Many Brophy football records broken

Despite the disappointing upset loss to No. 2 Basha, many passing and receiving records were broken that night for Brophy. Take a look at some of the record-setting numbers below. Note: stats for current players used from maxpreps.com and older players stats were pulled from the program handed out at games.

Most Passing yards, single game

1. Tyler Bruggman 382, vs. Basha, 2011
2. Tyler Bruggman 339, vs. Deer Valley, 2010
3. Steve O'Hare 325, vs. St. Mary's, 1993

Most Passing yards, single-season

1. Tyler Bruggman - 2494, 2011
2. Bryan Berens - 2238, 2007
3. Steve O'Hare - 2175, 1993

Most passing yards, career

1. Bryan Berens - 5,541, 2005-2007
2. Tyler Bruggman - 3798, 2010-2011
3. Jeff Rush - 3384, 1999-2001

Most Touchdown passes, single-season

1. Tyler Bruggman - 37, 2011
2. Bryan Berens - 29, 2007
T-3. Bryan Berens - 22, 2006
T-3. Steve O'Hare - 22, 1993

Most Touchdown passes, career

1. Bryan Berens - 64, 2005-2007
2. Tyler Bruggman - 48, 2010-2011
3. Tom Wurtz - 29, 1995-1996

Most Receptions, single game

1. Devon Allen - 14, vs. Basha 2011
2. Devon Allen - 13, vs. Mt. Ridge 2010
3. Sean Lieb - 11, vs. Corona Del Sol 2007

Most receptions, career

1. Devon Allen - 104, 2010-2011
2. Fred Gammage - 93, 2010-2011
3. Sean Lieb - 81, 2006-2007

Most Receiving yards, single season

1. Fred Gammage - 920, 2011
2. Devon Allen - 915, 2010
3. Brian Ruede - 897, 1989

Most Receiving yards, career

1. Devon Allen - 1754, 2010-2011
2. Matt Smith - 1644, 2004-2005
3. Fred Gammage - 1382, 2010-2011

Most Touchdown receptions, single season

1. Sean Lieb - 16, 2007
2. Fred Gammage - 15, 2011
3. Devon Allen - 14, 2011

Most Touchdown receptions, career

T-1. Devon Allen - 20, 2010-2011
T-1. Sean Lieb - 20, 2006-2007
3. Fred Gammage - 19, 2010-2011

Divison 1 quick tournament outlook

Justin Janssen

Favorite: No. 1 Hamilton (10-0). The Huskies take a 50-game winning streak into play this postseason, and have won three straight state championships. Until they lose, Hamilton has to be considered the favorites.

Contender: No. 2 Brophy (10-0). Brophy has rebounded from a disappointing 6-6 2010 season quite nicely, outscoring their opponents by more than 30 points per game. Opposing defenses will have to pick their poision against Brophy. The Broncos have four game-changing wide receivers and a stud back.

Final Four: Hamilton, Brophy, No. 3 Desert Vista (9-1), No. 5 Red Mountain (8-2). I just switched my pick from Desert Ridge (8-2) to Red Mountain. Red Mountain is a new team after they put Marcus Brantley at tailback. The Mountain Lions also beat Desert Ridge in the regular season.

Week 1 winners: Hamilton, Brophy, Desert Vista, Desert Ridge, Red Mountain, No. 6 Pinnacle (8-2), No. 7 Basha (7-3), No. 8 Westview (8-2). And yes, I realize that I took chalk for the entire first round.

Upset alert: No. 6 Pinnacle should be on upset alert, after two debacles in their last two games. After leading Desert Mountain (4-6) 28-0 at the end of the third quarter, Pinnacle collapsed and lost 35-28. Then, against Brophy, they fell behind 52-0 at the half. Pinnacle's first round foe Yuma Cibola (8-2) has feasted on playing the three Yuma schools twice each.

Brophy wins wild game on FSN

Justin Janssen

Brophy (7-0) hadn’t played a tight game or faced a tough foe all season. That changed when they took on Westview (5-2) in front of a raucous student section and a large TV audience on FSN.

The Broncos escaped a wild contest consisting of questionable officiating and coaching calls, along with game-changing plays, and they survived 11 penalties for 130 yards.

Kicker Zach Hudson nailed the game-winning 46-yard field goal with 1:53 remaining to finish off the Knights.

On the first drive of the game, Brophy looked like they had all season and stormed down the field, taking a 7-0 lead in 1:48. Tyler Bruggman hit Fred Gammage on a 30-yard touchdown strike. But their offense later had trouble protecting Bruggman leading to a slew of tipped passes.

Westview’s offense stalled as well in the first quarter, but started to pick up momentum in the second behind their run-oriented Wing-T attack.

On a fourth down and 10 from their own 20, Brophy coach Scooter Molander made a surprising call by going for it. Bruggman threw his first pick of the season on the season, jump-starting the Westview offense.

After receiving great field position, Westview took the lead on a three-yard touchdown run by Shayne Miller. The Knights had just scored two touchdowns in a two minute window to take their first lead of the game.

At the half, Brophy trailed 14-7, the latest they’ve trailed in a game all season. But in the third quarter, Bruggman found Gammage again in the end zone, this time for 12 yards tying up the score.

After a huge gain by Westview's back Seivion Morris, the Knights had the ball at the Brophy three. However, on second down, they fumbled the football and Brophy linebacker Andrew Curtis recovered. Three plays later Fred Gammage hauled in a nice one-handed 82-yard touchdown that he said he ran the wrong rout on. Gammage scored all three Brophy touchdowns and had 183 yards on five catches.

Early in the fourth quarter, Westview tied the game on a 60-yard strike. Blake Hohn found receiver Ivan Towsend, catching Brophy's defense napping.

Midway through the final quarter, the Brophy had a 4^th down and four from midfield. Brophy appeared to be going for it, but the Broncos had punter Matt Auran in the backfield. Auran’s surprise punt was downed inside the Westview five yard line.

Westview could not get a first down on the drive and was forced to punt. Devon Allen returned the kick all the way to the Westview 25 yard line, setting up great field position for the Broncos.

Four plays later, Zach Hudson nailed the game-winner.

