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Posts Tagged ‘Football’

QB, a Salpointe grad, honored by WAC

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

Citizen Staff Writer
Grammer School blog

Hawaii senior quarterback Tyler Graunke, a Salpointe Catholic High School graduate, has been selected the WAC offensive player of the week.

Graunke, who had been in the coaches’ doghouse because of academic issues, missed the season-opener at Florida and returned to practice last Tuesday.

He entered Saturday’s home game against Weber State after halftime when starter Inoke Funaki suffered a concussion. Hawaii was trailing 17-7. Graunke led a second-half comeback, completing 13 of 20 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. The Warriors won 36-17.

Graunke is expected to start Saturday when the Warriors play at Oregon State.

• For more tidbits on Tucson-area high school stars past and present, check out the Grammer School sports blog at www.tucsoncitizen.com/blog.

Flying V Southwestern Buffalo Chop

Friday, August 29th, 2008

Citizen Staff Writer
THIS WEEK’S TAILGATE SPECIAL

This recipe from Alexis Martinez, chef de cuisine at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort & Spa’s Flying V Bar & Grill, will let everyone at your party know they’re in Wildcat Country. While Martinez serves his with buffalo grilled to medium rare, the marinade and sauce work equally well with beef, chicken or pork.

4 8-ounce buffalo fillets

Marinade:

1 Tecate beer

juice of 3 Mexican limes

2 roasted green chiles, diced

1 head of garlic, minced

1/2 red onion, diced

salt and pepper, to taste

Combine Tecate, lime juice, green chiles, garlic, red onion, salt and pepper. Marinade the buffalo fillets in the mixture for at least 2 hours.

Sauce:

2 red bell peppers, sliced very thin

2 yellow bell peppers, sliced very thin

2 green bell peppers, sliced very thin

1 white onion, chopped very thin

1 link Spanish chorizo, sliced very thin

olive oil, as needed

1/2 cup prickly pear syrup

Slow-cook peppers, white onion and chorizo in olive oil until limp and onion is translucent. Just before serving, add prickly pear syrup and combine.

After two hours, remove buffalo chops from marinade and grill or pan-sear to medium-rare.

To serve, spread sauce on dinner plates, place a buffalo filet on the sauce and top it with the peppers. Serves 4.

Alouttes release Jennings

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

Citizen Staff Writer
THE BOUNCE

Former UA running back Chris Jennings was released this week after
one game with the Montreal Alouttes of the Canadian Football League.

Jennings was activated from the practice squad before last week’s
season-opener against Hamilton. He played on special teams and was a
backup running back.

Jennings, who played the past two seasons at Arizona, had a workout
last month with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns before heading to Montreal.
He was not selected in April’s NFL draft.

ANTHONY GIMINO

agimino@tucsoncitizen.com

Mixed opinions on football camps

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Readers
SPORTS SOUND-OFF

SPORTS SOUND-OFF

Re: Mike Stoops football camp

These camps are overkill, just money-making factories. Football is
getting ridiculous. . . . Let these kids be kids and play baseball or
do something else so they don’t get burned out.

BILL L.

I have watched the kids in football camps and most are having a
blast. They love playing football. My son has gone to Stoops’ camps
since he got here and he has developed a lot.

THOM L.

Re: ASU wins Women’s College World Series

The Lady Devils proved that the WCWS title still goes through the
state of Arizona. Shame on the selection committee for making the
Pac-10 champs a No. 6 seed and UCLA a No. 2 seed.

GARY P.

Sports fans fill up Sky Harbor

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

The Arizona Republic

The Arizona Republic

The Super Bowl is on Sunday but Wednesday is the kickoff for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Starting Wednesday, FBR Open and Super Bowl crowds will start to fill the airport.

About 100,000 to 150,000 passengers are expected at airport each day until Monday, said airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez.

On the busiest days, the airport could experience crowds similar to the post-Thanksgiving Day rush, she said.

The airport has staffed for the days leading up to the big game and has prepped for the deluge of passengers who will leave on Super Bowl Sunday and the Monday after the game. For example, on a typical Friday there are 41 Navigators working; this Friday 70 guides in purple shirts will be working, said Alisa Nakashima-Smith, Sky Harbor’s customer service manager.

