Former Marcos de Niza outfielder Kendall Konopka transferred to Arizona Christian University this fall. He spent last year at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, where he hit .230 (14-61) in 34 games as a freshman for the Sea Lions, with 4 doubles, 15 runs scored and nine RBI.
As a high school senior in 2009, Konopka hit .606 with 18 doubles, 6 triples, 10 home runs, 49 RBI and 49 runs scored and led Marcos de Niza to the State 5A-II semifinals. Konopka was named State 5A-II Player of …

As chronicled by Mark Heller in our cover story on Wednesday, St. Mary’s has been hit hard by the departure of key players.
The Knights’ loss, though, is Marcos de Niza’s gain.
The Padres made the 5A-II title game two seasons ago and the quarterfinals last year, and most view them as the third best team in Division II heading into this season behind Chaparral and Peoria Centennial.
Marcos lost several key athletes from last year’s team, including running back Anthony Shivers, wide receiver Martwon Weaver  and defensive back JeRyan Butler. That blow …

Marcos de Niza linebacker Adam Pavlenko has committed to Iowa State, according to Padres coach Roy Lopez.
Pavlenko has been a defensive star for the team since his sophomore season, finishing that season sixth on the team with 68 tackles and compiling a team-high 133 tackles last season.
He played an integral role in Marcos de Niza’s surprising 5A-II semifinal victory over Peoria Centennial in 2009. The Padres are expected to be one of the main contenders again to Chaparral in the newly formed Division II.
Pavlenko reportedly had offers from Air Force, …

A skirmish between Chaparral cornerback Davonte Neal and Marcos de Niza wide receiver Paul Elvira resulted in both sidelines rushing the field in a passing league game between the teams on Thursday.
Neal was covering Elvira and the pair became tangled up on a route. There was some shoving, and then players from both teams stormed onto the field.
Marcos de Niza coach Roy Lopez and Chaparral coach Charlie Ragle said nobody was hurt, but they were both disappointed in their teams’ reactions.
“With 16-, 17- and 18-year-old kids, they’ll do stupid things,” …

Player of the Year: Mandi Grebe (Perry)
Coach of the Year: Allison Robinson (Perry)
First Team
P: Reba DePriest (Skyline); Jessica Wilkinson (Perry); Kim Myers (Casa Grande)
C: Courtney Stoll (Desert Ridge); Shelby Pacheco (Casa Grande)
IF: Toni Martinez (Perry); Jillian Leslie (Perry); Jackie Hernandez (Desert Ridge); Kaelyn Christofferson (Casa Grande); Nyla Wambold (Mtn. Pointe)
OF: Sella Gonzalez (Skyline); Mari Gomez (Casa Grande); Jasmine Zaker (Desert Ridge); Chandler Hillman (Mtn. Pointe)
UT: Ciara Gonzalez (Mtn. Pointe)
Flex: Krystal Singh (Casa Grande)
Second Team
P: Kayla Heath (Desert Ridge); Tori Herzberg (Perry)
C: Alyssa Dale (Westwood); Cecily …

Following a week of power point softball games, the Marcos de Niza-Corona del Sol Invitational begins this weekend to coincide with spring break.
Games run at both schools on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m. each day. The last games begin at 2 p.m. each day.
Pool A is at Corona del Sol and features: Mountain Pointe, Desert Ridge, Chaparral, McClintock, Perry and Corona.
Pool B at Marcos de Niza features: Tempe, Desert Mountain, Hamilton, Casa Grande, Xavier and Marcos.
Final games are played Wednesday beginning at …

A quick hit on No. 2 Pinnacle vs. No. 6 Marcos de Niza in Wednesday night’s 5A-II girls soccer state tournament semifinal, 7 p.m. at Scottsdale Christian.
It’s the first semifinals appearance for Marcos de Niza since 2007.  Also (and Padres coach Chris Carr might mention this before kickoff) Pinnacle knocked Marcos out of the state tournament in the first round last year.
Marcos de Niza is riding high after trailing defending-champion Desert Mountain 2-0 in the quarterfinals, only for the Padres to storm back in a 3-2 victory. Alex Doller had …

St. Mary’s and Marcos de Niza were both cleared by the AIA for recruiting allegations at Monday’s executive board meeting.
The allegations stemmed from a former St. Mary’s player who  left the school and enrolled at Marcos de Niza before he’d officially withdrawn and submitted all necessary paperwork in the proper time line to leave St. Mary’s and enroll at Marcos de Niza.
In its hardship appeal, the family alleged St. Mary’s coach Eddy Zubey assured them the player’s school tuition would be paid for, and that Eddy Zubey contacted the former …

Relive all the action from week 12 of high school football in the East Valley:

Desert Ridge at Chandler 11/12/2010 (21 photos)
Gilbert at Basha 11/12/2010 (18 photos)
Perry at Marcos de Niza 11/12/2010 (15 photos)

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State volleyball tournament play begins on Tuesday and after the final night of regular season games, the brackets in 5A-I, 5A-II, 4A-I, 4A-II and 2A are set. The brackets for 3A and 1A should be ready by sometime on Friday.
Here are the pairings, with each team’s seed in parentheses:
5A-I
First round matches
All matches Tuesday at 7 p.m. unless noted
(16) Red Mountain at (1) Xavier
(9) North at (8) Salpointe
(12) Desert Ridge at (5) Mountain Ridge
(13) Kofa at (4) Desert Vista
(14) Maryvale at (3) Hamilton
(11) Corona del Sol at (6) Basha
(10) Mountain Pointe …