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[Music bed under]
TSS Host: This is The Sweet Spot where we take a closer look at the week’s biggest sports stories in Arizona. I’m Brandon Tran, and thank you for joining us for our last episode of the semester.
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TSS Host: On today’s show we go through the Arizona Wildcats’ football win in the Territorial Cup over the Arizona State Sun Devils, and reflect on ASU’s season coming to an end. Also, the start of high school basketball for the Brophy Broncos, and finally a charity event at Top Golf with the Arizona Coyotes.
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Wildcats cap outstanding season with a Territorial Cup romp over Sun Devils
Host intro: The much anticipated Territorial Cup football game between Arizona and Arizona State was played on Saturday, with the Wildcats going into Mountain America Stadium and beating the Sun Devils 59-23. Alex Chenevey has more on how Arizona was able to notch their first win over Arizona State at bfor the first time since 2011.
Chenevey: A sea of red was all that was left in the stands of Mountain America Stadium last Saturday as the clock hit triple zeroes, Arizona football walked out of Tempe with an emphatic 36 point victory over their rival Arizona State. After ASU took an early 7-3 lead in the first quarter, the Wildcats would go on to score seven unanswered touchdowns to have the game virtually won with 9 minutes left to go in the third quarter. The win gives Arizona their first season with nine wins for the first time since 2014. Arizona football head coach Jedd Fisch.
Fisch: “You know it was one of those games where our guys played fantastic ball, had some short fields, capitalized, had some long fields, drove the ball, so just really proud of our team.”
Chenevey: One reason why Arizona was able to score so many points was because of the connection between redshirt freshman quarterback Noah Fifita (FUH-FEET-A) and sophomore wide receiver Tetairoa (TET-UR-OH-AH) McMillan. The pair, who played together in high school for three years, had record-setting numbers. Fifita threw for a Territorial Cup record 527 yards and five touchdowns, while McMillan hauled in 11 passes for a Territorial Cup record 266 yards and one touchdown. The duo’s great performance earned them PAC-12 Honors, with McMillan winning the Offensive Player of the Week award, and Fifita winning the Freshman of the Week award. Fisch said their connection since eighth grade was one of the reasons why they were recruited together.
Fisch: “When we recruited them in 2022, that was a huge part of it, their relationship, and we felt like if we continued to stay strong with T-Mac all the way through, in the end, he was gonna play with his buddy and I think it worked out well for him.”
Chenevey: Senior running back Michael Wiley scored a hat trick of touchdowns, while Arizona also had touchdowns from sophomore running back Jonah Coleman, senior wide receiver Jacob Cowing and redshirt senior tight end Tanner McLachlan (MICK-LOCK-LAN). The Wildcat defense also did its part, forcing two interceptions and one fumble recovery while holding the Sun Devils to just seven points until the four minute mark in the third quarter. Arizona will play in a bowl game for the first time since 2017, possibly playing the Oklahoma Sooners in the Alamo Bowl. The rivalry win all but cements one thing, Arizona football’s arrow is pointing up, and entering the Big 12 next year, the Wildcats should be contenders their first year in the conference. For Cronkite News, I’m Alex Chenevey.
Sun Devils look back on down season, try to look forward
HOST INTRO: (As the Wildcats move on to play a bowl game, the Sun Devils’ turbulent season is over. As head coach Kenny Dillingham reflects on the his first year, Benjamin Yates was ALSO in Tempe for the post-game.)
<Nat Sound:Crowd Cheering>
Yates: The Arizona Wildcats Have Been Crowned The Winners Of The Territorial Cup, As They Beat Rival Arizona State Sun Devils 59-23 This Past Saturday. While The Wildcats Would Be Able To Move On To A Bowl Game After This Victory, The Sun Devils Knew Since The Beginning Of The Season That Bowl Games Were Going To Be Off Limits.
Yates: Asu Announced A Self-Imposed Bowl Ban On The Program Before The Season Kicked Off In The Coming Saturday. A Disappointment For Fans And Players Alike, That Led Off The Season In Dillingham’s First Taste Of Adversity As Head Coach. As The Sun Devils Ended On A 3-9 Record For The Season, The Same Record They Finished With Last Year Without Dillingham.
