THE HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT STARRING ANTHONY RAMIREZ

Let's hit the West Valley for this week's edition of The High School Highlight.  It brings us to Raymond S. Kellis High School, home of the Cougars.  The Cougars are coached by Shawn Copeland and they are currently 2-1 this season. 

The team has already surpassed it's win total from a year ago.  This was easy to do because they went 0-10 last year.  They have been able to turn the program around because of players that stuck it out through the tough times.  Players like senior running back Anthony Ramirez.

Ramirez had 463 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns in the season's first two games.  Those yards helped the Cougars start 2-0.  They lost last week to Agua Fria and look to bounce back tonight when they host Verrado.  He had 290 of those yards last week and broke the school's single rushing record.  The record was 214 yards set back in 2007. 

Ramirez has been playing football since he was eight years old and is aspiring to be a firefighter or a personal trainer.  He has a 2.265 GPA which he is continuing to improve daily.  He also would like to play football in college and knows his performance this year will help him reach that goal. 

Ramirez is accomplishing two things so far with his great start to the season.  Number one he is giving his teammates the great season he promised.  The second accomplishment is he is helping put Raymond S. Kellis on the football amp in Arizona.  Kellis has already gotten attention they don't normally get and will continue to do so as long as Ramirez  is running the ball.

Ramirez is nicknamed "The Ram" for his ability to run people over every time he carries the ball.  Ramirez hopes to "Ram" Kellis into the playoffs and make other teams respect him and his teammates.

WEEK 1 IN THE NFC WEST

The NFL season is finally here and week one was as exciting as we had anticipated.  We had many great performances and even a few upsets.  The NFC West was no different.

The Arizona Cardinals hosted the New Orleans Saints and came away with a victory 31-18.  A great rushing attack helped lead the Cardinals to their home opening victory.  Wide Receiver John Brown and rookie running back David Johnson both made an impact.  Brown caught quarterback Carson Palmer’s first touchdown and Johnson caught his last touchdown.  Johnson's catch proved to be the nail in the coffin.  The Cardinals now travel to Chicago to face the Bears in week 2.

The St. Louis Rams also used a good rushing performance to get a victory.  Theirs was a little more sweet because they beat defending NFC Champ and division foe Seattle 34-31 in overtime.  New Ram QB Nick Foles lit up the Cam Chancelor-less Seattle defense for 297 yards and a touchdown.  Seattle now faces starting 0-2 when they play Green Bay on Sunday Night Football.  The Rams play the Redskins.

In what some are saying is an even more shocker than the Rams victory, the San Francisco 49ers beat up on the Minnesota Vikings.  People tuned in to Monday Night Football for the much anticipated return of Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.  But it was the Carlos Hyde show that everybody stayed to watch.  He rushed for 168 yards and two scores.  The 49ers now play Steelers in Pittsburgh.

THE HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT STARRING CHASE HULBERT

               CHECKOUT CHASE HULBERT'S HIGHLIGHTS HERE

This week's edition of The High School Highlight takes us to Peoria.  There you Liberty High School coached by Mark Smith.  Smith and his Lion's are becoming a dominant team in Arizona High School football.  One of the team's leaders is senior all state linebacker Chase Hulbert.

Last year Liberty went 14-2 and was the state runner up.  This year the team is off to an 0-3 start, but if you look at who they have played you can understand why.  They have played three of the state's best and held their own against them.

Chase Hulbert is in his final season at the school and is definitely the heart and soul of the defense.  Counting last season and this years first 3 games he has 137 tackles and 9.5 sacks.  Those are stats of someone who will be playing Division I Football next season.  Hulbert refers to himself as a motor because he keeps going and doesn't stop when he is on the field. 

Hulbert, who has been on Varsity since his freshman year, talked about his school's tradition of having pride in their community on and off the field.  That shows with his 3.5 GPA and his commitment to the brotherhood of the sport.

Hulbert has a goal of leading his team to a state tittle and playing college football.  These goals are very reachable for this bright young man.  He already has an offer from Adams State, but has not committed yet. 

Hulbert and the Lion's look to start working towards that goal of a championship tonight when they travel to Gilbert to take on the Perry Pumas.  It will be another tough game with Perry being unbeaten but anytime you have #35 Chase Hulbert leading your defense you have a great shot at winning.

MAYWEATHER SAYS HE IS BEST FIGHTER EVER

Floyd Mayweather looks to continue his unbeaten streak and improve to 49-0 Saturday when he faces Andre Berto.  He is claiming it will be his last fight, but only time will tell how true that is.

Mayweather recently said he was the greatest of all time.  Yes it sounds a lot like Muhammad Ali but the fact is he is right!