In another stunning move by Molander, Brophy went for onside kick, but didn’t recover. On the very first play from scrimmage, Blake Hahn threw an interception to Brophy safety Jake Faust, who returned it into Westview territory. Brophy ran the ball three times to work the clock down to five seconds. Bruggman was sacked on 4^th down, and somehow only three seconds elapsed on the play.

Westview took over on downs from their own 35 yard line, needing 65 yards for the winning score. They threw a check-down pass, turning a short pickup into a huge gain on laterals. Visions of the “Music City Miracle” and Trinity’s miracle permeated through the eyes of every fan watching. Westview’s coach hurt himself on play, and ended up in crutches.

Westview nearly ran the ball in the end zone, but were stopped 20 yards short. The Brophy fans stormed the field for the second time this game, but there was a flag on the field. Confusion ensued and there was a sideline warning on Brophy - a dead ball foul.

Brophy's fans could finally storm - for a third time - but this time they were assured the victory.

Notes from Boulder Creek

By Justin Janssen

Relf suffers concussion

Safety Robert Relf suffered a concussion early in the Boulder Creek game. Relf collided with teammate Jake Faust. Faust looked poised for an interception on the play, but Relf crashed into his teammate.

Relf's father was on the sideline with him and his helmet was taken away from him. Relf did not return to the game, a primary reason why Brophy's top receivers were playing on defense as well.

Players lining up both ways

WR/S Matt Auran, WR/DB Fred Gammage, WR/DB/PR/KR Devon Allen, and LB/TE Andrew Curtis have been playing both sides of the ball, more so in the last game.

Obviously, Molander is not too confident in the back-up safties, otherwise they would be playing more.

In Allen's case, he is playing on all three facets of the game - offense, defense, and special teams.

Pass rush lacking

After 27 sacks in the 2010 season, two games into 2011, Brophy still has not recorded a sack, according to maxpreps.com.

The team clearly misses Charlie Beck and Danny Riggs, who graduated in the spring. Beck set a Brophy single-season sack record with 14 in 2010. Riggs is a large force that can plug holes on running lanes.

Andrew Curtis has been a monster so far at linebacker with 26 tackles in two games, but he also has two first-year starters alongside him in Jack Stamets and Zach Zemer.

Grayer explodes, could start even when Dennard gets back

According to team sources, runningback Marche Dennard was cleared by doctors to play in the Boulder Creek, but Dennard didn't get into the game.

Tailback D'Amani Grayer burst onto the scene with 139 yards (on 18 carries) and scored three touchdowns.

Grayer has 217 yards on the season and is averaging 8.7 yards per carry, so Grayer could very well end up stealing the starting gig.

BrophyTV schedule

9/2: Brophy vs. Boulder Creek - FSN Webcast

10/6: Brophy vs. Westview - FSN

10/14: Brophy vs. St. Mary's - FSN

10/28: Brophy @ Pinnacle - AIA365.com

Nuggets from Mountain Ridge game

Big Day on Offense

In his first game back from an ankle injury, quarterback Tyler Bruggman missed a few throws, but still carved up the Mountain Ridge secondary in a 32-0 blowout win. Bruggman was 15-for-25, throwing for 276 yards and three scores in the opening night win. Devon Allen had three catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Allen had a nice one-handed grab along the sideline. The team also tried running Allen on a couple reverses, but they gained only a few yards.

Fred Gammage had 84 yards receiving and a score, while Auran stepped up as well with 87 yards and a touchdown. Auran had a nice 56-yard touchdown where he broke a few tackles and jolted down the sideline for the easy score. Running back D'Amani Grayer, stepping up for the injured Marche Dennard, had 7 carries for 78 yards. Andrew Simon, who transferred from Maryland ran for a touchdown.

Dominance over Mountain Ridge

Brophy shut out Mountain Ridge - again. In 2009, Brophy knocked off the Mountain Lions 24-0 in the first round of a playoff game. It is also the fourth consecutive season Brophy beat Mt. Ridge. Two of those four victories have come in the playoffs.


2010 records

Devon Allen set Brophy single-season records in catches (60) and receiving yards (915) in 2010 as a sophomore. Allen should break the school all-time records for both categories this season. Allen could also break the arizona high school football records later in his career. The most catches is 176, while receiving yards is 2,581 for 5A. I'm not sure how records will translate due to the new divisional format versus the previous class format.

Charlie Beck set the single-season sack record last season (14) for Brophy, although defensive stats weren't officially recorded before 2004. Even though Beck played just one season, he is third on the all-time sack list behind Trent Murhpy and Mike Tree.

Jersey Switches

The two most notable jersey switches were Tyler Bruggman and Allen. There were plenty of others too. Allen switched his number from 85 to 13, while Bruggman switched his from 14 to 11.

Playing both sides of the ball

Allen and Gammage each played a few plays on defense. Gammage got a pick on the defensive side, along with linebacker Andrew Curtis and safety Robert Relf. Curtis also played some at tight end.

Starting Kicking Battle Continues

Clarence Clark and Zach Hudson continue to duke it out for the starting kicking position. Brophy was hurt by poor kicking in 2010; the two most important games were lost based on kicking.

Clark went 2-for-3 on extra points, while Hudson made his PAT. Hudson was 1-for-2 on field goals.

Brophy All-time

Brophy's all-time record coming into 2011: 402-258-16 (60.9%). The all-time series record vs. St. Mary's: 23-30. It'll be a decade before Brophy can finally tie this thing up. Scooter Molander has the best winning percentage among any Brophy football coach (75.9%).

Brophy has the weapons to avenge poor 2010 showing

By Justin Janssen

A 6-6 season at most schools is considered mediocre. At Brophy, six losses has people scratching their heads, looking for explanation. Head coach Scooter Molander had gone 54-13 with Brophy before 2010. Losing to arch-rival St. Mary's for the first time in eight years was beyond unthinkable. The current players are ready for a bounce-back season.

Offense

Even though Brophy is switching back to a pro-style offense from the spread, according to a team source, the Broncos still have the offensive firepower to return to University of Phoenix stadium.

Receiver Devon Allen, who anchored Brophy's first ever state championship track team, is a threat anytime he touches the ball. Allen caught 60 passes for 915 yards and six touchdowns - as a sophomore.

Fred Gammage caught 41 passes for 462 yards and hauled in four touchdowns. He also played quarterback when Tyler Bruggman went down with an injury. Read more on that here.

