Hansen Sunday Notebook: Sanchez may take over program at Tucson High

Richard Sanchez won a state wrestling championship while a senior at Pueblo High School in 1975, helped coach Sunnyside High to 13 state wrestling championships from 1981 to 1994 and, even more impressive, rebuilt Sunnyside's football program, coaching the Blue Devils to four state title games from 2000 to 2006, winning twice.

Now, at 53, after suffering a mild stroke 18 months ago, Sanchez could walk away, retire, and be remembered as one of the leading figures in more than 100 years of Tucson prep sports.

Instead, Sanchez is more likely to start over. According to Sunnyside principal Raul Nido, Sanchez will interview for the vacant football-coaching job at Tucson High this week. The Badgers are 14-47 over the last six seasons.

In the context of prep sports in Southern Arizona, this is the equivalent of Phil Jackson leaving the Lakers to coach the Clippers.

Said Nido: "From all indications, Richard is ready to move forward with the decision to accept the position, if offered. I hate to see him leave."

Tucson High athletic director Gary Lewis is in the process of replacing Vincent Smith, whose team went 2-8 this season. Among those under consideration is Tom Joseph, a Salpointe grad who coached Mesa Mountain View to the 2002 state title and went 92-27 there over nine years.

But the possibility of hiring the no-nonsense, it's-all-about-hard-work Sanchez is a rare opportunity. He has coached 156 career football victories, the fourth-highest total in Tucson history, trailing only Vern Friedli, Jeff Scurran and Todd Mayfield.

Why Tucson High? Scurran once told me he sometimes considered a move to THS, even though it hasn't been a state power since the early 1970s. "You can win there if you work hard enough," Scurran said. "It's a sleeping giant."

GOLF

Thompson's late eagle leads to PGA Tour card

Michael Thompson has played on golf's biggest stages: at the Masters; in the U.S. Open; and as a finalist at the U.S. Amateur.

But the Rincon/University High School graduate last week found himself in a new and more dramatic place. He eagled the 17th hole in the final round of the PGA Tour Qualifying School, draining a 45-foot putt to earn his PGA Tour card for 2011.

He becomes the second Tucson-raised golfer to do so; Sahuaro's Rich Barcelo has spent three years on the PGA Tour. Tucsonan Tom Tatum also played on the PGA Tour 30 years ago, but did not have to endure Q-School.

"I have said in the past that I gave Michael a nickel and he made $100 out of it," said Tucson golf instructor Susie Meyers, a former LPGA regular who is Thompson's longtime coach. "Now he has taken that nickel and made a million dollars."

Thompson, who played his college golf at Tulane and Alabama, was the Hooters Tour Player of the Year (earning $92,853 and a new car). He shot rounds of 73-72-69-65-69-70 to earn his tour card by two strokes. His eagle came on the 107th of 108 holes. Talk about clutch. He was paid $25,000.

"I wasn't quite expecting this," Thompson told Golf Channel immediately after the round. "I was gearing my mind toward playing on the Nationwide Tour next year. So it's a little bit of a shock."

Thompson, who was married recently, plans to return to Tucson to visit his family before attempting to get a spot in his first PGA Tour event, the Sony Open in January.

SHORT STUFF

Help with kicking game might be close by for UA

Arizona's kicking troubles became so pronounced late in the season that it seems imperative for Mike Stoops to add a punter and a kicker, or a kickoff man, for 2011. Most coaches are stingy with kicking scholarships. The Wildcats have not offered a scholarship to CDO's Tilghman Harvey, who appears to have the leg strength to kick at the Pac-10 level. Get this: Harvey made 72 of 73 extra points (one was blocked), and had 91 of his 97 kickoffs go into the end zone as touchbacks. "The UA wants him to walk on," said CDO coach Dusty Peace. "Harvey will get to Division I, but it might be a long route." … I suspect Tucson auto dealer Jim Click will show up on the UA's sideline in San Antonio. He has been Stoops' biggest-name supporter for seven seasons. But Click is a former Oklahoma State starting center, and his Cowboy blood also runs deep. … UA baseball coach Andy Lopez scored a key recruiting coup during the UA-ASU football festivities. Los Angeles Chaminade Prep pitcher Mathew Troupe, who earlier had committed to play at Oregon State, changed his mind, flew to Tucson for the football game, then signed with the Wildcats. Troupe is considered one of the top 10 or 20 right-handers in high school baseball. His fastball has been clocked at 90-92 mph.

