News

Broncs out in first round at state

By John Gutekunst
Monday, February 22, 2010 12:00 AM MST

The Parker Broncs basketball team got knocked out in the first round of the state 3A playoffs, losing 71-36 to No. 3 ranked Chinle Feb. 15 in Chinle.

Parker Coach Kyle Peta said it was a good experience for the team to play at this level.

"We played hard," he said. "We just made too many mistakes to be competitive."

The Broncs were in the playoffs despite a first round loss to South Pointe in the 3A West regionals because of their Arizona Interscholastic Association power point ranking. Peta said Parker leaped over three other teams to be ranked No. 13 in the state.

"All the teams that had to lose for us to get in did so," Peta said.

Peta said he was proud of the team's effort for the whole season. While things started off slowly, they gradually improved their game. They were particularly strong after the start of 2010. Peta said they made such an effort, they deserved to go to the state tournament.

The game marked the final appearance in a Broncs' uniform for five seniors: Elias Ameelyenah, Adrian Chavez, Sean Golding, Brian Goldsberry, and Guy Self.

Peta said he's looking forward to the 2010-11 season, as the Broncs have a lot of talent. He said that talent needs to be combined with a lot of effort.

"We have a lot of talent, but we have to put the work in," he said.

At the state tournament, one of the Broncs' 3A West rivals, the Estrella Foothills Wolves, have been as dominating as their No. 1 ranking would indicate. They defeated another 3A West team, No. 16 South Pointe, in the first round, 111-51. They then defeated No. 9 Holbrook, 111-58, in the second round.

The state semi-finals and finals will be played this weekend at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. No. 2 Safford will face No. 6 Round Valley at 4:15 p.m. Friday. Estrella Foothills will face No. 4 Winslow at 7:45 p.m. Friday. The winners of those two games will face each other at 6 p.m. Saturday for the state championship.