Firmly entrenched in the power point season again, let’s cut to the chase with plenty of really good softball matchups this week (of course that’s easy to come by when it’s 3 or 4 games per week for most schools).
(All games at 4 p.m. unless noted; All records are power point as of Monday, April 2):
Red Mountain at Gilbert (Tuesday):  Probably the biggest game of the week and another preview of Div. I state tournament semifinals or even championship game the way these two schools have been playing. Gilbert won …

Spring Break and big-time tournaments highlighted most of the past two weeks. That’s especially true for those who played in the Desert Mountain tournament, with Mountain View beating Paradise Valley for the championship.  Practically everyone there Saturday felt their team was significantly better having gone through that week’s worth of competition.
Now, however, the party is over. With most schools dealing with three- and four-games per week this week and through the month of April, it’s back to power point contests in-full.
Here we go (all records are power point games only …

This should have been started last week when power point games began for the spring season. Apologies.
But better late than never, so we’ll get to some of the more interesting games on the docket this week around the East Valley.
(All records are power-point games only as of Monday morning):
Division I
Red Mountain at Mountain View (Tuesday):  An early-season battle of the Mesa schools should be a good one. The Lions (2-1) are defending champions (5A-I), and, after a loss to a good Gilbert team, beat a solid Desert Ridge and Casa …

Red Mountain’s Lion Country Classic softball tournament kicks off the season this week.
The tournament begins Feb. 22 and runs through Feb. 25 at either Red Mountain H.S. or Skyline H.S. (both have two softball fields).
Here’s the schedule for the first three days:
Wednesday, Feb. 22
at Red Mountain H.S.
3 p.m.: Mesquite vs. Red Mountain; Mountain View vs. Desert Ridge;  5 p.m.:  Deer Valley vs. Red Mountain; Salpointe Catholic vs. Mesquite;  7 p.m.: Chaparral vs. Salpointe.
at Skyline H.S.
3 p.m.: Basha vs. Skyline; Queen Creek vs. Corona del Sol; 5 p.m.: Mountain Pointe vs. …

It’s the final go-round of regular season games for girls basketball. Everything wraps up Friday night and Sectionals from each Division begin next Tuesday, with semifinals set for Thursday night and championship games on Friday night, Feb. 10  (Division IV girls are Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday).
The top eight teams in each Section advance to the Sectional Tournament, which is single elimination. If a team wins its first game in the Sectional Tournament it should advance to the state tournament.
(All games are 7 p.m.  and records are PP games only through Monday).
Pinnacle at St. …

I went and caught the Red Mountain-Desert Ridge game tonight because I had yet to see Jaguars guard Derreck Brooks this season, and he didn’t disappoint.
The Grand Canyon University signee hit 14-of-21 shots from the field for 38 points, although the Lions used good balance to win the Division I matchup, 69-62 at Red Mountain.
Brooks scored 20 points in a row at one point in the first half and kept the Jaguars in the game until the Lions used a 15-4 second-half run to push a six-point lead to 17.
Desert …

A day late (and more than a dollar short these days), so apologies for being late with this Week in (Pre-)view of top girls basketball games this week as we hit the stretch run before sectional tournaments.  So without further ado let’s get to some jam-packed schedules……..
(All records are for power point games only through  Monday. All games at 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise):
Red Mountain at Hamilton (Tuesday):  It’s the No. 2 Lions (9-4) against No. 4 Hamilton (9-1) in a hecukva “freedom” game matchup. Backcourts will rule the show …

Like so many others for the next couple weeks, the Red Mountain boys soccer team knows it’s in a street fight to claim one of those precious playoff spots.
The Lions also recently discovered a kid who’s battles are far bigger than their own.
The school’s student council puts on an annual holiday gift drive on behalf of families unable to afford gifts for their kids. It’s where several soccer team members met 12-year-old Brandon Parsley during a Saturday morning breakfast with Santa event last month.
Since their mother passed away, Brandon and …

The three-week crush is on everywhere to get one of those 24 playoff spots come February. Appetites were whetted by the terrific Chandler-St. Mary’s matchup last Friday night, but more good stuff is coming quickly.
(All games at 7 p.m.  Records are power point games only as of Monday, Jan. 9).
Xavier at Highland (Monday):  Talk about starting off the week with a bang, the Gators (6-2) and Hawks (6-1) could meet again after this, somewhere along the lines of a state quarterfinals matchup. If you like shooting, defense and fundamentals, this …

Not to be outdone there are some pretty good girl’s basketball matchups this week as power point play resumes in full swing.
(Records are power point games only as of Wednesday morning).
Mountain View at Red Mountain (Wednesday):  The Toros have been every bit as good as advertised so far, going 7-0 in power point games and good showings in a out-of-state tournament in California as well as the Nike Tournament of Champions. The Lions have won five consecutive power point games, and this will be its biggest test since a two-point …