This week, FBR Open fans brushed shoulders with NFL sound engineers in Terminal 4.

Bosch Group dispatched a team to Phoenix to handle the wireless radio system that the NFL coaches will use to communicate on the football field, said Bob Basine, 51, an electrical engineer who flew in Tuesday from Omaha, Neb.

“We got here just in time,” Basine joked, adding that the temperatures in Nebraska had dipped below freezing.

A few steps away, investment banker Lauro Garcia, 50, gathered his luggage before heading off to Scottsdale for FBR Open festivities.

This year, it was tough to book hotel rooms because the NFL blocked many rooms months ago, Garcia said. Instead of staying at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, as he usually does, he had to rent a three-bedroom condo nearby.

This year the Westin Kierland is the team hotel for New England Patriots, one of the Super Bowl contenders.

“This is a big entertainment venue for business,” Garcia said, adding that FBR Open fans spend as much money as Super Bowl fans.

The FAA took special steps to prepare for the big sports weekend.

The agency expects that as many as 1,000 additional aircraft will use Valley airports during Super Bowl week, said FAA Ian Gregor spokesman.

Every year, the agency restricts flights around the Super Bowl stadium. This year, private pilots will not be allowed to fly near the University of Phoenix Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday for several hours before, during and after the game, he said.

On the ground, Sky Harbor officials made preparations to keep traffic running smoothly.

Seven hundred additional limousines and luxury sedans got airport permits for the Super Bowl, said Rodriguez.

That’s in addition to the 2,500 limos, taxis and other ground transportation that are normally permitted for the airport, she said.

Ex-Steelers DL Holmes killed; Rams owner Frontiere dies

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

DALLAS – Ernie Holmes, who won two Super Bowls as an anchor of Pittsburgh’s famed “Steel Curtain” defense in the 1970s, died in a car crash Thursday. He was 59.

Holmes was driving alone Thursday night when his car left the road and rolled several times near Lumberton, about 80 miles from Houston, a Texas Department of Public Safety dispatcher said Friday.

He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the department said.

Holmes, an ordained minister, lived on a ranch in Wiergate, Texas.

The two-time All-Pro played for the Steelers from 1972-77 and spent part of the 1978 season with New England before retiring. He played on a defensive line with Steel Curtain teammates “Mean” Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood and Dwight White.

The group stayed in touch, getting together at least three or four times a year, Holmes said last year in a story on the Steelers’ Web site.

“Ernie was one of the toughest players to ever wear a Steelers uniform,” Steelers chairman Dan Rooney said in a statement. “He was a key member of our famous Steel Curtain defense, and many people who played against him considered Ernie almost impossible to block. At his best, he was an intimidating player who even the toughest of opponents did not want to play against.”

Holmes was part of a front four in the 1975 Super Bowl that helped limit Minnesota to 17 yards rushing and 119 total yards. The Steelers won their first Super Bowl 16-6. They were back a year later, beating Dallas 21-17 in the title game.

Frontiere dies at 80

LOS ANGELES – Georgia Frontiere, the St. Louis native who became a hometown hero when she brought the NFL’s Rams from Los Angeles in 1995, died Friday.

She was 80.

Frontiere had been hospitalized for breast cancer for several months, the Rams said in a statement posted on their Web site.

“Our mom was dedicated to being more than the owner of a football team,” daughter Lucia Rodriguez and son Chip Rosenbloom said in the statement.

“She loved the Rams’ players, coaches, and staff. The warmth and generosity she exuded will never be forgotten.”

The one-time nightclub singer was married seven times, starting at age 15.

Her sixth husband, Carroll Rosenbloom, owned the Los Angeles Rams at the time of his drowning death in 1979.

The Rams moved twice under Frontiere’s leadership, first relocating from the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1980 to Anaheim, 35 miles away.

St. Louis’ original NFL franchise, the Cardinals, had left for Arizona in 1988. After the city failed to land an expansion team, civic leaders built a $260 million, taxpayer-financed domed stadium anyway, in hopes of luring another team.

Frontiere, born in St. Louis, agreed in January 1995 to move, causing her to be demonized in southern California but heralded in her hometown.

