Perhaps George De La Torre and Steve McKane will pass one another on the freeway.
Almost as soon as De La Torre accepted the Dobson football job, than Steve McKane was chosen to be De La Torre’s replacement as Florence’s new football coach.
McKane, son of longtime Mesa High coach Bill McKane  (who’s still a lower-level assistant), Steve spent the past six years at Western Illinois University as the school’s defensive assistant and recruiting coordinator.
Father and son won two state championships at Mesa High before Steve graduated and left to play at …

The finish fell flat, but the Mesa girls soccer team inflated its collective self-esteem thanks to its own tournament.
The Jackrabbits advanced to the championship match before falling, 2-0, to Phoenix North Canyon on Thursday night.
After a shaky first half for Mesa, North Canyon took advantage with a goal in the final five minutes before intermission for a 1-0 lead. Though Mesa coach Andy Clarke said he was pleased with a better turnaround in the second half, the Rattlers added an insurance goal with five minutes left in the match.
North Canyon …

UPDATED:  Semifinal results: Boys:  Trevor Browne 1, Mtn. View 0; Central 5, Mesa 2;   Girls:  Mesa 3, Prescott 1;  North Canyon 4, Skyline 0.
Championship matches (Thursday):  Mesa vs. North Canyon (4 p.m.);  Trevor Browne vs. Central (6 p.m.)
The semifinal matchups are set for Wednesday at the Mesa Jackrabbit boys and girls soccer tournament at Mesa High School.
The boys semifinal matches are Wednesday (Dec. 21) at 4 p.m.:   Phoenix Trevor Browne vs. Mountain View;  Phoenix Central vs. Mesa in the other.
The girls semifinals begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday:  Prescott vs. …

Similarly to football and other sports, the Mesa schools put together its own all-honors volleyball team in lieu of the AIA-sanctioned All-Section team.
Player of the Year:  MacKenzie Skousen (Mountain View)
First Team
Kelcee Munk, Jr., Mesa
Emily Franklin, Jr., Red Mountain
Heather Leavitt, Sr., Mountain View
Morgan Carman, Sr., Mountain View
Umata Tafuna, Sr., Mesa
Milani Pickering, Sr., Mountain View
Second Team
Jaden Green, Sr., Mesa
Shaley Sato, Sr., Westwood
Paige Tingey, Sr., Mountain View
Megan Hunt, Sr., Mountain View
Taylor Batten, Jr., Skyline
Emily Gosciminski, Jr., Red Mountain
Maicee Allen, Sr., Mesa
Honorable Mention
Dobson:  Kelley Harris; Shaela Reader
Mesa:  Madi Clement; Drea Farnsworth
Mountain View:  Brooke Bryson; …

In lieu of an all-Section team that several Divisions/Sections have opted against under this new format, the city of Mesa football coaches put together their own football teams this season.
(Desert Ridge is located in Mesa but is part of the Gilbert district, so the Jaguars aren’t included).
Coach of the Year:  Ron Wisniewski (Red Mtn.)
Offensive Player of the Year:  Mason Thorman (Red Mtn.)
Defensive Player of the Year:  Jake Thomas (Mountain View)
Two-way Player of the Year:  Marcus Brantley (Red Mountain)
 
First Team Offense
QB:  Mason Thorman (Red Mtn.)
RB:  TJ Thomas (Dobson), Marcus Brantley (Red …

The Mesa boys basketball team made the 5A-I semifinals last season behind electric point guard Jahii Carson. In a couple years, the Jackrabbits may have a similarly talented player running the position, but for now, coach Shane Burcar knows he must remain patient.
Freshman Jalen Jenkins is already garnering scholarship looks from Pac-12 schools, and he is just one of several talented but young players for the Jackrabbits this season. There is also Isaac Allen, a 6-foot-10 sophomore who played sparingly on varsity last season and is still raw. Christian Harris …

The Mountain View and Laveen Betty Fairfax boys hoops teams will play each other on Tuesday in the city of Mesa’s Hall of Fame Game at 7 p.m. at Mountain View.
The Toros defeated Brophy to win last year’s 5A Division I state championship. Mountain View loses key contributors Mark Mazzucco, Jaren Sweeney and Kyle Bingham from that team, but Cam Boone, Mitch Wallace and Jeff Kerr return to a Toros squad that is once again expected to be in the mix in Division I.
Fairfax defeated Chaparral in the 5A-II title …

Alan Wilkins loved Mesa.
He loved Mesa High, he loved athletics (it’s what he knew best) and he loved history.
Mix them all together with a solid family man, and it makes what happened on Monday morning all the more painful.
Minutes after dropping his daughter off at school, Wilkins was killed in a car crash on his way home.
For nearly 30 years, Mesa ran through his blood. He played football at the school and was a teammate of former BYU and NFL standout Vai Sikehama. They finished as state runners-up in 1979 …

Everyone seemingly knew it was coming, but that’s no reason not to admire.
Former Mesa High state wrestling champion and Arizona State national champion Anthony Robles won the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance during Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards show.
Along with a slew of NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL athletes to win individual accolades, Robles also won for best male athlete with a disability.
Robles was an NCAA wrestling champion despite being born with just one leg. His goal is to become a motivational speaker, and has both done several …

It wasn’t a good start for the U19 Team USA men’s basketball squad in Lithuania on Sunday.
Lithuania’s U20 team jumped out to a 32-8 lead after the first quarter and cruised to a 101-72 victory in an exhibition matchup. Mesa High point guard Jahii Carson played nine minutes, making one of three shots for two points and had three turnovers, two fouls and no assists. Team USA shot just 35.5 percent as a team.
This might be understandable, as there were multiple factors working against the team. It had to fly …