What AZHSFB football team do you think will have the best group of LBs in the 2021 season? Chandler, O’Connor to name a couple I’d gravitate toward, but obviously some great ones outside of those.

The East Valley heatin up!! Bringin that "old school" back over there on Brown Road.. Should be exciting times!!

What rule would you like to see implemented in AZ high school football?

I, for one, would like to see every stadium have a play clock. I know that’s not necessarily feasible for cost’s sake, but still something I’d like.

I don’t actually know if they even do this anymore, but there always used to be a National punt, pass and kick competition.

What Az high school player do you think is winning that competition? Has to be a uniquely talented athlete with both feet and hands.

I'm interested in folks thoughts on potential finalists for the Ed Doherty award for 2021. Last year barring anything crazy I think we all felt that Ty Thompson was a lock to at the very least be one of the finalists. Who would you guys say is an early favorite this season?

One of the best '23 RBs makin the move east to a power program!! Yikes!!

Long rumored move will most likely see a program that has fallen on hard times add one of the most successful OCs..

A '22 multisport Southern Arizona TE/DE has chosen to attend Higley..

Who’s your favorite to win 4,5,6A conference titles this year?

I think we know the favorite 3-4 in the open, but the conference title is a completely different story. Need to be good enough to play there, but struggle juuuuuuust enough to not make the open

here are my picks (which will surely change at some point)

4A: Cactus
5A: Desert edge (could be open because they’re going to score a TON, but is defense good enough?)
6A: Highland or Basha

The 6A and 5A schedules are now up on the website! After taking a look at those, which 6A and 5A playoff team (including open teams) from last season has the most challenging path back to the playoffs? But also who has the most favorable path back?

For 6A I’m taking Boulder Creek (Sorry Andrew) for most challenging, they start with a 6A semifinal rematch against a potential open team at Highland, and then the next week open their home slate against Liberty. Their other non-region games include a Millennium team with great talent, a Higley team who‘s out of the Premier region aka the toughest in the state, and a rematch from last season’s thrilling matchup against a healthy Brophy prep team. A sneaky tough region as well with an O’Connor team with arguably one of the best defenses in the state, a sleeper Shadow Ridge team, a hungry La Joya team who’s dying to get back on the field, a Mountain Ridge team who’ll make a lot of noise with their offense, and a Valley Vista team who will bounce back.

For 5A It has to be Ironwood. The Eagles are a well coached team but lost a of talent in the class of 2021. They fell short in the 5A title game against PUSD rival Sunrise Mountain 42-20. They open up with two road trips, the first down south to Ironwood Ridge. The other is to Sunnyslope against a Vikings team who by the end of the season was teetering on the edge of the 8th and final seed in the open division rankings. Their first home game is against a Peoria team who has a lot of talent including ‘23 Calvin Joyner who I expect will make some noise for the Panthers. They then hop on the 101/51 to Paradise Valley vs a Trojan team I expect will be a playoff team. Their final non region game is a home game against Apollo. Their region schedule is tough, first game is a home game against Desert Edge who’ll be back in the open this year. Then they head north to my 5A (Non-open) favorite Sunrise Mountain. They then host a Verrado team who made noise last season by making the 8 team 5A playoff including a win against the Eagles 60-46. The Eagles final home game comes against a Betty Fairfax team who’ll be battle tested by that point having already played 6A Mountain Ridge, Desert Edge, and Gilbert. Their final game is a battle at Millennium against a Tiger team who’ll be clawing for playoff positioning.

What is your favorite sports song?

What’s your favorite food/drink you can get at a stadium watching a game?

Spring showcases are just a few weeks away, which is crazy to me. I feel like I can't keep up lately.

But with that being said, what showcases do you plan on attending? I'm going to try to make as many as possible while still giving spring sports the attention they deserve.

Who’s the best combo football/basketball player in AZ high school right now?

Last year I would have argued Harris from Higley because he was awesome at both. Tosh Baker from Pinnacle was great too, among others obviously.

Who would you go with this year?

This past Fall, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to join Arizona Varsity as an intern and began covering games in a bit of a different way than most. Rather than writing up the same game recap that everyone does, I wanted to focus on multimedia coverage. I always had a knack for cameras so I began shooting and editing short highlight videos, focusing on the individual stars of each team rather than the final score. Of course, I enjoy writing too, but in this industry, I was quick to learn that you have to find a way to separate yourself from the rest. Throughout the 2020 season I had some of the best times of my life, even spilling over to the Spring, however, there comes a time when doing the same thing over again becomes boring and repetitive. I needed to evolve. I wanted to work on something different for a change. Then it hit me: every kid has a story, and it's our job to tell it. Why not just tell it in a different way?

While working the 7v7 circuit this Spring, I came in contact with Demory Lawshe, the Director of TrueBuzz West Coast, a team that originally came from Dallas and expanded to Arizona two years ago. The offseason is all about exposure and the lack of a Spring evaluation period hurt pretty much every athlete in the country. Rather than complain about the dead period, Demory and I agreed that covering athletes in a different way could be very beneficial in the current recruiting climate. I presented him with the idea of a documentary series and he loved it. It was the perfect time to go big.

So I did. I began filming, and filming, and filming. About 60 hours of raw footage in the span of two weeks.

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After lots of late nights editing, it's finally ready.

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Tonight at 7pm PT, Inside The Hive: All We Got (Episode 1) premieres.

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Casteel, Centennial, and Marcos De Niza Football schedules all discussed here.

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Put this out today, I believe those kids should be able to play Day 1 next season. That even includes kids from Tolleson and WV High School who followed Coach Gehrts and Coach Lopez to Canyon View and D. Ridge. Let them all play!! What are your thoughts?

What is his current status?

A '20 open team just added an experienced head coach and someone that is familiar with the ins and outs of recruiting.. WOW!!

A very talented 2022 DE has found a home!! Was part of that talented '22 group invited to ASU and offered!! AND a talented RB from the RB school has landed in the same place!! I think this 4A team may be. QB away from being in the final 4 convo for their playoff bracket!!

What are everyone’s thoughts? College Hoops Analysts and industry folks love it, big name alums don’t. Interesting hire to say the least!

Brothers are making their move into the Chandler area!!

Looks like some Union boys heading to a West Valley power!!!

Hearing about a possible homecoming for an East Valley coach!!

Jordan Hamm and I broke down the 2021 schedules of Chandler, Basha, and Cactus in the article above!!