Running back Marche Dennard, the fourth Dennard brother to play football at Brophy, is nursing a foot injury, and will not be ready for the season opener. Dennard came on strong late in the 2010 season, rushing for 210 yards and three scores on 28 carries. Before that, he was mainly used on Boise State's patented "Statue of Liberty" play.

Going back to a pro-style offense means the team will be now be playing with a tight end, most likely Andrew Curtis or Robert Relf.

The offensive line has two returning starters in Alex Rosner and Charlie Renfree. Dominic Riccitelli could also play on the offensive line this year.

Defense

The secondary is expected to be the strength of the defense. Matt Cahal led the team with five interceptions last year, including three against Red Mountain. Safety Jake Faust had 63 tackles, but did not deflect an opposing pass. Relf switched from linebacker to strong safety in the summer. Relf led the team in tackles (113).

With Relf and Andy Hale switching positions, the linebackers have two first year starters in Zach Zemer and Jack Stamets. Outside linebacker Andrew Curtis came on strong last year after recovering from a neck injury. Curtis had 71 tackles in 7 games including 32 in the postseason.

The defensive line will be hurt by the loss of end Charlie Beck. Beck recorded 14 sacks in 2010 and had 93 tackles. The rest of the team had 16 sacks. Riccitelli had 43 tackles and 4 sacks as a sophomore. Sean Luther and Michael Mosharrafa are expected to be the other starters on the line.

Special Teams

Brophy's special teams, most notably the kicking position, was their Achilles heel all last season. The kicking game cost Brophy two games - the two most important ones.

Against St. Mary's, Brophy missed a field goal and an extra point. At the end of the game, coach Molander decides to go for it with fourth and 10 at St. Mary's 10-yard line. The team does not convert the fourth down play; a field goal would have sent the game into overtime.

In a one-point loss to Mountain Pointe in the quarterfinals, Brophy missed two extra points and also missed a potential game-winning field goal in the last minute of the game. The defense did not allow a touchdown all game despite the Pride having exceptional field position most of the night.

Not much is known about Zach Hudson, who will be Brophy's kicker for 2011.

The other special team units are more reliable. Allen returns kicks (25 yards/return), and Auran punts (33 yards/punt). Auran also plays wide reciever.

Offensive Starters Returning - 5 (Bruggman, Allen, Gammage, Rosner, Renfree).
Defensive Starters Returning - 6 (Cahal, Faust, Relf, Curtis, Riccitelli, Mosharrafa).

Brophy finally has their QB, and without the drama

By Justin Janssen

There's an old football cliche, "If you have two quarterbacks, you actually have none."

For the first time since Bryan Berens, Brophy Prep has a crystal clear situation at quarterback without any controversy. Berens was the starting QB for the only two state championship teams (2005 and 2007).

Junior Tyler Bruggman is by without a doubt, Brophy's starting QB. As a sophomore, Bruggman threw for 1304 yards with 11 TDs and 6 interceptions before injuring his ankle in a "freak accident" the day before a game.

Scouts and sportswriters are high on Bruggman. "[Bruggman is] returning from a broken ankle suffered in mid-October, has worked hard to put himself among the state's elite quarterbacks," said Richard Obert of The Arizona Republic. "Strong, accurate arm, smart, manages the game well." Jason Jewell, scout.com's southwest recruiting expert rates Bruggman as the sixth best QB prospect in Arizona (and first among juniors).

The stability Bruggman brings to the most important position in sports for Brophy is a blessing for a program that has had 7 QBs in the past three years.

In summary:

2008: Brophy used two different quarterbacks, substituting them in even in the middle of drives.

2009: There was controversy over three different quarterbacks Chase Knox, Garrett Wilson, and Billy Freeman. Freeman transferred to Red Mountain where he would switch positions, while Knox started throughout the season, but many felt Wilson was not given a fair shot at the starting gig.

2010: Knox transferred two days before the season begam because coach Scooter Molander wanted him to split time with sophomore Tyler Bruggman. Bruggman hurt his ankle in what was described as a "freak injury" midway through the season.

In order to get some playing time for his last gig, Wilson, who switched positions, was out for the season a couple weeks before, leaving receiver Fred Gammage at the helm. Gammage held up the fort for the remainder of the season and played surprisingly well, considering the position switch, and led Brophy to the quarterfinals.

Bruggman has all the weapons to succeed in 2011. Speedster Devon Allen caught 60 passes for 915 yards and six scores. According to The East Valley Tribune, the 60 catches and 915 yards are school records. Gammage caught 41 passes for 462 yards and hauled in four touchdowns. Almost all of those numbers for Gammage came in the first half of the season because he had switched positions. Marche Dennard was Brophy's X-factor last season, mainly being used in trick plays, but he ran for more than six yards a carry.

2011 Cross Country team will need to reload

By Justin Janssen

Note: head cross country coach Mike Keahon asked me to write this article along with the previous one. They will appear in Brophy's sportsbook, which can be found at football games this fall.

Brophy is going to need to reload if they want to remain near the top of Division 1. Three of their top four runners (Will Firth, Tommy Williams, and Patrick Wolf) graduated in the spring. Firth won four meets in his final cross country season. Williams and Firth were key components the last two seasons for Brophy’s track program, qualifying for the national championship both years. In track, Williams owns the school 800 meter dash record and Firth has the 1600 meter record.

The graduation of Brophy’s fastest runners is an opportunity for younger runners to carry the torch.

Dual-sport athlete Brock Ghelfi is Brophy’s top returning runner. The rising senior lacrosse player set personal records in his freshman season in both the three mile (15:23) and the 5000 meters (16:20.80). These PR’s were not been broken by Ghelfi in his sophomore and junior seasons. As a freshman and sophomore, Ghelfi was Brophy’s top runner in the state meet.

Rising junior Marco Ruiz was voted by the coaches the most improved cross country runner last season by cutting minutes off his times. Ruiz improved his three mile time from 18:13.50 his freshman season to 17.24.90 last season and his 5 kilometer time dropped from 18:27 to 17:04.60. In the spring, Ruiz qualified for the D-1 state track meet in the two mile (9:51.51).

