Passing league is one way Arcadia prepares for next football season. Photo by Craig Richardson. The Arcadia Baseball Club Bulldogs won the 14u USSSA State Championship in June, going 5-0 en route to the title. Under the direction of coach Matt Ingram, the Bulldogs have played together for the last year. Nine of the players have played under Matt Ingram for three years. Team roster includes Nick Kobs, Saul Gomez, Matt Lucero, Ryan Dobric, Josh Arndt, Connor Earnest, Trent Baze, Hunter Grif fi ths, Jordan Camoriano, Matt Anderson, Sam Huff, Tony Sarno, Ian Salazar and Jake Sheedy. Ingram is assisted by Steve Jackson. The Arcadia Little League Yankees beat the Orioles 9-2 for the Minors Division championship. Team roster includes Jackson Culver-Witt, Will Erblich, Will Georgeoff, Stephen Harrison, Elijah Landry, Conner Leber, James Lippincott, Colby Musselmann, Jason Nunez, Kyle Pritchard, Mike Rea and Aidan Rowland. Maggie Cohen of Arcadia won the Girls 16u USTA Southwest Closed tennis tournament in June in Tucson. Cohen, the number-one player at Xavier last year as a freshman, was the fourth seed in the tournament. She raced through the talented tournament fi eld, losing just one set in fi ve matches. Cohen, who was named captain and MVP of the Xavier team, was one of 44 players in the fi eld. The Southwest Closed is among the more prestigious junior tournaments of the season. The USTA Southwest Region includes players from Arizona, New Mexico and El Paso. Cohen’s trainer is James Jack. She has trained at James Jack’s Rasta Tennis for more than eight years. She began her youth-tennis career at the Village in Brian Cheney’s Pee Wee tennis clinic. She was 5 years old. Titans use pass league, weight room, camp to prepare By Wayne Schutsky Although the regular season does not start for over two months, the Arcadia High School football program is in full swing, preparing itself to compete in the newly aligned Division III this fall. The Titans are participating in passing- league games this summer, where the team plays in seven-on-seven scrimmages against other varsity squads in the Valley, said coach Jim Ellison. The scrimmages are designed to improve a player’s technique and vision on the fi eld and are low contact, taking place without the use of pads or helmets. “We are working on our passing game this summer,” said Ellison. “We are really trying to improve our timing and our ability to read defenses.” Despite the reduced physicality of the practice-league games, the players are chomping at the bit to make some contact. This was evident at a June 17 contest against Shadow Mountain when a couple of two-hand touches turned into shoves and players seemed to be running at full speed. Despite the aggressive nature of the game, players from both sides shook hands and laughed about it afterwards. Arcadia had participated in several- passing league contests throughout June, including a couple of tournaments. The team traveled to the University of Arizona on June 4 and made it all the way to the quarter fi nals in that event. Then, on June 10, the Titans played a little closer to home in the Arizona State University Tournament, fi nishing the series of six games with a 5-1 overall record, said Ellison. The bene fi ts of the passing league are evident when watching quarterbacks Cole Richardson and Payson Kendle run through their progressions on the fi eld. Without the threat of lineman barreling down on them, both play-callers are able to scan the fi eld and see all of their available options. While this type of scenario is not exactly indicative of a game day situation, it looks to be helping the quarterbacks’ con fi dence. The seven-on-seven drills also give Ellison — hovering in the middle of the fi eld between the two separate games — a chance to see where players need to improve without all of the chaos and confusion of a full-on game. Players still have to deal with an opponent breathing down their neck, but there is no crushing hits or players scrambling after a loose ball to muddle up the coach’s view. Following the culmination of passing league at the end of June, the Titans will focus on getting in shape and fi ne-tuning their skills for the fall. Prior to the start of the season, the varsity team will travel up to Payson for its annual Titan Camp of Champions. The camp consists of two-a-day practices held at an arti fi cial turf fi eld near the players’ lodging. Every morning during the camp, the players have to make sure that they wake up, eat breakfast and arrive at the fi eld on time. It is up to the players to make sure they can make it the mile or so to the fi eld before practice begins. While the two-a-days may be grueling, the majority of the Titan squad seemed to enjoy itself at last year’s camp. Something about living and breathing football for a few days that really appeals to these kids. In addition to the passing league and varsity camp, the team is lifting in the weight room four days a week in order to strengthen the players and prepare them for the grind of the upcoming season. When all of the workouts are over, the Titans will rely on a group of talented seniors for leadership on and off of the fi eld. On offense, Richardson, running backs Sosaia Maafu and Ryan Fochtman and wide receiver Vince Roscoe are going to be vital pieces of any success this season. Defensively, Arcadia will count on the successful play of senior linebackers Andrew Bradway and Alex Bolton. And the team will need these seniors to step up if it hopes to compete in Division III, which includes tough opponents such as the Saguaro Sabercats, the Desert Edge Scorpions, and the defending champion Thunderbird Chiefs. The Titans open up the regular season August 26 at home against rival Coronado. Arcadia tennis player nabs USTA Southwest crown Page 56 July 2011 A RC A DI A SPORTS PAGE A RC A DI A SPORTS PAGE