NFL acts to offset Super Bowl gases

Wednesday, December 26th, 2007

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

PHOENIX – The NFL is planting thousands of trees in Arizona forests blackened by wildfires to help offset greenhouse gas emissions from the Super Bowl, to be played in Glendale in February.

The league also will power University of Phoenix Stadium and the adjacent NFL theme park with clean energy sources from New Mexico wind turbines to California geothermal plants.

“If creating a mess is part of our business plan, then cleaning it up needs to be part of the model as well,” said Jack Groh, director of the NFL Environmental Program. “Greenhouse gas obviously causes damage to the environment, and we need to be responsible.”

But some say the league isn’t doing enough. While the reforestation effort will offset the 350 tons of greenhouse gas produced by the NFL’s 3,000-vehicle ground-transportation fleet, the program fails to account for air travel by NFL staff, teams and the thousands of fans who will fly into the Phoenix area during Super Bowl week.

“It’d be nice to do something with air travel,” said Gary Deason, acting director for Northern Arizona University’s Center for Sustainable Environments.

The NFL’s efforts also do not account for carbon emissions produced by vehicles driven by fans as they travel to and from dozens of Super Bowl events scattered across the sprawling Phoenix metro area.

The league computed its carbon footprint with help from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service.

Groh said energy use from hotels, other NFL facilities near University of Phoenix Stadium and the Super Bowl Media Center were not considered in the NFL’s studies.

Everett, once near death, visits Bills’ locker room

Monday, December 24th, 2007

The Associated Press
BETWEEN THE LINES

The Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Kevin Everett wanted a low-key return to the place where he almost lost his ability to walk, and he got his wish.

The Buffalo Bills’ special teams player met with his teammates and watched Sunday’s 38-21 loss to the New York Giants from owner Ralph Wilson’s luxury suite.

But he did not address the crowd or walk out onto the field as some thought he might do when news broke last week that he would attend the game at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

“He said he just came to watch the game and meet with the team,” said Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold.

And that’s what he did.

Everett arrived at the stadium in the morning and was taken by wheelchair to the Bills’ locker room. Once there, he got up from his chair and walked from locker to locker to meet with the teammates he hadn’t seen since suffering a near-fatal spinal cord injury while making a tackle in the Bills season opener Sept. 9.

“He’s an inspiration to all of us,” said Bills safety Donte Whitner.

Owens has time to rest

IRVING, Texas – Terrell Owens can take his time recovering from a high ankle sprain. The Dallas Cowboys already have clinched home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.

Dallas locked up the No. 1 seed in the conference Sunday with Green Bay losing to Chicago.

Owens actually will have three weeks – until Jan. 12 or 13 – to heal the left ankle injury sustained in the second quarter of a 20-13 victory over Carolina on Saturday night.

Raiders’ Sapp ejected

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Jaguars after receiving three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Sapp received all three of the penalties in a strange series of events that started when Jacksonville right tackle Tony Pashos was flagged for illegal use of hands to the face.

Officials said the Raiders declined the penalty, and the Jaguars lined up for a 43-yard field-goal attempt with 21 seconds to play in the first half. Officials then said Oakland would accept the penalty, making it third-and-20 from the Raiders’ 35-yard line.

“Warren was upset because they tried to make the call before we made our decision,” linebacker Thomas Howard said.

Jacksonville’s offense went back on the field, but a few seconds later, the officials called the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Sapp. That gave the Jaguars an automatic first down, and Sapp started jawing at officials.

Sapp and defensive end Derrick Burgess were both flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties during the arguments.

Sapp kept talking, and he got a third one, which also came with an ejection.

The penalties gave the Jaguars a first-and-goal at the 2, but David Garrard’s pass at the goal line was intercepted by Kirk Morrison and returned 36 yards.

How ex-Wildcats fared

Tedy Bruschi, New England: The linebacker had a team-high nine tackles in the Patriots’ 28-7 win over Miami.

Nick Folk, Dallas: The kicker had two field goals and two extra points in the Cowboys’ 20-13 win over Carolina on Saturday.

Dennis Northcutt, Jacksonville: The receiver had one catch for 18 yards in the Jaguars’ 49-11 win over Oakland.

Antonio Pierce, N.Y. Giants: The linebacker had six tackles in his team’s 38-21 win over Buffalo.

Bobby Wade, Minnesota: The receiver had three catches for 34 yards in the Vikings’ 32-21 loss to Washington.