Tyler McGehee, a dual-sport athlete in soccer and cross country, might be the No. 2 runner on the team in the fall. McGehee is a rising senior and was Brophy’s top finisher in two meets. He ran two of his three best times in the sectional (16:56.73) and the state meet (17:19.50).

Student council leader Jack Welty is a returning varsity letterman and has been running with Brophy since freshman season. His personal record in the three mile is 15:54.80 and 16:59 in the 5K.

Jake Ghelfi, Jack Rubenzer, and Henry Miller are potential candidates to fill the three varsity slots left by Firth, Williams, and Wolf.

Jake Ghelfi, the younger brother of Brock Ghelfi, will be a sophomore in the fall. He won the freshman 5K at the Ojo Rojo meet, but missed part of last season with an injury. Henry Miller, a rising senior and lacrosse player, has been flirting between junior varsity and varsity for the past couple seasons. Miller has run on varsity when other runners missed a meet.

Jack Rubenzer might be more of a middle distance runner than a cross country runner. He ran a 2:01.91 800 meter dash and was a leg on Brophy’s varsity and sophomore 4 X 800 school record teams. Rubenzer cleared 18 minutes three times in the 3 mile/5K races last season.

With these athletes, incoming freshman, and other wild cards, Brophy could be on to another successful season. While the graduating seniors of Brophy will be excelling next season at the NCAA level, a new generation of stars could be born.

2010 Brophy Prep Cross Country season recap

By Justin Janssen

Note: head cross country coach Mike Keahon asked me to write this article along with the following one. They will appear in Brophy's sportsbook, which can be found at football games this fall.

The 2010 Brophy Cross Country season started in July, when runners learned there was a new coach on the team. Alex Mason, who finished third in the 2003 Cross Country state championship meet, was the next assistant coach alongside Andy Schmidbauer, Steve Smith, Ted Skowron, and head coach Mike Keahon.

Brophy started the season with a bang at the Sole Sports Running Zone Cross Country Festival in Scottsdale. Will Firth and Tommy Williams crossed the finish line in first and second respectively, and the team scored a second place finish out of 27.

The next week the team traveled to Prescott for the annual Ray Wherley meet. This meet is typically followed by the team’s retreat at Manresa. Will Firth out-legged Alhambra’s Jorge Martinez, the two-time reigning 5A state champion by under two seconds. Williams, Patrick Wolf, and Brock Ghelfi were fifth, 15th, and 17th respectively. The team finished second to Alhambra in the 16 team field.

At the annual George Young Invitational hosted by Brophy Prep on Sept. 18, Firth won his third straight meet to start the season and Williams finished fifth, again. Brock Ghelfi and Patrick Wolf were 19th and 20th. As a team the Broncos finished third on the rolling hills.

At the Ojo Rojo Invitational Sept. 25, Brophy’s top four runners sat out. McGehee was Brophy’s top finisher in 32nd place followed by Marco Ruiz (39th) and Jack Welty (44th). As a team, Brophy finished 11th in the 27 team field.

On Wednesday Sept. 29, the team returned to Granada Park, a place they practiced at in seasons past in a four team meet vs. Gilbert, Mesa, and Mountain Pointe. Brophy again rested their top four, but still won, behind Marco Ruiz’s win (16:53.40). Jack Welty finished third (17:11.20), Jack Rubenzer 4th (17:14.10), Henry Miller 6th (17:52.20), and Jake Ghelfi 8th (18:12.80).

In the Desert Twilight Festival, on a Friday night, Firth and Williams finished fourth and seventh respectively. As a team, the Broncos were 7th, but had the 4th best total time.

At one of the most prestigious Cross Country meets, the Doug Conley Invitational, at the Rolling Hills Golf Course in Tempe, Firth picked up his fourth victory of the season. In the 161 player field, Williams finished 8th, Wolf, 32nd, and Ghelfi 44th. Brophy had the best combined team time in the meet, but settled for third place.

In the last tune-up before the sectionals and state meet, Brophy decided to rest their top four runners in order to find out who was the best of the rest. Tyler McGehee was Brophy’s top finisher in the Ken Denson Invitational in 19th place, followed by Henry Miller (36th) and Marco Ruiz (39th).

At the sectional meet the week before the state meet, Brophy finished tied for second place out of the 18 teams in Section 1. Section 1 contains 1/3rd of the teams in Division 1. Firth finished third, Williams 10th, Wolf 16th, Ghelfi 18th, and McGehee 21st.

The grand finale of the cross country season is the state meet. Will Firth was the runner up in D-1 to Yuma Cibola’s Bernie Montoya. The top five runners for each team score in this meet. For Brophy, Tommy Williams finished 13th, Brock Ghelfi 32nd, Patrick Wolf 52nd, Tyler McGehee 55th, Marco Ruiz 80th, and Jack Welty 134th. As a team Brophy finished 6th in the state meet out of 25 teams in D-1 with 154 points, and was just five points off of fourth place.

Heideman switches from varsity to freshman coach

By Justin Janssen '11

According to Brophy football's website, Scott Heideman is no longer a Brophy varsity football coach.

Heideman will still be with the program, just changing positions. Heideman is switching from varsity linebackers coach to an assistant freshman football coach.

This is the second freshman program at Brophy he will be coaching. Last spring Heideman became the head lacrosse coach for Brophy's freshman squad.

Off the field, Heideman is a full time substitute teachers, inspiring students with his 212 degree speeches. Heideman is also known for giving students push-ups instead of detentions when they are disciplined.

Before coming to Brophy in 2007, Heideman was the head coach of Boulder Creek High school in its first three years of existence.

Prior to his stint at Boulder Creek, Heideman was an assistant coach at four other valley high schools for 12 years.

Defensive coordinator and strength & conditioning coach Gary Galante will be filling the void left by Heideman by also becoming the linebackers coach in addition to being the special teams coordinator.

Williams, Firth set school records in final race

By Justin Janssen '11

The historic Hayward Field is known to bring out the best of track athletes. The aura for a track athlete at Hayward Field is comparable to a baseball player competing at Wrigley or a football player at Lambeau.

On June 25, at Hayward Field, in the Nike Track Nationals, Thomas Williams '11 and Will Firth '11 set personal records in their respective events in their last race as a Brophy Bronco.