<<Dillingham: We Didn’t Get Worse. Through The Craziest Year I’ve Ever Been A Part Of, And I’ve Coached Pop Warner. I’ve Coached At A Park 7 Minutes From Here, And We Faced More Adversity In This Game. Then When The Lights Wouldn’t Turn On At The Park, Then You Have To Practice In The Dark, Right? Plays More Adversity Than That. And Our Guys Didn’t Flinch. You Go In The Locker Room And You Have Guys Saying, Oh, We’re In The Right Direction. We Believe, We Believe In The Direction That We’re Going.>>
Yates: Asu Faced Adversity All Season., In The First Game A Massive Haboob Storm Delayed The Second Half Until Late In The Night. While The Game Ended In A Win Over Southern Utah, The First Week Was Aan Indication Of How Turbulent This Season Was Going To Be For The Sun Devils.
Yates: The Next Game Had No Storm But Dillingham’s Squad Faced A Ranked Big 12 School Opponent In Oklahoma State. And This Game Began To Spell The Sun Devils’ Downfall. Injuries On Offense Dominated The Story Of The Night And Led To A Six Game Losing Streak Stemming From This First Loss Of The Season That Decimated The Offensive Line.
<<Dillingham: You Don’t Want Things Easy, Nothing In Life Easy As Good. You Want But It’s Hard. You Want Things Crazy. You Want Things To Be Difficult. You Don’t Love These Moments, But They’re Actually Good For You. They’re Good To Feel The Pain It’s Needed In Order To Get To Where You Want To Go.>>
Yates: The Last Half Of This Streak Though, Losses With Close Finishes That Could’ve Gone Either Way. After Asu Beat Ucla In The Rose Bowl A, Ray Anderson Officially Resigned As Athletic Director In The Midst Of A Week Prepping For The Oregon Ducks.
Yates: Asu Ended Theseason With L Two Losses Against The Ducks And Then This Last Week Against The Wildcats, Both At Home. The Losses Brought The Curtain Down On Bitter Season. Dillingham And The Sun Devils Still Trusting The Process.
<<Dillingham: Most Coaches Don’t Want To Be At The Job They Have. Right? They Want To Get Another Job. So They’re Going To Do Everything That Oh, We Have $2.5 Million In Nil? Spend It All Right Now And Do The Bank Load. I Have To Win This Year So I Can Leave. That Is The Opposite Of How We’re Operating Here Because I Want To Build Something That’s Sustainable. And Even Though That May Hurt Us Early In The Process, When It Gets Built, It’s Going To Last And It’s Painful To Sit Up Here And Lose, I Hate It. But Even Worse Than Losing, Would Be Five Years From Now, Not Having Built It.>>
Yates: While It Was The Beginning Of Dillingham’s Career, It Is Now The End Of Asu’s Time In The Pac12 Football Landscape For Next Season. A Lot Of New Teams That The Sun Devils Will Face From Now On In Their New Conference, Such As West Virginia, Iowa State, Kansas State And More. But They’ll Be Joined By Some Familiar Pac12 Foes In The Utah Utes And Of Course The Arizona Wildcats.
<<Dillingham: I Mean, This Is Arguably The Best Pac 12 Has Been, Since The Usc Era Of Matt Weiner, Reggie Bush, Maybe, But I Don’t Know If It Was This Deep. I Think We Faced A Very, Very, Very Difficult Schedule. When You Truly Look At It. It Shows How Deep The Pac 12 Is And I Think That’s Only Going To Callus Us Moving Forward, Which Is A Good Thing.>>
Yates: (For The Sweet Spot, I’m Benjamin Yates)
Brophy basketball returns core of lineup, looks to make another state finals run
Host: With Brophy basketball coming off that state finals run the Broncos will look to pick up where they left off last year. I went to Brophy Prep to learn how the Broncos plan to get back there.
Nat sound: basketball dribbling, running
Tran: After falling short in last year’s 6A state finals the Brophy Broncos will look to build off the state finals run as they return three out of the five all region players from last season. One of the key players is returning senior guard Braeden (Bray-den) Speed.
