Zamenski takes reins as new head coach

Corona’s football players have been busy this summer adapting to a few offensive and defensive schemes and overall athlete expectations by participating in workouts, passing leagues and weight training under new head coach Zane Zamenski.

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“Summer football workouts and summer passing leagues have been very productive,” said Zamenski. “We are currently finishing off our Aztec Athletic Institute and will be preparing to travel to Snowflake for our summer camp, which will be July 26 through July 30.”

Zamenski has high expectations for this 2010-11 varsity team, which will play the same opponents as last season’s schedule but at opposite venues.

“We are anticipating productive seasons from seniors Todd Peat, CJ Andersen, Rashaad Armstrong, Alex Bernal, Trey Chambers, George Chen, Robert Chiang, Brandon Davis, Case Kofke, Brandon Land, James Markman, Alex Pike, Logan Reyes, Paul Rosendahl, Ahmed Soussi and Kevin Zunino,” said Zamenski.
Official practices will start Aug. 3 and will include a preseason scrimmage with Mtn. Pointe High School, according to Zamenski. Corona’s first game of the 2010 season will be Aug. 27 against Desert Mountain.

Peat brothers top college football recruits

Corona has two brothers who have created quite a buzz in the college football recruiting scene. Senior Todd Jr. and junior Andrus Peat are considered to be hot prospects for DI football coaches in several conferences.

Todd Jr. and Andrus are the sons of Todd Peat Sr., a former professional offensive lineman in the National Football League and Jana Ewing Peat, a Tempe native. Todd Sr. played six seasons for the Cardinals and Raiders before retiring.

Todd Jr., a 6-3, 300-pound four-star defensive tackle, is currently ranked No. 12 in the 2011 scout.com high school football rankings and is listed on both scout.com and rivals.com as one of the top college football recruits for the 2011 class.

He recently whittled his scholarship choices down to eight DI schools after receiving over 15 offers from programs in multiple conferences.

“Right now, I am seriously considering, in no particular order, Arizona State, University of Arizona, Stanford, Oregon State, Alabama, Miami, Nebraska and Wake Forest,” said Todd Jr.

Todd Jr. and Andrus have already been on unofficial visits to Oregon and Oregon State, and Todd will be visiting Alabama and Miami later this summer. He plans on narrowing his choice down to five schools by the first week in September before taking official visits this fall.

Todd Jr. says he is taking into account three main criteria when evaluating his offers: What are the chances he would be able to play right away; what is the level of coaching as far as coaching ability, athlete-coach interaction and future connections with the NFL; and, does the school have a solid academic program.

He will make his final decision by the first week in January.

“I have been invited to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl,” said Todd Jr. “I plan on announcing my final choice at that event.”

The All-American Bowl features the nation’s top high school football players, an event at which players traditionally have announced where they will sign. This season’s All-American Bowl will be Jan. 8 in San Antonio.

Todd Sr.’s second son, Andrus, a 6-6, 280-pound offensive lineman, was named as one of the Super Sophomore football players by scout.com last season and has already been officially selected to play in the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Andrus cannot receive official offers until Sept. 1 but that has not stopped the press coverage or the unofficial offers from coming in. At last count, Andrus had 14 “unofficial” football scholarship offers.

He does not plan on narrowing down his choices until next summer, but seems currently intrigued by unofficial offers from Clemson, Stanford, Arizona, Oregon State, ASU, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Nebraska.

It has been rumored that the school that succeeds in signing Todd Jr. would have a “shoe-in” with Andrus the following year. Both brothers think it would be great to be on the same college team, although it isn’t the No. 1 priority for either. They both want to find their best individual fit.

Both Peat brothers have been working hard this summer to improve their physical strength, conditioning and football prowess by attending college camps, working out with the Corona football program and attending special speed-training facilities.

Two former Corona wrestlers sign with ASU

Recent Corona graduate Derek Felton is one of only three incoming freshmen wrestlers from Arizona to be signed by second-year head coach Shawn Charles to Arizona State’s wrestling program. Former Corona graduate Luke Macchiaroli will be joining Felton as an NCAA Division I transfer.

Macchiaroli, a three-time individual state champion at Corona and winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Wrestling Award as a senior, went 176-9 in his high school career and, in his last two seasons, did not lose a single match, going 101-0.

A 2009 Corona graduate, Macchiaroli, wrestling at 215 pounds, originally signed at Iowa State last year but asked for a release from his letter of intent to follow head coach Cael Sanderson when he took over the wrestling program at Penn State. Macchiaroli, a redshirt freshman at Penn State, asked Sanderson to be released from Penn State’s program midyear and has been working out with the Sun Devil team since returning to Arizona in January.

Felton had a storied wrestling career at Corona as a four-time individual state 5A-I finalist. He took home championship medals his last two years after runner-up showings as a freshman and sophomore. He amassed a 191-8 overall high school record, going undefeated with a 102 winning streak his junior and senior years in the 171 pound category. Felton was not taken down or reversed in a match his entire senior year.

Felton chose Arizona State over Cornell, Columbia and Duke because of the coaching staff, the workout partners and the memories.

“I chose Arizona State because I grew up practicing in their facilities and always pictured myself one day wrestling as part of the Sun Devil team,” said Felton. “When I was offered the opportunity to work with their coaching staff and workout partners, I had to take it. I think I can become the best wrestler I can be at Arizona State”

ASU is also the only in-state university with a wrestling program. Sun Devil wrestlers usually get only partial scholarships, but Felton also received a partial academic scholarship which should come close, when combined, to covering his education expenses.

Felton, who plans on studying kinesiology, is most likely going to redshirt his freshman year, which is almost standard practice in Division I programs.

“Most college wrestlers redshirt their first year just to give themselves a chance to mature, develop into a college athlete and get a year of college wrestling under their belt,” said Felton. “Redshirting also gives college wrestlers one more year to compete and the fifth year can often be their most competitive year.”

Felton and Macchiaroli were part of Corona’s first state team wrestling championship in 2009 under former long-time head coach Dave Vibber. Felton was a member of Corona’s wrestling team that repeated as state team wrestling champs in 2010 under new head coach Jim Martinez.

Both athletes would like to continue their high school successes towards helping ASU win a Pac 10 championship and returning the Sun Devil’s wrestling program to its onetime national prominence.

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