Williams and Firth graduated from Brophy Prep one month ago so this was the last time they would don the Brophy uniform.

Williams is the 2011 Arizona D-I 800 meter champion and 2010 Arizona 5A-I 1600 meter champion.

"Williwams" ran 1:54.10, good for 4th place and 910.50 points in the decathlon scoring. That's not a typo on my part, for some reason Nike has Tommy's name recorded as "Williwams."

Williams was right with the lead group for the entire race, but lost a step on the leaders in the last 100 meters or so.

"There was a little bit of contact with about 80 (meters) to go," Williams said. "I kind of got sandwiched behind a couple guys."

Williams has said in the past that he sometimes struggles at the end of races; the victor of the race finished 0.48 seconds ahead of Williams.

But place isn't too important in the decathlon scoring meet, as finishers 1 through 4 earned almost the same number of points for their team.

-------------------------------------------

Firth did not compete last year for Brophy at the Nike Nationals meet because he was sick at the end of the season.

This year he's healthy, but he had to wait till the last event of the night to show everyone.

During the mile race, coaches and the fans remaining in the stands stood in the outside lanes, anticipating the grand finale of the track season.

After one lap, Firth was in 6th place, but quickly (no pun intended) made his way into third.

With just 100 meters to go, Firth fell behind the two leaders by about 15 meters.

Then Firth found fifth gear and dashed faster than he'd ever gone before. Firth made up ground and passes the runner positioned in second at the finish line.

His time was 4:15.19. Converted that mile time into 1600 meters and the result is 4:13.79. A school record.

Firth had tied the school record of Charles Hampton '03 in 1600 meters at the Meet of Champions last month, but now he's all alone in Brophy's record book.

Upon receiving the runner-up medal at the meet, cheers for Firth erupted. The PA announcer said,"Apparently he has a very large fan club at Hayward field."

Video of races:

Williams PR's

Williams interview

Firth motors to 2nd

Firth receives award

Allen stumbles, wins in Nike Nationals

By Justin Janssen '11

The Nike Track Nationals at legendary Hayward Field in Eugine, Oregon started when Devon Allen '13 stumbled in the 110 meter hurdles and the Brophy Broncos couldn't recover from Allen's disqualification.

Allen, who was projected to finish second, got off to a clean start, but looked like he overextended his left leg after the second hurdle.

Allen was off-balance, but he recovered and continued the race. He lost a little less than two seconds off his time, but it all went for not because Allen was disqualified.

Allen made up for the blunder later by surging to a first place victory in the 100 meter dash.

It was the oppositie of a wire-to-wire win for Allen, who only led the race at the finish.

At the midway point Allen was in 5th place, but a late surge gave him a tightly contested victory. The victor of the race could not be seen with the naked eye. Electronic times showed Allen crossed the finish line first.

Ironically, Allen stumbled this time too, but this time it was after the race.

Allen extended his body at the finish line ever so slightly to push ahead, but his extension at top speed forced him to the ground.

Allen needed every last step and extension because second place finished two milliseconds behind him.

"You know I just wanted to get out and PR," Allen said. "I didn't make up as many points (as projected) in the hurdles. I wanted to make up points for my team."

Scoring at the Nike Nationals Meet is in a decathlon format, meaning times, distances, and heights are converted onto a point scale.

Allen's disqualification in the hurdles earned 0 points for the Broncos, a blow that no team could recover from.

If Allen finished his projected 13.90 seconds in the race (1000 points), the Broncos finish 3rd out of 12. Instead they finished last.

Allen crossed the finish line at about 15.6 seconds, which would have given Brophy more than 700 points. This would have placed them 8th.

But Allen still has a bright future ahead of him as the record holder of 11 school events (100 meter dash freshman, sophomore, varsity; 200 meter dash freshman, sophomore, varsity; 400 meter sophomore, 110 meter hurdles sophomore, 4 X 100 meter sophomore, and freshman and sophomore decathalon.

Allen was also Brophy's leading track scorer in route to their first ever track state championship. He scored in four events at the state meet.

On the gridiron, Allen was Brophy's leading receiver in 2010 (915 yards 6 TD) and already has a scholarship offer.


Video of both races:

Allen stumbles in 110 hurdles- DQ

Allen wins 100 meter 10.75 - 919.05 points

H.S. Track National Championship today - meet broadcased online

On the website http://www.runnerspace.com/NTN, the 2011 high school Nike Track Nationals will be broadcasted starting at 6:20 p.m.

Brophy is ranked No. 10 in the nation, but is eight among teams that made the meet. For some reason qualified schools North Shore (TX) and Kentwood (MI) did not go to the meet leading the way for two more Texas teams. No. 1 Loyola (Calif) is where Jaric Erike '11 and Michael Erike '12 transferred to.

The schools competing are Loyola, No. 2 Vista Murrieta (Calif), No. 4 Ben Davis (Indiana), No. 5 Sam Barlow (Oregon), No. 7 Great Oak (Calif), No. 8 Dana Hills (Calif), Brophy, No. 9 De Soto (Texas), Brophy, No. 11 The Woodlands (Texas), No. 18 Godby (Florida), No. 20 Don Bosco (New Jersey), and No. 27 Eden Prarie (Minn).

The official meet schedule of events is below. In white are the events Brophy fans care about.

6:30 PM  Discus  NTN  Girls  Infield
6:30 PM  1,500 Meters  Junior  Women Final
6:40 PM  1,500 Meters  Junior  Men Final  
6:50 PM  Shot Put  NTN  Boys  West ring - Brophy and 1 other team dropped this event. 
7:00 PM  100 Meter Hurdles  NTN  Girls 
7:10 PM  110 Meter Hurdles  NTN  Boys (Devon Allen). Allen ranks 2nd out of teams who made meet.
2 teams dropped event. 
7:15 PM  Pole Vault  NTN  Girls  East runway
7:15 PM  Pole Vault  NTN  Boys  West runway (Cole Walsh) Walsh is T-3rd with 3 other people.
3 teams dropped event. 
7:20 PM  High Jump  NTN  Girls  West apron
7:20 PM  High Jump  NTN  Boys  East apron (James Harper) Harper is T-4th with 2 other people.
2 teams dropped event. 
7:20 PM  400 Meters  NTN  Girls 
7:25 PM  400 Meters  NTN  Boys  (Ian Parker) Parker is 10th. 2 teams dropped event. 
7:30 PM  Long Jump  NTN  Girls  East runway
7:30 PM  Long Jump  NTN  Boys  West runway (Josh Dennard) Dennard is 8th.  one dropped event. 
7:40 PM  800 Meters  NTN  Girls 
7:45 PM  800 Meters  NTN  Boys (Tommy Williams) Williams is 6th. No one dropped event. 
7:55 PM  Discus  NTN  Boys  Infield (Danny Vimmerstaet) Vimmerstaet is 10th. No one dropped event. 
8:00 PM  Shot Put  NTN  Girls  West ring
8:00 PM  100 Meters  NTN  Girls 
8:05 PM  100 Meters  NTN  Boys (Devon Allen) Allen is 3rd. No one dropped event. 
8:50 PM  Mile  NTN  Girls 
9:00 PM  Mile  NTN  Boys (Will Firth) Firth is 4th. 0 teams dropped event. 

