Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Brett Stafford, the only coach Ironwood badminton has ever known, has said this is the best team the school has ever fielded.
Thursday, the Eagles have a chance to seal that legacy by winning the school's first state team title against a team that has never been this far. #3 seed Ironwood (16-0) plays #1 Gilbert Campo Verde (15-0) for the Division II championship at 6 p.m. Nov. 12 at Mesquite High School, 500 S. McQueen Road, Gilbert.
Since the AIA created Division II for badminton in 2016, Ironwood has reached the semifinals three times and the finals in 2018.
"Campo's tough. There's some good teams out there. It is really a lot more even this this year. We're ready for the fight," Stafford said.
The Eagles made a Veterans Day trip to Prescott and dispatched the #2 Badgers in a 5-2 semifinal win. They beat district rivals Kellis Monday and Sunrise Mountain Tuesday, both 5-0.
They may be playing the playoffs four straight nights. But with COVID-19 cases spiking again in Arizona, Stafford is thankful to have played a full season and watch this group try for a state title.
"I'm happy with the AIA doing what they've done. They've kept us going and that's awesome. I've got a great group, and four seniors that deserve to have a season," Stafford said.
Seniors Toni DeMarco, Kelly Grady, Savannah Hendrix and Xandra Rhodes lead a lineup that has lost only three matches all regular season and two to Prescott.
Juniors Diana Bartez-Ramirez and Juliana Traylor-Rowen complete the dominant lineup. DiMarco is the ace, and the four-year varsity player is happy for the chance for her class to finish.
"It means everything to us. It's super cool because we've all worked super hard. It's nice to have our moment," DeMarco said. "We've been able to play with each other for four years straight."
Grady and Hendrix were seeded second in the state doubles tourney. DeMarco finished second in the state singles on Nov. 7, following an intense three-set final with Mesquite's Sabrina Farias.
DeMarco led 15-8 in the first set only to have Farias storm back for a 20-17 advantage. DeMarco responded with a 5-0 run to take the set 22-20.
Farias pulled away about the midpoint of sets two and three and won both 21-14.
"It was nice to get on the podium and have that moment," DeMarco said.
Richard Smith Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps @rsmithYWV
Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.
An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.
For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.
As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.
By 
