Congrats to Chaparral’s Davonte Neal for choosing a college. For kids and families it’s often a difficult, stressful decision with great importance beyond athletics, let alone when every BCS school in the country is in pursuit.
Congrats to everyone else in Arizona and beyond, who should no longer have to listen to, (especially) read about, or hear from Luke Neal ever again.
Somewhere in South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly might be asking for a four-year “sabbatical.”
The Neals themselves are what turned Davonte’s dog-and-pony-show of a college announcement Tuesday morning …

Public and private opinions on Pete Jonovich losing his football coaching job at Skyline are all over the place.
One side annoited him as an excellent role model for teenagers who saw that wins and losses aren’t definitions to a person’s life. He did the best he could at a school that has mostly struggled since he arrived in 2001 (and pretty much since it opened a few years prior). His outlook was rosy, never complained about resources and circumstances his program didn’t have that neighbor schools possess (Red Mountain, Mountain …

Saguaro running back D.J. Foster was chosen as the Ed Doherty award winner on Friday afternoon, given annually to the state’s top football player.
Foster, the Tribune’s Player of the Year, ran for 3,058 yards and had 60 total touchdowns on the season, which set a new state single-season record.
Foster beat out Chaparral wide receiver/cornerback Davonte Neal, Desert Vista linebacker Mike Arredondo, Chaparral quarterback Connor Brewer and Northwest Christian running back Casey Jahn for the honor.
He is the fourth Saguaro player to win the award this decade, joining Kyle Caldwell (2002), …

Former Mesquite defensive coordinator Leland Rodgers was hired as the Gilbert football coach recently, and he brought along all of the defensive staff from the Wildcats.
That and other attrition left Mesquite coach Matt Gracey with only one assistant coach remaining, but he filled the void by hiring former Gilbert defensive coordinator Stacy Garner to the same position at Mesquite. Garner brought defensive line coaches Rick Dunn and Steve Lane, linebackers coach Charlie Keenhold and defensive backs coach Danny Gile with him from the Tigers.
The cross-town foes faced off last season, …

Former Saguaro football coach John Sanders has been hired as the coordinator of football operations at Arizona State.
The move was anticipated for several weeks and was finally made official on Wednesday.
Sanders went 62-7 and won four state championships in five years as coach of Saguaro. He has been replaced by offensive coordinator Jason Mohns.
Former Saguaro star Kyle Cladwell has been hired to coach the defensive line and be the the Sabercats’ strength and conditioning coach, according to his Twitter page.

With hopes of getting things ramped up at his new school in the next two weeks, new Dobson football coach George De La Torre is already picking a few of his people.
The most interesting being an old friend, fellow retiree and longtime East Valley coach Mike Reardon as his offensive coordinator.
Reardon coached at various spots for 42 years until he retired from coaching and teaching after the 2010 season from Mesquite. He went to the playoffs three straight seasons at Saguaro and won a state championship in 2006 before moving …

Every college football coach in America took to their press conferences on Wednesday and proclaimed what a success National Signing Day was for the future of their programs.
It’s the job of new in-state coaches Rich Rodriguez and Todd Graham to do so, but based on the actual (though obviously subjective) rankings, both coaches struck out.
Arizona State was ranked eighth in the Pac-12 by Rivals.com and Scout.com. Arizona fared even worse, ranking 11th in the conference by Rivals and No. 10 by Scout.
Fans can use the coaching changes as an excuse, …

Jaxon Hood has never been shy about speaking his mind.
The Hamilton defensive tackle felt he was undervalued by recruiting services and college coaches alike, and told it to anyone willing to listen.
He made a verbal commitment to Boston College in December when it looked like the in-state schools wouldn’t offer him a scholarship, but whether it was his talking or his play on the field, eventually Arizona and Arizona State noticed. Rich Rodriguez and Todd Graham both offered a scholarship to Hood shortly after they were hired, and he flipped …

It was an action-packed morning, as four local football stars chose their colleges and dozens more gathered at the Doubletree Suites Hilton in Phoenix on Wednesday.
I couldn’t talk to everybody, but here are some notes from a variety of players that were in attendance:
* Desert Ridge senior Jordan Becerra did it all in high school, splitting time at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and cornerback. He will play wide receiver at Harvard after there was some discussion about putting him on defense. Becerra said he prefers offense. “I like getting …

Saguaro has narrowed its coaching search down to two finalists and a decision could come as soon as today, according to a source close to the situation.
The finalists are in-house candidate Jason Mohns and an outside candidate, the source said.
John Sanders was fired in early January. He led the team to four state championships in five years as coach, but was dismissed because of a series of off-field missteps.
A separate source said Sanders will likely end up in a role with Arizona State, and the official announcement should come ‘very …