Track Officially Qualifies for Nike Nationals

By Justin Janssen '11

Ahh, it's been quite a long time since I've last updated this blog, primarily because nothing has really been happening in the high school sports world.

But the biggest track meet of the year looms one week from today. The second Nike Track Nationals meet stationed at Nike and University of Oregon headquarters will unveil a national champion.

High school track is different than most high school sports because scoring is based off of times and distances rather than points on a scoreboard.

In track, more than two teams compete on the track/field, expanding the amount of teams that can compete at once.

No. 10 Arizona D-I state champion Brophy Prep auto-qualified for this prestigious meet a second year in a row by winning the southwest region.

Brophy will be amongst 12 men's teams vying for the title.

The decathlon scoring used to qualify high schools for this prestigious meet converts times, heights, or distances into a certain amount of points.

Brophy has their own version of "The Big Three" with Devon "scrub" Allen '13, Tommy Williams '11, and Will Firth '11.

Allen was Brophy's leading scorer in the state meet placing in the 100, 200, 400, 4 X 100 relay, and the 110 meter hurdles.

In this meet Allen will just run the 100 meter and 110 meter because Nike limits an athlete to two events.

Williams, the reigning Arizona D-I 800 meter champion and owner of that school record, will run that event in the meet.

Firth is Brophy's 1600 meter runner (approximately 1 mile) after tying a school record in the event.

Josh Dennard '11 is jumping, Cole Walsh '13 is pole vaulting, James Harper '12 is high jumping, and Danny Vimmerstadt '12 is throwing the discus.

Firth sets school mile record, track eyes national championship

By Justin Janssen '11

Firth Captures School Record

Will Firth '11 ran Brophy Prep's all-time fastest 1600 meter May 21 at the meet of champions (4:14.43), but he was overshadowed by Tuba City's Billy Orman.

Orman, who will run at Harvard next season, set the all-time Arizona record in the event (4:05.29) during the race behind a racuous crowd at Queen Creek High School.

Firth and Tommy Williams '11 were right behind Orman after three laps, but could not hold the record pace in the final lap.

Williams, the Division I 800 meter winner and former 5A-I 1600 meter champion, ran a personal record 4:15.56.

Williams is headed to UCLA where he will be coached by Olympian Johnny Gray, who still holds the American record in the 800 meter (1:42.60).

Firth holds the freshman 1600 meter and 3200 meter records for Brophy.

Distance coach Alex Mason '05 described Firth as consistent. Mason said he can have a good day when he's not feeling well, and he can have a great day when he's feeling well.


Track Eyes National Championship

Currently Brophy's track team is qualified for the Nike Track Nationals at Eugine, Ore.

The decathlon scoring used to qualify high schools for this prestigious meet converts times, heights, or distances into a certain amount of points.

Nike allows a school to "drop" the event of the lowest scoring. In Brophy's case that is the shotput event.

Last season Brophy made the meet and finished eighth and the Broncos are in seventh place currently.

12 teams from around the country qualify for the meet.

The top team from each of the eight regions automatically qualify for Nike Nationals and four others are "wildcards."

Harry Danilevics '10 said at the track banquet that after the meet of champions, the Brophy athletes stopped their training.

Danilevics challenged the current Broncos to continue their training up until the Nike Nationals in the quest for a national title.

Brophy could use another banner in Robson gymnasium after the 2011 soccer team received a national runner up banner at the graduation ceremony.

The swimming program has a national title and a national runner up banner to display.

The Brophy athletes are below:

Devon Allen '13 is running in the 100 meter, 100 meter hurdles, Williams is running the 400 and 800 meter, and Firth is running the 1600 meter.

Josh Dennard '11 is doing the long jump, Cole Walsh '13 in the pole vault, James Harper '12 in the high jump, and Danny Vimmerstadt '12 in the discus.

Nike limits athletes to two events, otherwise Allen would be running the 400 meter.

Mystery Clouding 2011 Schedule Finally Solved

By Justin Janssen '11

After a strenuous and endless offseason wait, Brophy Prep's 2011 football schedule with dates has finally been released.

The releasing of the football schedules have been delayed on numerous occasions and various components of the schedules have been released on different days.

Here's a quick timeline on how we reached the final schedule:

Dec. 6: The AIA announced the new teams in the sectional format, eliminating regions.

Jan. 19: Sectional appeals were granted.

March 2: The first eight computerized games were announced.

March 23: The other two games the school picked were announced.

Just prior to April 27: The public was supposed to hear the dates of the schedules April 27, but then the AIA turned around and said it would only be available to coaches and that it would be made available to the public May 12.

Just prior to May 12: The AIA announced another delay in the public releasing of schedules. Now the schedules will be announced July 1, eight weeks before the season starts.

Luckily for some school's fans, a coach, or someone in the athletic department has released the team's schedule.

Eight of the 10 games on each team's schedule are a product an AIA computerized program designed to lower travel costs.

While travel has been reduced, (the AIA reports it cut 35% travel in all sports) teams are allowed to play a division up or division down, creating inescapable mismatches.

North Pointe Prep canceled their football season because the school thought their players would get injured playing much larger and stronger teams.

"I can't afford for ambulances to be showing up to prove the AIA wrong," North Pointe Prep Principal Richard Gow told The Arizona Republic. "We don't mind getting beat. But we have to protect our kids."