<<Braeden Speed, Brophy, Senior Guard
“It’s been a long offseason. It’s gotten boring at times not playing other people but I’m excited.”
Brophy head coach Matt Hooten (Hoo-ten) spoke about last season’s state final run and what it will take to get back there.
<<Matt Hooten, Brophy, Head Coach
“I think a huge commitment from everyone from the team, from player to coaches, our manager to be the best vision of themselves everyday. We got to be the best practicing team in the state and you gotta get out and defend.”
One of the players making a commitment to basketball is sophomore guard Daylen Sharper. He already has seven college offers for football and one for basketball.
<<Daylen Sharper, Brophy, Sophomore Guard
“Hard work and everything in practice, to be determined, never give up and stay strict. I mean do everything, be A+ in the weight room at practice and in game and everywhere to be all around good.”
Last season, Braeden (Bray-den) Speed was first team all region. This year he will look to lead the team back to the playoffs.
<<Braeden (Bray-den) Speed, Brophy, Senior Guard
“It means a lot been on this team for four years, hopefully can bring a ring never bought that here before. I mean we got to have fun and work hard.”
Tran: Brophy is coming off a win over Desert Vista 65-56 in their season opener. The Broncos will face Salpointe Catholic on Friday at 7:30. For Cronkite sports I’m Brandon Tran reporting.
Nat sound: Players making a basket and celebrating
Coyotes tee off and that’s a good thing, as fans get a chance to mingle at TopGolf
(Host): The Arizona Coyotes hosted the Coyotes Classic at TopGolf Scottsdale on Monday. Fans were given the opportunity to mingle with players and alumni from the team, to support and raise money for the Arizona Coyotes Foundation. Cronkite Sports’ Austin Hepola says this is the first time the event has been held in the .
Hepola: It’s not everyday that you get the chance to play golf with your favorite NHL player. For fans of the Arizona Coyotes that chance was provided through the Coyotes Classic. It’s a gathering that brings the community together for a good cause- one that supports the mission of the Arizona Coyotes Foundation. The team’s general manager, Bill Armstrong, believes it’s important for the organization to be involved with its community.
<<Bill Armstrong. Coyotes GM:
“I’ve always felt with our players, if they get to know the community they’ll fight harder so right away it’s a huge thing for us. And you know our group of players are just tremendous people; not only do they play hard on the ice, but off the ice they give as much as they can.”>>
Hepola: The Arizona Coyotes Foundation supports organizations and programs that promote access to education, health and wellness and economic advancement for underserved and diverse communities. Fans and sponsors teamed up with players at TopGolf Scottsdale to enjoy a night that included golfing, raffles, food & drinks. Coyotes Center, Nick (BYOOG-stad), says he enjoys meeting up with members of the community.
<<Nick Bjugstad, Coyotes Center:
“As players we want to be involved as much as possible in our communities and try to raise some money here, I think that’s the main goal tonight so we’ll have some fun doing it. Some guys are good golfers, myself I am not, so we’ll take her easy and just kind of hang out and mingle with the fans.”>>
Hepola: While the players appreciate nights like this, they also realize there’s a lot of work left for the season. The focus on Monday night’s event was hitting the ball off the tee, but the primary objective of hitting the puck on ice still remained top of mind. Left winger Michael (kahr-KOH-nay) looks forward to what the rest of this season will bring.
<<Michael Carcone, Coyotes Left Winger:
“I think there’s been ups and downs. Obviously we have big goals of making the playoffs this year so there’s gotta be improvements as we go here, and I think we’re seeing that now at the quarter mark. So as long as we continue to grow and keep battling I think we’re gonna be alright here and get to the playoffs.”>>
Hepola: It’s safe to say that the Coyotes Classic was a successful night. Not only did the event raise money for the Arizona Coyotes Foundation, it also created memories for the fans and players… And by giving back to the community,,,,,, captured the holiday spirit. From Cronkite Sports, in Scottsdale, Austin Hepola reporting.
And this was The Sweet Spot. This show was produced by Benjamin Yates. Special thanks to Austin, Alex, and Ben for their contributions to the show for the whole semester. I’m your host Brandon Tran, And from all of us here at the Sweet Spot, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!