Floyd Mayweather is the greatest boxer of all time.  He has yet to be beaten.  When he fights he may not get a knockout ever time but he truly dominates his opponents.  This was evident with wins over some of boxing's greatest fighters.  He has beaten such greats as Canelo Alvarez, Marcos Maidana and Manny Pacquiao to name a few.

Mayweather controls his fights.  He may not be as active as people would like him to be but  uses his experience and his brain to beat his opponents.  When Mayweather faces Andre Berto you will see why he is the best fighter.

MARYVALE GETS FIRST WIN IN FOUR YEARS

It was a nice cool and somewhat wet night on the West side of Phoenix Arizona.  A perfect night for high school football.  A perfect night for a losing streak to come to an end.  Maybe this was the reason all of the Phoenix union High Schools were placed in the same region in division III.  Not so you can have one of the Phoenix teams make the playoffs, but so you can have schools that have been doormats for so long finally compete and have a chance at a victory.

That's what happened last night when the Carl Hayden Falcons hosted the Maryvale Panthers.  The pregame atmosphere was amazing.  The Carl Hayden band and student government had the crowd rocking as they sang and danced to the Carl Hayden fight song.  There was even an appearance by the schools legendary basketball coach, Argie Rhymes. The Falcons coming off a huge win last week were beginning to think win streak.  Dating back to last year they had won two in a row.  That's huge for a team like Carl Hayden.  Excluding Fairfax and Cesar Chavez that's huge for any school in the Phoenix Union.

Maryvale had other plans.  They used a great return on the opening kickoff that started their drive at the Carl Hayden 35 to help them take and early 7-0 lead.  The Falcons couldn't get anything going offensively and the first quarter ended with the Panthers up 14-0.  The second was more of the same and became the theme of the game,  Maryvale dominating between the trenches and taking advantage of Carl Hayden mistakes.

The game was an all around sloppy one but in the end Maryvale heard something that they haven't heard in for years, "You won".  The final score was 52-0 and now Maryvale looks to start a win streak of their own when they go home next week to host the North Mustangs.  The Falcons now travel to South Mountain as they try to get back in to the win column.

THE HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT STARRING SHAVEZ HAWKINS

Shavez Hawkins Highlights 

 

This week the High School, Highlight takes us to the far east valley.  There you will find a high school called Poston Butte.  The football team is coached by the legendary Paul Moro.  Moro and his Poston Butte Broncos are led by quarterback Shavez Hawkins Jr.  He is in his second year under center.

 

The Broncos are coming off a 7-4 season last year and have high hopes for this season.  The season hasn't started the way they would like but they plan to change their 0-2 record starting tonight. 

 

With #2 Shavez Hawkins leading the offense they should be able to get their first win of the season.  Hawkins is a 5'10 165 pound junior who also plays safety.  He has only thrown a limited amount of passes this season but is completing them at 64%.  Hawkins is very impressive in the way he controls his offense.  In the season opener at Tolleson  he looked very impressive and kept plays alive with his feet. 

 

With his style of play and his dreadlocks one of his coaches started calling him SHII.  He is a small reminder of RGIII.  Although he is off to a much better 2015 season then the former Redskins starter. 

 

Hawkins was inspired by his dad, who played college football, to start playing football.  He has a goal of getting a full ride scholarship in either football or wrestling.  Hawkins has the talent and he also has the grades.  He has a 3.9 GPA and works just as hard in the classroom as on the field.

 

As for team goals,  he wants to do whatever it takes to help his team win a state championship.  When he is on the field he it's all about his teammates, or bothers as he calls them.  He is worried about his own stats.  He is worried about helping his team and the coaches get the victory.

 

I was fortunate to watch Hawkins and the rest of the Bronco's in action when they traveled to Tolleson.  Hawkins impressed so much that as I watched from the stands I told my self, "man I have to do a story on this kid."  I will leave you with a quote from him that he got from his dad, and defines the kind of quarterback he is.  "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."    

SUSPENSION LIFTED!

A Federal Court has decided to lift the four game suspension given to Tom Brady for his alleged part in deflate gate.  Brady has claimed he had nothing to do with the incident which occurred in the AFC Championship game.

The judge must have also agreed and now Tom Brady will be able to play next Thursday when New England opens up its season.

Now with all this deflate gate stuff behind him, well maybe not, Tom Brady is now looking for revenge in the form of a Super Bowl repeat.  The Patriots are also a dangerous team with a bulls eye on their back.  Now they are a team that is pissed off and wants to show the world they are not cheaters.  They can do so by winning another Super Bowl.

J.J. LYONS HAS STRONG GAME IN HOME OPENER

Friday night was the home opener for the Aztecs of Copper Canyon High School.  The stands were jammed packed with students, parent's and supporters of the football team.  This was also a special night for one young man in particular, J.J. Lyons.