Without further ado, the 2011 schedule....

8/26 H Mountain Ridge
9/2 H Boulder Creek
9/9 @ Red Mountain
9/16 H Sandra Day O'Conner
9/23 @ North Canyon
9/30 @ Mountain Pointe *
10/6 H Westview
10/14 H St. Mary's *
10/21 @ Westwood
10/28 @ Pinnacle

The marquee matchups on the schedule are Mountain Pointe and St. Mary's.

The Mountain Pointe - Brophy matchup is a rematch of a tight quarterfinal playoff fame last season. Brophy looked like they were going to pull off the upset, but missed three kicks down the stretch in a one point loss. Mountain Pointe starting quarterback Kyle Faunce has transferred out of state.

I'm told by Brophy scout team linebacker Jack Stamets '12 that St. Mary's is losing at least seven starters due to transferring. The biggest transfer is runningback Orange Mooney, who left to live with his father after his mother passed away. The rising Brophy seniors have not beat the Knights yet, and what better time to do that than on senior night and homecoming.

Brophy Track claims first ever state championship

By Justin Janssen '11

During the 82 years since Brophy College Prep opened in 1928, the Broncos had never hung a state championship banner in track.

"Banner Wall" on the south side of Robson Gymnasium is filled with state championships, but none had ever come in track.

A full season's worth of hard work paid off May 11 and 14 at Mesa Community College, as Brophy finally ended the championship drought in track.

Distance runner Tommy Williams '11 told The East Valley Tribune, "We got in the room and said, 'guys, we can win a state championship.' And we calculated the maximum score in each event, so we were all motivated to perform our best to score as much as possible."

Williams capped off his Brophy career with an individual title in the 800 meter (1:55.48).

Williams, the 2010 5A-I 1600 meter champion, is also Brophy's all-time record holder in the 800 meter.

Devon Allen '13 didn't win a race, but may have been the meet MVP as he led the Broncos with 27 of the team's 77 points scored.

Allen placed second in the 110 meter hurdles (13.90), second in the 200 meter (21.50), third in the 100 meter dash (10.90), and fourth in the 400 meter (48.88).

Allen set the team sophomore 110 meter hurdle record. It's the sixth fastest 110 meter hurdle in Arizona prep history.

His 200 meter dash time is a sophomore and school record.

Allen lost three events to Trae Armstrong of Deer Valley, who won the 100, 200, 400, and 4 X 400.

Will Firth (first) '11 had to settle for two second place finishes in the state meet.

In the two mile, Firth (9:32.39) and Williams (9:33.72) finished second and third to Yuma Cibola's Bernie Montoya, but picked up 14 valuable points in the race.

Scoring in the state meet is 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1, meaning the victor picks up 10 points, runner up earns eight points, etc.

Firth (4:15.53) and Williams (4:19.01) finished second and third, respectively, in the mile to a man who lost his shoe in the final lap.

Bernie Montoya lost his right shoe, but still persevered to hold off Brophy's distance runners.

"I got scared for a moment," Montoya said to The Arizona Republic. "But this is the state title that I could actually lose. That last lap, it was hurting."

Montoya had to pull out of the half mile race because of the pain he suffered in the mile.

James Harper '12 earned three points for his high jump of 6-4. Fourth through eighth place all cleared that height.

Josh Dennard '11 picked up two points in the long jump (21-10).

Brophy needed almost all those points as the defending state champion Chandler Wolves scored 73.

Chandler scored 36 points in the field events, including Michael Okonkwo winning the high jump (6'10).

But Chandler was disqualified in the 4 X 400 race; they were projected to finish third.

A third place finish would have given the Wolves six points, enough to overtake Brophy.

Five Brophy school records were set at the meet (first three are above).

The 4 X 800 team composed of Williams, Firth, Tanner Brown '12, and Jack Rubenzer '13 (7:56.77) set a Bronco record, but still finished fifth.

The 4 X 100 team with Anthony Broglia '11, Josh Dennard '11, Robert Relf '13, and D'Amayi Grayer '13, (42.36) placed sixth, but it was enough to break a school record.

Brophy track leads D-I state meet after day 1

By Justin Janssen '11

Brophy Prep is off to a hot start on their quest for their first ever state championship in track.

Despite no individual winners yet, the Broncos lead the 60 team division 1 pack after five of the 17 events.

The rest of the meet concludes Saturday May 14.

Results Below:

Preliminary 100 meter (25 runners)

2. Devon Allen (10.75) - advances to final

24. Anthony Broglia (11.53)

Preliminary 200 meter (22 runners)

2. Devon Allen (21.80) - advances to final

Preliminary 400 meter (21 runners)

8. Devon Allen (49.92) - advances to final by 0.2 seconds

Final 3200 meter (25 runners)

2. Will Firth (9:32.39) - 8 points

3. Tommy Williams (9:33.72) - 6 points

22. Marco Ruiz (10:05.41)

Preliminary 110 meter hurdles (23 runners)

2. Devon Allen (14.28)- advances to final

Final 4 X 800 Meter (24 schools)

5. Tommy Williams, Will Firth, Jack Rubenzer, Tanner Brown (7:56.77) - 4 points

Final High Jump (33 jumpers)

6. James Harper (6'04) - 3 points

Final Long Jump (24 jumpers)

7. Josh Dennard (21'10) - 2 points

14. Robert Relf (21'04)

Team Standings after Day 1:

1. Brophy - 23 points

2. Desert Vista - 19.5 points

3. Chandler - 19 points

4. Hamilton - 18 points

5. Mountain View - 17 points

5. Cibola - 17 points

7. Deer Valley - 15 points

Races remaining: 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter, 800 meter, 1600 meter, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Discus, Triple Jump, 110 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles, 4 X 100 meter.

Races clocked: 4 X 400, 4 X 800, High Jump, Long Jump, 3200 meter.

Baseball loses rematch with Mesquite, bounced from playoffs

Blogger Note: Blogger was temporarily down, this post was originally published May 11.

Brophy 2
Mesquite 12

By Justin Janssen ’11
THE ROUNDUP

What started as a promising postseason for No. 9 Brophy (21-10) ended abruptly with two mercy losses to No. 4 Hamilton (25-6) and No. 1 Mesquite (29-4).

