TOP RETURNERS AND COACHES WITH HONORS
FLOWING WELLS
2023 ALL-REGION SELECTIONS
NG/G Giancarlo Quintero, Sr.
QB/ATH Tyler Friedenberg, Sr., 5-11, 165
SB/LB/FB Alfredo Guzman, Jr., 5-9, 165
OL/DL JJ Norzagaray, Soph.
WR/DB Benicio Ruiz, Jr., 5-10, 160
RB/LB Jayden Simmons, Jr.
WR/CB Alex Thompson, Sr., 5-8, 140
IRONWOOD RIDGE
REGION COACH OF THE YEAR
Dale Stott
2023 ALL-REGION SELECTIONS
DB/WR Grant Dooling, Sr., 6-0, 195
K/WR Isaac Rhinehouse, Jr., 5-10, 160
WR/DB Matthew Kroner, Sr., 5-10, 155
RB/LB Isaac Hyde, Sr., 6-0, 200
DE/TE David Baba, Sr., 6-2, 225
WR/CB Aiden Norris, Sr., 6-0, 170
OL/DL Brady Allen, Soph., 6-3, 260
QB/FS Colton Britt, Sr., 6-3, 175
G/C Jordan Garcia, Sr., 5-10, 260
C/DT Wyatt Jones, Sr., 6-0, 240
LB/DE/OL Samuel Kleving, Sr., 6-1, 215
QB/S Jayden Martinez, Jr., 5-4, 130
DE/LB/TE Justus Mattox, Sr., 6-3, 205
MOUNTAIN VIEW
2023 ALL-REGION SELECTIONS
FS Diego Gomez, Sr., 5-9, 155
RB Nicholas Horrocks, Sr., 6-0, 190
TE/LB Jason Pogue, Jr., 6-1, 240
OL/DL Samuel Bacahui, Sr., 5-10, 240
RB/DB Michael Davis, Jr., 5-11, 165
OL/DL Eli Holguin, Jr., 5-11, 218
TE/LB Julien Sanchez, Jr., 5-6, 187
TE Hayden Van Langen, Sr., 6-5, 240
QB Damien Wallace, Sr., 6-0, 185
NOGALES
2023 ALL-REGION SELECTIONS
P/K Aldo Cuatepotzo, Jr., 5-8, 185
WR/DB Santiago Doolittle, Soph.
DE/TE Antonio Garcia, Sr., 6-3, 225
T/DE Adrian Martinez, Sr.
RB/FS Javier Ocampo, Soph.
TUCSON
2023 ALL-REGION SELECTIONS
WR/SB/CB Noah Chanez, Jr., 5-7, 160
WR/DB Oliver Simmers, Jr., 6-0, 185
DT/LB Taysean Romero, Jr., 5-6, 206
LB Victor Otero, Sr., 6-5
LB Dominic Drow, Jr., 5-10, 210
WR/P Joseph Romero, Sr., 6-0, 160
LB Julian Alvarado, Sr., 5-10, 205
FS/CB Ruben Bravo, Soph., 5-9, 150
S/WR Kevin Bruns, Sr., 6-2, 200
G Devante Cota, Jr., 5-11, 173
RB/LB Romello Haywood, Sr.
DT/NT Martin Martinez, Sr., 5-9, 275
CB Marcelino Montano, Sr.
LB/DE Xzavior Montano, Jr., 5-7, 140
OG/LS Isaiah Tadeo, Soph., 5-10, 210
TE/LB Alejandro Valenzuela, Sr., 6-0, 200
A LOOK AT …
4A Kino
4A Gila
3A South
2A San Pedro
1A South
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Tucson High athlete Noah Chanez
Chanez, 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, tallied 1,610 all-purpose yards last season, including 565 in kickoff returns and 194 in punt returns. He averaged 26.9 yards per kickoff return and 17.6 yards in punt returns. He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, including one of 76 yards. He also caught 39 passes for 501 yards with four touchdowns and rushed for 350 yards on 42 carries with two touchdowns.
Ironwood Ridge wide receiver/defensive back Matthew Kroner
Kroner, 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, is one of the best returning receivers in Southern Arizona after totaling 821 yards on 43 receptions with nine touchdowns last season. He also returned two punts for touchdowns and averaged 16.2 yards on his punt returns. As a defensive back, he accumulated 29 tackles with an interception and four pass deflections.
Mountain View running back Nicholas Horrocks
Horrocks, 6-foot and 190 pounds, is a senior with an old-school straightforward running style. He ran past or over tacklers routinely last year. He accumulated 1,156 rushing yards on 205 carries with 11 touchdowns. The 205 rushes shows how durable and reliable Horrocks was for Mountain View coach Matt Johnson.
5A SONORAN NOTES
— Flowing Wells, under third-year coach Brian Hook, opens at home against Agua Fria and then plays three straight road games followed by three consecutive home games, including the first two region games against Ironwood Ridge and Mountain View. The annual Prince Road Rivalry game against Amphi is at Amphi this season on Sept. 13.