MOREDICH’S TOP 25

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

Citizen Staff Writer

My pick for the title game: West Virginia vs. Ohio State.

Of course, I change my mind every week on who will play for the championship.

Kansas has played a poor schedule this year. That will come back to bite the team when the Jayhawks lose to Missouri on Saturday.

LSU coach Les Miles can deny speculation he is heading to Michigan, but don’t think for a second that is not a distraction for the Tigers.

LSU will fall, either to Arkansas or in the SEC title game.

West Virginia is not getting a lot of attention, but it should. The Mountaineers were my pick to play USC in the title game before the season.

My AP votes for this week, sent in before Arizona State played USC on Thursday:

Mine School AP

1. LSU 1

2. Kansas 2

3. West Virginia 4

4. Missouri 3

5. Arizona State 7

6. Ohio State 5

7. Georgia 6

8. Texas 13

9. Va. Tech 8

10. Oklahoma 10

11. Oregon 9

12. USC 11

13. Florida 12

14. Virginia 16

15. Hawaii 14

16. Tennessee 19

17. Boise State 17

18. Boston College 15

19. Wisconsin 22

20. Illinois 18

21. UConn 20

22. BYU 23

23. Texas Tech NR

24. Auburn 25

25. South Florida NR

Favre back next season?

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

The Associated Press
THE BOUNCE

Favre back in 2009?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Now that the Green Bay Packers are winning again,
might Brett Favre once again put off retirement and return to play next
season?

Favre hasn’t said that himself, preferring to delay his now-annual retirement saga until after the season.

But in a conference call with Detroit reporters Tuesday, Favre at
least hinted that the Packers’ successful season makes him more likely
to return next year.

“If last season gave me hope, if I felt optimistic after our Chicago
game last year at 8-8 and not making the playoffs, sure, I obviously
have to feel a little bit better – especially individually,” Favre said.

Still, Favre made it clear that nothing is assured.

“If the season was over today, I could look in a mirror and say,
‘You can play. You don’t have to say I think I can. You know you can,’
” Favre said.

Favre said he was “ecstatic” about the Packers’ unexpected 9-1 start.

“But I also know where we go from here defines a lot of things,”
Favre said. “And if we are fortunate enough to make the playoffs,
that’s really how you’re judged one way or another.”

Favre has thrown for 2,975 yards and 19 touchdowns this year. At his
current pace, he would finish with over 4,700 yards, which would be a
career high.

The Associated Press

Johnson gets revenge

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jimmie Johnson carried a vendetta all season. And
after winning his second Nextel Cup title, he promptly took care of
business.

To celebrate his first title last season, crew chief Chad Knaus and
Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Hampton burst through his hotel-room door
the morning after the finale and doused a sleeping Johnson with
champagne. Johnson vowed to get even.

On Monday morning, he and his wife, Chandra, had returned from a
night of partying when they stopped by the front desk to change room
keys. They wanted to ensure Knaus & Co. could not gain access to
his room this time.

At precisely that moment, the clerk stopped to take a phone call.

“The guy is on the phone, saying, ‘Yes, Mr. Knaus, we’ll send a
couple of cheeseburgers right up. Room 3305,’” Johnson said. “Chani and
I just looked at each other and said, ‘This is totally unbelievable. We
are totally getting him.’ ”

The Johnsons hustled back to their own room, where they promptly
emptied the minibar of “anything that fizzed.” Posing as room service,
they knocked on the door and attacked as soon as Knaus opened it.

“We hammered him,” Johnson said. “He couldn’t believe it, he was so
floored. We were chasing him around the room, soaking him with
everything we had, and (his girlfriend) Bruna had to dive behind the
door to take cover. It was awesome.”

And all in good fun for a driver-crew chief combo that became the
first team in almost 10 years to win consecutive Cup titles. The last
team to do so was Jeff Gordon’s in 1997 and 1998, and the No. 48 crew
used a remarkable 10-race Chase to beat Gordon to the title this year.

The Associated Press

Tyson goes to jail

PHOENIX – Mike Tyson reported to jail Tuesday, an open-air facility
near a dog pound and trash dump where he’ll serve a one-day sentence
for a DUI conviction.