On May 12, the Broncos knew they had a tall task going against Mesquite ace Zach Davies (11-0, 1.82 ERA).

Davies is nominated for the Gatorade Arizona Baseball player of the year.

Despite Davies’ credentials, the Broncos had base runners in every inning and made Davies work for every out he got.

“We had a good game plan against Davies,” said Brophy head coach Mr. Tom Succow. “Our guys battled hard against him.”

Brophy struggles to contain the Mesquite offense. Starting pitcher Sean Maxon-Maldonado ’11 walked four batters and hitting two more in three innings.

“(Maldonado) pitched 1 2/3 innings Saturday,” Mr. Succow said. “It was the first time he threw since April 5.”

Mesquite got to work right away off Maldonado, scoring four runs in the first inning, three of the runners who scores reached on free passes by Maldonado.

Mesquite added a run in the second off of a wild pitch by Maldonado, and Spencer Applebach homered off him in the third.

“He deserved to have the ball, but just wasn’t sharp enough,” Mr. Succow said.

First baseman Dan Winkler ’11 jumpstarted Brophy’s offense with leadoff singles in the third and fifth innings.

Winkler came around to score both of Brophy’s runs.

A last chance at a comeback for Brophy was halted in the fifth inning when Connor Messman ’13 struck out with the bases loaded and two outs.

Mesquite ended the game in the sixth when they opened the inning with seven straight batters reaching the bases.

The Wildcats scored four in the inning and the 12-2 lead ended the game on the run rule.

Mr. Succow said he thought Brophy had a good season despite two straight losses by 10 runs.

“Anytime you win 20 games, it’s a success,” Mr. Succow said. “I’m proud of the effort the kids put in.”

Mesquite will take on Hamilton in the 5A-I semifinals May 12.

Due to Mesquite’s loss to Brophy May 3, if Mesquite beats Hamilton, the Wildcats have to play Hamilton again for the spot in the championship game.

Allen, Williams, Firth lead Brophy into state meet

The 2010-2011 school year is almost over. Some schools graduate as early as this upcoming Saturday.

The track and field season is also winding down to its final meet.

Brophy Prep figures to finish very high in the meet; maybe high enough to win their first ever state championship May 11 and 14 at Mesa Community College.

There is increased competition with seven divisions reduced to four.

The scoring is 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.

Qualifying times for the state meet below.

Devon Allen '13 leads the charge. 5th in 11o meter high hurdles time (14.55). Leader is Cameron Taylor of Westwood (13.98).

Allen is fourth in the 100 meter dash (10.83). Leader is stud running back Trae Armstrong of Deer Valley (10.66). Anthony Broglia '11 qualified as the 22nd runner in Division 1 (11.20).

The 4 X 100 team will probably not score due to Allen choosing other events. With Allen Brophy is 8th in the state and 0.01 seconds away from tying the school record.

Allen is fifth in the 200 meter dash (21.85), a school record. Armstrong leads this race (21.44).

Allen is second in the 400 meter (48.73) to Armstrong (48.25). This is another Brophy record.

The 4 X 800 team of Tommy Williams '11, Will Firth '11, Jack Rubenzer '13, and Tanner Brown '12 are 4th in Division I with a time of 8:05.30. Desert Vista is 1st (7:58.30).

The 1600 meter run is where Brophy could pick up a lot of points. Firth (4:17.45) and Williams (4:21.72) are second and third respectively in that race.

Firth recently signed with Rice, while Williams is a verbal to UCLA according to coach Mike Keahon '77.

The 1/2 mile is very competitive with Firth (1:55.97) and Williams (1:56.12) sixth and tenth. Williams owns the school record.

In the two mile, Firth (9:25.12) and Williams (9:42.89) are second and fourth. Marco Ruiz '13 qualified at the last chance meet (9:51.51) and is 17th.

The 4 X 400 team is 9th with Centennial leading the way.

Basketball forward James Harper '12 is T-7th in the high jump (6-04). Edmond Baker of Desert Vista has the highest jump at 6-10.

Running back/wide receiver Josh Dennard '11 jumps 21-05 in the long jump (17th). Travonn White of Mountain Pointe leads all jumpers with 23-02.50. Linebacker Robert Relf '13 is 22nd with a jump of 21-02.

In the pole vault, Cole Walsh '13 is T-5th (14-06), while Mark Schillinger '12 is T-8th (14-00).

Baseball gets rematch against No. 1 Mesquite

By Justin Janssen '11

After getting blown out 14-4 to Hamilton May 7, the Brophy Broncos baseball team is going to need to ride a lot of magic to advance in the 5A-I tournament.

There's an old saying "it's hard to beat a team twice", but Brophy will twice need to beat a team twice (not a typo)- just in the postseason to advance to the championship game.

Not exactly a nice birthday present for Dave Graybill '12.

No. 9 Brophy (21-9) defeated No. 1 Mesquite (28-4) 5-3 May 3 in the second round behind a furious rally in the sixth and seventh innings.

Dan Winkler '11 hit the tying RBI double in the sixth scoring Ryan Grant ’12, who pinch-ran for catcher Jon Rapisarda '12 after he started the inning with a double down the left field line.

Rapisarda delivered the go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the seventh inning.

Two batters later, Winkler, the team’s vocal leader, put the game out of reach with a two-RBI bases-loaded single.

But when Brophy and Mesquite play again May 10, in the loser's bracket, the Broncos will not have the luxury of facing Mesquite's relievers.

Instead, Brophy will have to face a man who has lost once in the past two seasons.

The Tigers will start ace Zach Davies (11-0, 1.82 ERA) against Brophy.

Davies' pitching gives him notoriety, but he almost beat the Broncos with his bat.

Trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, Davies put Mesquite ahead with a two-run homer, chasing Brophy starter Steven Oleksak '13.

If Brophy overcomes Davies and No. 1 Mesquite, they will play No. 4 Hamilton (25-6) May 12 for the right to advance to the title game.

But Brophy would need to beat Hamilton not just once, but twice, on the same day, to advance.

Hamilton crushed the Broncos 14-4 May 7, forcing a run-rule to end the game in six innings.

The Huskies, winners of the Fiesta Region, also defeated Brophy twice in the regular season.