Ex-UA football coach Tuiasosopo a class act

Arizona suffered a significant loss last week when defensive tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo chose the security of a new coaching regime at Colorado over an Arizona program that could have a sketchy future. Way too often Tuiasosopo was referred to only as a key recruiter for Arizona's many capable Polynesian players. Sure, he recruited well, but his value to Arizona went far beyond that connection. He was a very good coach, which was evident in the evolution of players such as Earl Mitchell, Lionel Dotson and Donald Horton. But he was foremost a good human being who treated people right and fostered a family atmosphere with "his guys." In a hard-bitten game like college football, Tuiasosopo remained above the fray in seven UA seasons and was a class act. … When the city council of Escondido, Calif., votes Wednesday on whether to fund a $50 million project for a baseball facility for the San Diego Padres' Class AAA team, it will have a dramatic impact on the future of Tucson baseball. The Padres' affiliate is to play at Tucson Electric Park in 2011 and now, apparently, in 2012, as well. Escondido officials said last week that if the facility is built, it won't be ready until the 2013 season. … Four former Tucson high school volleyball players reached the NCAA tournament this season. Arizona's Whitney Dosty is from Salpointe, as is New Mexico' Jade Michaelsen. Sabino's Amie Goodwin completed her standout career at Alabama A&M, which reached the NCAA tournament. And Ironwood Ridge's Christina Solverson got to the volleyball tournament this year at Auburn. … Flowing Wells grad Tara Erdmann completed a notable 2010 running season by winning the West Coast Conference title, finishing fourth in the NCAA West Regionals and 25th overall in the NCAA finals. Then the Loyola Marymount junior came home to Tucson to win the Southern Arizona Roadrunners Thanksgiving Classic, a 5K race by four seconds over Arizona's talented freshman Elvin Kibet. Ex-Salpointe runner Bryce Livingston, won the men's 5K. Livingston had a productive senior season at Army; he was first-team All-Patriot League, reaching the NCAA regionals.

REED BROTHERS HAD A BIG YEAR

Cats' defensive end, Lobos' tight end in rarefied air with conference honors

Tucson businessman Bob Reed, a former UA wrestler, has never experienced the type of athletic success that has come his way in the 2010 college football season.

His sons, Brooks Reed, a UA senior defensive end, and Lucas Reed, a sophomore tight end at New Mexico, were selected first-team all-conference players in the Pac-10 and Mountain West, respectively.

Last week, Brooks was voted the UA's defensive player of the year, in voting of his teammates. And Lucas was named New Mexico's top offensive player in voting by his teammates.

This is historic ground: The only Tucson brothers to earn first-team all-conference football honors were Palo Verde's Mark and Jim Arneson, at Arizona from 1970 to 1972, during the WAC years.

Brooks becomes the 13th Southern Arizonan to become a first-team All-Pac-10 football player. The others: Amphi's Mario Bates and Nogales' Danny Villa at ASU; Amphi's Jon Volpe at Stanford; Salpointe Catholic's Kris O'Dowd, Amphi's Riki (Gray) Ellison and Sahuaro's Rodney Peete at USC; and ex-Wildcats Warner Smith from San Manuel, Vance Johnson from Cholla, Jeff Kiewel from Sabino, Steve McLaughlin from Sahuaro, Sean Harris from Tucson and David Adams from Sunnyside.

O'Dowd did not make either the first- or second-team of the All-Pac-10 team this year. The Southern California center made the first team in 2008. Some NFL draft analysts still list O'Dowd as a potential third-round selection.

MY TWO CENTS

Selling tickets for bowl may be tough for Cats

The UA marketing staff is attempting to tap into the 3,500 UA alumni in Texas in hopes of selling its ticket allotment of 12,500.

Overall, it's going to be a hard sell. The dismal end to the season squashed much of Arizona's bowl anticipation. Airfares from Tucson to San Antonio are mostly in the $600 to $800 range. The UA desperately wants to establish a reputation as a football community that "travels well," but it's going to be a stretch this time.

There is a catch: Arizona's future bowl game maneuverability is likely to be driven by its ability to put people in the Alamodome on Dec. 29, or if only one of those Alex Zendejas kicks had gone through the uprights.

Contact columnist Greg Hansen at ghansen@azstarnet.com or 573-4362.