over 600 yards of offense Thursday night to get past Sunnyside 52-8. The win pushed the Mountain Lions to 2-1 on the year while the Blue Devils fell to 2-2. The win also avenged a 46-20 loss to Sunnyside last year that ultimately prevented the Mountain Lions from making the playoffs.
Mountain View swept district rival Marana 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-15) Wednesday night to improve to 6-5 overall and 1-3 in regular season matches. The win came one day after taking power-program Salpointe to five sets at home before dropping the fifth set 15-8.
There will be a new champion at the Flowing Wells Volleyball Imitational this year, guaranteed. Catalina Foothills won the invitational last year and the year but Sahuarita, the 2015 runner-up, is still in the field.
1909 articles by Andy Morales
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