— Ironwood Ridge coach Dale Stott also embarks on his third season after leading the Nighthawks to the 5A state playoffs, going from a 1-9 record in his first season to 8-3 last season. Ironwood Ridge again plays Southern Arizona teams and Maricopa within its region except for a non-conference game at home against Seton Catholic, which went 2-8 last season. The Nighthawks have two long trips in the non-region schedule to Sierra Vista to face Buena and to Douglas. Three of their five region games are on the road.
— Matt Johnson, one of the legendary local coaches with a state championship, faces a schedule with six road games in his 21st season as a head coach. It is a flip from last year, when the Mountain Lions had six home games. Unique in both schedules — five straight games on the road this year after five consecutive at home last season. The Mountain Lions have a gap of home games from Sept. 13 all the way to Nov. 1. In between, they will play at rival Marana, Walden Grove, Flowing Wells, Nogales and Maricopa. Mountain View found it difficult to take advantage of five straight home games last season because of an abnormal amount of season-ending injuries, including to its first- and second-string quarterbacks.
— Nogales is now more familiar with Joshua Jett, who was hired relatively late last year as head coach from a high school in Texas, where he was an assistant coach. It will be tough to immediately get on a winning track this season with the opener at Pueblo, but the Apaches should gather some steam by the time they travel to I-19 rival Rio Rico on Sept. 13. Nogales has lost the last two meetings against Rio Rico after going unbeaten in the first 12 games between the schools.
— Tucson, under second-year coach Zachary Neveleff, who knows how to win coming from Salpointe’s program, won four consecutive games to conclude last season to finish 5-5. The Badgers are playing the same schedule, except for the sites being flipped other than Marana visiting Tucson again in Week 2. Last year’s game was originally scheduled to be played at Marana but switched to Tucson after a monsoon storm caused a significant delay in the Tigers’ new turf to be set. Tucson will make it a mission to turn around the results from a five-game losing streak it experienced last year after beating South Mountain at home to start the season. … Former Catalina Foothills offensive lineman Izaiah Reyes, a senior who is 6-1, 299, has transferred to Tucson High. Reyes was an all-region selection with the Falcons last year in the 4A Kino.
— Maricopa is in the region that has mostly Southern Arizona schools despite it being closer to Phoenix to the northwest of Casa Grande. The Rams are coming off a 4-6 record with a huge upset of Ironwood Ridge at home in the second-to-last game of the season.
5A SONORAN SCHEDULES
FLOWING WELLS
Head coach: Brian Hook (6-14, third season at Flowing Wells and overall)Caballeros compete in the 5A Sonoran. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Ovr | Reg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/30 | Agua Fria | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/6 | at Sunnyside | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/13 | at Amphi | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/20 | at Sahuarita | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/27 | Barry Goldwater | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/4 | Ironwood Ridge* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/11 | Mountain View* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/25 | at Tucson* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/1 | Nogales* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/8 | at Maricopa* | -- | -- | -- |
IRONWOOD RIDGE
Head coach: Dale Stott (9-12, third season at Ironwood Ridge and overall at the high school level)Nighthawks compete in the 5A Sonoran. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Ovr | Reg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/30 | Seton Catholic | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/6 | at Buena | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/13 | Empire | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/20 | at Douglas | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/27 | Sahuaro | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/4 | at Flowing Wells* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/11 | at Tucson* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/25 | Nogales* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/1 | Maricopa* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/8 | at Mountain View* | -- | -- | -- |
MOUNTAIN VIEW
Head coach: Matt Johnson (19-24, sixth year at Mountain View and 132-85 overall in his 21st year)Mountain Lions compete in the 5A Sonoran. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Ovr | Reg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/30 | Gilbert | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/6 | at Horizon | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/13 | Sunrise Mountain | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/20 | at Marana | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/4 | at Walden Grove | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/11 | at Flowing Wells* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/18 | at Nogales* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/25 | at Maricopa* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/1 | Tucson* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/8 | Ironwood Ridge* | -- | -- | -- |
NOGALES
Head coach: Joshua Jetton (0-10, second year at Nogales and overall)Apaches compete in the 5A Sonoran. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Ovr | Reg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/30 | at Pueblo | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/6 | Casa Grande | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/13 | at Rio Rico | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/27 | Sunnyside | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/4 | at Desert View | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/11 | Maricopa* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/18 | Mountain View* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/25 | at Ironwood Ridge* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/1 | at Flowing Wells* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/8 | Tucson* | -- | -- | -- |
TUCSON
Head coach: Zachary Neveleff (5-5, second year at Tucson and overall)Badgers compete in the 5A Sonoran. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Ovr | Reg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/30 | at South Mountain | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/6 | Marana | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/13 | Cienega | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/20 | at Buena | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/27 | at Catalina Foothills | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/11 | Ironwood Ridge* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/18 | Maricopa* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/25 | Flowing Wells* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/1 | at Mountain View* | -- | -- | -- |
| 11/8 | at Nogales* | -- | -- | -- |
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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