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Boys Prep Soccer Preview: GCR teams hoping to catch FHS

By RORY FAUST
Sun Sports Writer
Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Defending Grand Canyon Region champion Flagstaff High will sport the bull's eye once again this season. The rest of the GCR, however, is nipping at the Eagles' heels, and Sinagua, Coconino and Page all have high hopes of knocking FHS from its lofty perch.

Here's a closer look at the Flagstaff city schools and Page: COCONINO

Panthers coach Justin Kendhammer hopes the adage "defense wins championships" holds proves true for his team this season.

Coconino returns its entire defense from last season's squad, which finished just over .500 and narrowly missed qualifying for the Class 4A, Division II state playoffs.

Senior sweeper Levi Whitley was a first-team all-region selection last season, and will be re-joined in the defensive lineup by classmates Thomas Griffin and Tyler List. Junior Grady McMahon, who kicked for the Panthers' football team this fall, will also retain a starting spot.

Starting goalkeeper Cooper Block is also back, but Kendhammer said he might shift the junior to another position this season to better utilize his skills.

"He's a phenomenal keeper; great quickness, smart player, great attitude," Kendhammer said of Block. "But we're kind of looking at a couple other people for the keeper spot because he has such good field skills. So, hopefully he'll get some recognition this year at whatever position he plays."

Kendhammer said the Panthers were hit hard by graduation on the offensive end of the field, although midfielder Ramon Garcia and forward Allan Melo return and figure to provide some stability.

Kendhammer said he intends to throw several newcomers, including a couple freshmen, into the mix offensively.

"Half of these kids have never played on a team. So they're rather raw, but some of them are also pretty brilliant," he said. "We've got a handful of kids who have a real nose for the goal, so I think we'll be able to mix it up and give some defenses some different looks."

The Panthers open their season Thursday at Bullhead City Mohave. Their home opener is scheduled for Dec. 9 against Tempe High.

FLAGSTAFF HIGH

The Eagles lost more than a dozen seniors to graduation from last season's GCR championship team, including all-time leading scorer and two-time All-City MVP Jordan Brandel.

But coach Mike Jenkins has plenty of experienced players who have been waiting patiently for their chance to grab the spotlight.

"We lost a lot of firepower from last year, but we've been very fortunate to be able to kind of reload every year," Jenkins said. "We have as much talent as anyone, it's just can we come together as a team."

Forwards Alias Toon and Antonio Rodriguez, midfielders Stephen Russell and Chris Campbell, and defender Geoff Wertz all saw significant time on last season's team, which went undefeated in region play.

With that talented group back, and a bevy of hungry newcomers waiting in the wings, Jenkins is confident the Eagles can contend for another region title.

"We're pretty loaded with the upper classmen." he said. "I think every year we come in, (the region) is wide open. But I think most of the people want to try to hunt for us."

Their success could depend on the maturation of several newcomers.

Senior Casey Gibson is expected to take over at goalkeeper this season, and Jenkins is also hoping to get contributions from senior Brandon Lau, junior Zach Paulson and sophomore John Nichols.

"It's going to be very interesting to see how these guys mature as a unit," Jenkins said. "Top to bottom we have the talent to play well, it's just a matter of them coming together as a team."

The Eagles open their season today at the Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain tournament, which runs through Saturday. Their home opener is slated for Dec. 9 against Cave Creek Cactus Shadows.

SINAGUA

Kalani Kuamoo has a nice new foundation to build the Mustangs' program on. Sinagua recently installed a synthetic turf field, which figures to suit speedy Mustangs players like senior forward Johnny Velasco.

Senior forward Andy White will join Velasco up top, giving Sinagua a potent 1-2 punch on offense.

Sophomore center-mid Cory Miller and Kevin Moore are also key returnees. Still, Kuamoo said it is too early to gauge how successful the Mustangs can be.

"It's hard to say with the team," he said. "There's a lot of players who returned who were just playing football, and we have some other players who just showed up."

One of the players who falls into both the aforementioned categories is senior Harry Graham, a senior exchange student from England who joined the football team midway through the season.

Sophomore newcomer Tyler McClure is another player who could make an impact this season.

"Basically, we're still in the rebuilding phase," Kuamoo said. "We have a lot of new kids this year but they've played soccer before so that's helping a little bit as far as knowledge of the game. We're improving all the time, and we have a nice new field that everyone's happy to be playing on."

The Mustangs open their season at the Bullhead City Mohave tournament Dec. 9-10. Their home opener is scheduled for Dec. 15 against Glendale High.

PAGE

Page has been building a program for eight-plus years, but this season appears to be a work in progress.

The Sand Devils had already lost their playmaker, goalkeeper and sweeper to graduation and two foreign exchange students back to Thailand and Colombia when three other regulars opted to not return.

That left head coach Paul Gagnon with six returning players. Luckily for Gagnon, one is Page's leading scorer from last season in senior forward Ryan Breaux. Also back are senior fullback Acer Gossett, junior back Brett Clark, senior midfielder Hayden Keisling and two explosive players promoted from the junior varsity late last season, sophomore forward Daley Candelaria and junior fullback Josh Whipple.

The speed of Candelaria and Breaux may pose Page's best scoring options, but Whipple has shown the ability to make runs from the back.

Page qualified for the state tournament in its seventh year but fell short last year. Development of the junior varsity program may yield dividends for Page this season, as sophomore goalkeeper Bruce St. Germain also played JV ball last year.

Senior Corey Wilson has switched from basketball to help stabilize the back line, and 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior Chris Chischilly brings a new element to the forward line.

As demonstrated in a 5-0 loss in the season opener to Glendale Copper Canyon last week, Gagnon's most critical task may be to develop a midfield from a mix of mostly first-year varsity players.

Sun correspondent Todd Glasenapp contributed to this report.

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