2014-15-aia-football-sollenberger-azpreps-report-highres

By Don Ketchum, aia365.comNo. 1 SHOW LOW. Coach Randy Ricedorffprobably doesn’t have any superstarsamong his group, but the players work extremelywell together as the Cougars have inthe seven years under his watch. Ricedorffis quick to give credit to his assistants – “Wehave a great staff committed to play for achampionship.’’ As always, the true measuringstick will be games against rival LakesideBlue Ridge and Snowflake.Division IV Preseason RankingsNo. 2 LAKESIDE BLUE RIDGE. Give JakeBelshe credit. He isn’t afraid to follow in thefootsteps of an Arizona coaching legend –Paul Moro. Belshe also can draw on theknowledge of his former high schoolcoaches – Tim Slade (Round Valley) andMike Morgan (St. Johns), as well as his collegecoach at UTEP, Mike Price. The Yellowjackets alwaysseem to find a way to win.The Yellowjackets of Blue Ridge captured the 2013 AIA Division IV trophy,thanks to a hard-fought 17-7 win over River Valley (photo by DuaneMatsen/maxpreps.com).trick for Early will be to get a consistent effort on a weeklybasis.No. 3 CHANDLER SETON CATHOLIC. It wouldn’t be asurprise to see coach Rex Bowser’s Sentinels in the titlegame – after all, they defeated Blue Ridge for the crown in2012. Bowser likes his receivers, running backs and secondary,but he needs to develop a quarterback and a lineto block for him.No. 4 SNOWFLAKE. Could this be the year that the Lobosupstage Show Low and Blue Ridge? Veteran coach RonTenney just might have the people to do it. This should beone of the most unified groups that Tenney has had, andthey are tough in the trenches. The team needs a reliablequarterback and a few sure-handed passing targets.No. 5 RIVER VALLEY. Coach Terry Staggs stepped downin May to be closer to family out of state after leading theteam to the title game. Mark Ruckle and Paul Duchaineauwill share the coaching duties, and the cupboard shouldnot be bare, with the return of many of the players whohelped put the team on the map.No. 6 GOODYEAR ESTRELLA FOOTHILLS. CoachLamar Early appears to have good size up front and one ofthe state’s top young running backs in Joe Logan, whoemerged as a major force in 2013 as a sophomore. TheNo. 7 COOLIDGE. The Bears have 27 players who wereunderclassmen last season from a team that finished 10-2,so that should be a good starting point for coach CayleFerguson. Coolidge was the No. 5 seed in the state tournament.No. 8 WINSLOW. The Bulldogs don’t always have a lot ofsize, but few teams can match them for toughness. Theyfinished a respectable 8-4 last season under coach B.J.Little and have a core of 17 players returning, many ofwhom will be sophomores. Winslow was the No. 7 seedlast season.No. 9 SAHUARITA. Eight offensive starters and six defensivestarters are back for coach David Rodriguez. TheMustangs likely will have to go through Safford in order toset themselves up for a playoff run. The chances of makingthat happen will get better if they can discover somedepth up front.No. 10 FOUNTAIN HILLS. Coach Jim Fairfield has put in alot of hard work in his 22 years leading the program, andperhaps this will be the year when his athletes can raisetheir play to another level. Putting together a consistentdefense will be one of the keys for Fairfield and his staff.page 34