Not only was this the home opener for the school, but it was also Lyons first game as an Aztec.  To top it off it was his first game as a senior year.  Lyons was not able to play last week in Tucson and came out this week ready to show his skills off to the rest of the state.

Lyons wanted to impress in his first time wearing a Copper Canyon jersey.  He did just that.  He caught a pass one yard inside the end zone for a two-point conversion.  The catch was after a great route and with two defenders guarding him.  He also scored on a 19 yard deep route where he ran passed two defenders for the touchdown.

Lyons had an all around great game as a receiver and return man.  The most impressive thing to me wasn't his stats,  it was his leadership.  Copper Canyon ended up losing to Sierra Linda 63-38, but if you watched Lyons on field demeanor you would have thought the game was a lot closer.  He kept his head up the entire game and made sure his teammates did also.  He and the team remained optimistic throughout the game.

Copper Canyon started the second half with a freshman at quarterback.  Lyons was seen a number of times talking to him and game planning what they were going to do next.  It helped a lot, despite two interceptions the QB had a pretty good game and looked very comfortable on the field.

Lyons good game despite a loss will help people start to notice how talented this young man is.  He definitely will be playing on Saturdays next season, the question is where?  He already has a number of schools looking at him, one of them being NAU.  If he continues his great play that number is sure to rise during the season.

The Aztecs will try to get their first win next week when they travel to Dysart to take on the Demons next Friday.  Dysart is 1-0 after a victory over Wickenburg.  Copper Canyon is now 0-2.   

THE HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT STARRING ABEL NAVARRETTE

                             Check out Abel Navarrette's highlights

This week's edition of The High School Highlight takes us to St. Mary's High School, home of the Knights.  The school is rich with football tradition and is coached by one of it's former players, Marcel Lopez.  Our focus is on 16 year old Abel Navarrette.

The Knights are coming off a 7-4 record last year, which included a playoff berth.  This season the team is currently 1-0 after a 31-14 win over Gilbert in week zero.

One of the guys on last years playoff team who is poised to take his team back to the playoffs is junior Abel Navarrette.  He is a middle linebacker and tight end that plays just about every snap on Friday nights.

 Navarrette is 6'2 235 pounds and wears jersey #5.  He had 105 tackles, 44 solo, 1 sack 1 forced fumble and a fumble recovery as a sophomore.  He also caught 11 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown while on offense.  He wants to lead his team to state championship and one day have his number retired from the school.  He also hopes to attend a university and play college football.

Navarrette has a 3.4 GPA and plans to be a physical trainer when he gets older.  This is a young man that just wants to be a better person and get the most out of life.

Navarrette feels that high school sports isn't just about watching kids play the game.  He knows there is a lot of sweat, time, effort and thinking that goes into sports.  He says it's kind of feels like a job and he likes that because he feels his coaches are preparing him for the real world and he really respects that.

St. Mary's tradition is like no other's.  Navarrette says the Knights pride themselves in tradition.  They are 9 time state champions and he says that's in part of the school, coaches, parents, alumni and of coarse the student body.

Navarrette talked about a quote that has stuck with him ever since his freshman year. "We may not be the biggest, but we have a firm conviction that we can be the best".

He also says it's an honor to wear the green and white of St. Mary's High School.

Navarrette is another prime example of the many very intelligent and hard working young men that play high school football.

Another tradition at St. Mary's is the gold pants.  Anytime the Knights make the playoffs they wear gold pants.  With young men as talented as Navarrette there is no reason they shouldn't be wearing gold again this year.

TOLLESON USES STRONG 2ND HALF TO BEAT POSTON BUTTE

I was in Tolleson last night to kick off the 2015 High School Football season.  The Wolverines were playing host to the Poston Butte Broncos. The game ended up being a great one with Tolleson coming from behind to get the victory 34-28.

Tolleson got the ball first and marched down the field to take an early 7-0 lead.  Then Poston Butte began to take control scoring 3 times to take a 20-7 lead into the locker room.

One minute into the third quarter Poston Butte scored again.  They added the two-point conversion to take a commanding 28-7 lead.  The game felt like it was going to be a blowout.  Then Tolleson turned on the switch.

They scored and scored again chipping away at the lead.  Then midway through the fourth quarter they tied the score at 28.  After a fumble recovery they scored the go ahead score with 1:47 to play. Poston Butte had one final chance to get the victory but another fumble would end all hopes of a comeback.

Next Friday Poston Butte goes home to battle Desert Mountain, another team that suffered a heartbreaking loss last night.  Tolleson, now 1-0 plays host to Notre Dame Prep when they take the field next week.