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Corona cut short in bid for football playoffs

By Brian Gomez

After suffering through consecutive seasons that were plagued with the unpleasant scent of mediocrity, the Corona del Sol High School varsity football team finally put together a winning season, only to be denied a playoff berth.

The Aztecs appeared to be back on track toward the post-season after opening Central Region play with back-to-back wins over Marcos de Niza and Scottsdale Desert Mountain.

But crushing defeats against No. 11 Mountain Pointe and sixth-ranked Desert Vista demoted Corona to a mere spectator of the 16-team Class 5A State tournament.

“Anytime you don’t make the playoffs, it’s disappointing,” said Corona head coach Gary Venturo, who has compiled a 17-15 record in the past three years.

“We beat some teams, but let a couple slip away.”

The Aztecs (6-4) were banged up with injuries in the season’s final weeks, and finished their 2001 campaign in a tie for third place with Mountain Pointe (6-4). Corona was two games behind Desert Vista (8-2) and one in back of Marcos (6-3). Desert Mountain (1-9) finished in last place.

Desert Vista received an automatic bid to the playoffs as the region champion, while Mountain Pointe landed an at-large bid. Marcos came up just short of the post-season, according to the state’s power point index.

Corona will be forced to do some heavy reloading next season after losing 28 of 44 players from this year’s varsity roster.

The Aztecs are due to return just six offensive starters and will have to completely revamp their defense.

Brett Nenaber will likely take over as the team’s starting quarterback in his senior season with the loss of Craig Fugate and Scott Otero to graduation. Look for junior Zach Griffin to step in as the team’s reserve.

Corona’s backfield will be completely depleted, as senior running backs Greg Evans, Nick Garcia, Kyle Kovach, Ryan Orton, Truman Todd and Jeff Webb are all leaving. Expect junior running back Tyler Markichevich to pick up the slack.

The Aztecs need to fill some holes at the wide out spots with the departure of senior receivers Tim Gammage and David DeGraaf and senior tight ends Rayshawn Ames and Jacob Starkey. Junior wide receivers Scott Gurley and Chris Palmer will probably step in as starters.

Corona’s trusty senior kicker Timm Ryan is also slated to leave after three glorious years. The Aztecs will be hard-pressed to reach the same level of success they obtained this year, but are optimistic after watching their freshman team log an 8-1 record and their junior varsity squad finish with a 5-4 mark.

Week No. 10 recap

The Aztecs dug themselves a deep hole two weeks ago against archrival Mountain Pointe, and suffered a 37-10 loss after never finding their way out.

Corona quickly fell behind 17-0 when Brandon Markland returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown just before Larry Jordan scampered into the end zone from three yards out.

The Aztecs countered with a 35-yard field goal by Ryan and a Webb 2-yard touchdown run, but the Pride were simply too much.

Mountain Pointe’s Rami Burbar put the game out of reach with a 77-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hernandez. Jordan finished with 18 carries for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while teammate Danny Baugher had 11 rushes for 108 yards and one touchdown.

Week No. 11 roundup

Corona’s playoff hopes were shattered last week with a 36-6 loss against Desert Vista in the season finale. The Thunder piled up 247 yards on the ground, while the Aztecs managed just 22. Corona committed four turnovers on the night.

Desert Vista got on the board early when Jarett Sayas hauled in a six-yard touchdown pass from Wesley Tanner.

The Thunder led 22-0 at halftime after the cannon-armed quarterback fired a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to Troy Harris (18 yards) and Zachery Miller (30 yards). Desert Vista sealed the deal in the second half with touchdown runs by Sayas (5 yards) and Clinton Polk (25 yards).

2001 Playoffs

Seventh-seeded Desert Vista will play host to 10th-seeded Glendale Mountain Ridge (8-2) on Friday night.

Meanwhile, 14th-seeded Mountain Pointe is scheduled to travel to third-seeded Chandler Hamilton (9-1) on Friday evening. Both games kickoff at 7 p.m.

Reach Brian Gomez at brian.gomez@wranglernews.com.

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