The former heavyweight champion will be held in a secluded part of
Tent City, apart from the 1,500 other inmates. Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who
runs the jail, said Tyson still must wear the jail-issue pink underwear
and black-and-white-striped jumpsuit.

The Associated Press

MOREDICH’S TOP 25

Friday, October 26th, 2007

Citizen Staff Writer

An upset bug is spreading across the country.

The secret to playing for the national title will not be how good teams are, but which ones can avoid catching the alarming virus that is hitting college football.

Ohio State has Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan left this year.

LSU gets Alabama, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi, Arkansas and the SEC title game.

Oklahoma has Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and the Big 12 title game.

Arizona State hits the tough part of its schedule with California, Oregon, USC and Arizona ahead.

Boston College barely avoided an upset Thursday night with a 14-10 win at Virginia Tech.

Mine School AP

1. Ohio State 1

2. Boston College 2

3. Oklahoma 4

4. LSU 3

5. Arizona St. 7

6. West Virginia 6

7. Virginia Tech 8

8. Oregon 5

9. USC 9

10. Florida 9

11. South Florida 11

12. Kansas 12

13. Missouri 13

14. Texas 17

15. Hawaii 16

16. Clemson NR

17. Alabama 22

18. South Carolina 15

19. Virginia 21

20. Rutgers 25

21. Georgia 20

22. California 18

23. Kentucky 14

24. Michigan 19

25. Texas A&M NR

FROM OUR ONLINE PHOTO GALLERIES

Monday, October 1st, 2007

Citizen Staff Photographer
www.tucsoncitizen.com

Not so fast, pal: College games running longer

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

Citizen Staff Writer
GIMINO COLUMN

Sports Columnist

Random thoughts while wondering if it could be a really loooong season . . .

And by long season, I mean, of course, the length of games. (What, did you think I was talking about the potential for UA’s 1-3 record to get worse?)

The average length of college football games last season was 3 hours, 7 minutes. Offenses averaged 64 plays.

But with the former (slower) clock rules back in effect this season, the average game time has crept up to 3:21.

UA is averaging 3:27 for its four games, and tonight’s tussle with Washington State – expected to feature lots of passing and scoring – could get so long that by the time it ends the students could already be on their fourth bar after bailing on the game at halftime.

Or as Washington State coach Bill Doba put it, “We may not get back until Monday.”

But, hey, time flies when you’re having so much fun.

If only

Arizona has commitments from a couple of potential quarterbacks who also are nifty with their feet, and this spread offense can be a great vehicle for someone with wheels.

It makes us wonder just how good ex-UA quarterback Keith Smith could have been in this system.

He’s had that thought, too. Smith, who helped direct UA’s prolific offenses in the late 1990s, would have loved this scheme.

“Are you kidding me?” he said this week. “With the talent we had around us, you’re talking Heisman numbers.

“If you’re going to let me throw 50, 60 times, you should put up 500 yards of total offense per game. Easily. Easily.”

Willie Tuitama is putting up good passing numbers, but he’s not a threat to scramble and is under fairly strict orders not to run.

The Texas Tech offense, which this scheme is based on, has done just fine without a running threat at quarterback, but it’s easy to see the extra pressure a dual-threat passer could be.

As for Smith, he is back coaching at his alma mater, Newbury Park (Calif.) High School, and is working toward his teaching certificate. He is the offensive coordinator for the junior varsity and the quarterbacks/receivers coach for the varsity.

“I keep coming back to coaching,” he said. “And the only way I can coach is to teach.”

If only, Part II

Did you happen to see that fake field goal from LSU last week, when the holder flipped the ball over his head to the kicker, who ran for a touchdown?

I instantly thought of UA’s failed attempt to do the same thing against Cal in a 56-55 four-overtime loss in 1996. The fake extra-point attempt was stopped short of a two-point conversion when kicker Matt Peyton was tackled by defensive end Andre Rhodes.

“I saw that, too,” Smith said of the LSU play. “I was watching that with someone and we called Ryan Hesson on the spot.”

Hesson was the holder on the play, and he took the blame for not checking UA out of the fake.

Smith said fate played a large role, too. If Rhodes had rushed to try to block the kick, Peyton would have gone right around him and scored.

“That defensive end was just too tired to rush,” Smith said.

If only, Part III

A Seattle Times story Friday referred to UA’s coach as “Bob” Stoops. No Bob here. Just Mike.

It’s no revelation, but for Mike’s sake, the game against Washington State is huge for his continued stay at Arizona. Meanwhile, the Cougars are billing it as a must-win – for their season and possibly for Doba’s tenure.

Such high stakes for a game that won’t draw more than a few paragraphs back East.

Red zone red alert

UA has improved from 4.1 yards per play last season to 5.3 this year with a new spread offense. The disappointment has been the red-zone figures. The Cats too often have been unable to hit the jackpot near the goal line.

This is not a flaw in the spread offense. It’s a failing of performance.

“It’s just execution,” said offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes.

When he was at Texas Tech last season running this offense, the Red Raiders converted 86 percent of their red-zone chances (50-58). They scored a touchdown 62 percent of the time. UA is at 63 percent overall (12 of 19) and 42 percent on touchdowns.

“People will have the misconception that if you spread it out and throw it, you can’t be good in the red zone,” Dykes said. “We always were one of the best teams in the red zone every year.”

On the flip side, Arizona’s now-maligned defense actually has improved its yield per play from 5.4 yards last season to 5.1.

Problem is, the Wildcats can’t get a stop when they absolutely need it, allowing 3.5 more first downs per game than last season.

Add it all up, and UA has exactly the same point differential as last season – minus 3.0 per game. It must be tiring to be treading water for so long.

Anthony Gimino’s e-mail: agimino@tucsoncitizen.com

UK’s patience with Brooks paying off

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

Citizen Staff Writer
Wildcat blog

It was not that long ago that Kentucky fans wanted football coach Rich Brooks out because hadn’t done a thing for the Wildcats.

He took over a team that was 7-5 in 2002, but Kentucky was just beginning to feel the effects of NCAA sanctions from recruiting violations by a previous staff.

Brooks, the Oregon Ducks coach from 1977-94, went 4-8, 2-9 and 3-8 before getting things rolling a year ago.

Kentucky was 8-5 and played in a bowl in 2006.

Brooks has the Wildcats at 4-0 and ranked 14th in the country after back-to-back big wins over Louisville and Arkansas. Kentucky waited and didn’t jump the gun and fire Brooks.

Some might want to remember that as UA struggles to get back on track.

Come blog with us at www.tucsoncitizen.com/blog.

Sabino grad has impact at Brigham Young

Saturday, September 1st, 2007

Citizen Staff Writer

JOHN MOREDICH

jmoredich@tucsoncitizen.com

PROVO, Utah – A knee injury denied Quinn Gooch one more playoff run at Sabino High School in 1999, but he’s been going full speed ever since.

As a starter in 12 games last year, the Brigham Young safety had 66 tackles and two interceptions to help lead the Cougars to a 11-2 record and a 38-8 win over Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl.

“I don’t claim to be the biggest hitter on the field,” the 6-foot, 195-pound senior said in a phone interview. “But if I get the opportunity I will take it.”

His results should surprise no one considering what he did during his playing days at Sabino.

The two-way starter ran for 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns his senior year at Sabino before tearing a knee ligament in a 68-7 win over Tucson High on Oct. 30, 1999. Earlier in the game, he scored on runs of 85, 10 and 1 yards, kicked three extra points and caught two passes.

Gooch watched the Sabercats march to the Class 5A state title game against Mesa Mountain View from the sideline.

The season before, he helped Sabino win the Class 4A state crown and qualified for the state track championships in the 400 meters and 400 relay, in addition to playing basketball.

After a two-year Mormon mission to Germany, Gooch redshirted his freshman year at BYU in 2003 and was a backup in 2004 and 2005.

He enters Saturday’s game against Arizona as one of the Cougars’ leaders. In 2006, 37 of his 66 tackles were unassisted and he had four pass breakups.

Gooch recorded a season-high 10 tackles in an overtime loss at No. 23 Boston College year and was part of a defense that ranked fourth nationally in turnover margin at plus 14.

“I tend to yell a little bit at my teammates and other people,” Gooch said. “If they are not in the right position, or not making the plays they need to make, I yell, but I also expect them to yell back at me if I am not doing what I need to do.”

• Know your Cat: Louis Holmes, 2C

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