Several schools entered practice last month with competitive battles being waged for the quarterback position. While it may seem that whoever got the opening-night nod is the winner and the other the loser, the battles often can be a plus because they push both players to higher levels.

Two schools that had quarterback competitions up until the first game were Gilbert and Mesa Westwood, which met over the course of two days last week to get their lightning-delayed opener completed.

Gilbert coach Jesse Parker gave the start to junior Brandon Bialkowski, who served up a decent opener by completing 5 of 10 passes for 126 yards. In the second half, Parker inserted the more physically imposing sophomore Nathaniel Causey for a couple of series. Causey was 2-for-3 passing for 65 yards and rushed twice for 22 yards.

When asked for an assessment of his quarterbacks’ play in the win over Westwood, Parker smiled with satisfaction.

The inference? The Tigers’ quarterback position is in good hands.

On the other side of the field, Westwood coach Greg Mendez had senior Marshall Davis and junior Steven Hall vying for the top spot behind center. Davis, a senior, was granted the opening start and passed for 106 yards and rushed for 40 more yards and a touchdown. Mendez was pleased with his performance but didn’t let Hall stand idly by.

“I was proud of the way Marshall played,” Mendez said. “He took a beating back there but hung in. He made smart decisions.”

Hall, a junior, didn’t play quarterback in the game, but true to his word, Mendez worked Hall into the action.

Hall played receiver and caught four balls for 37 yards.

More of these scenarios will play out this week as everyone idle last week finally gets their first action.

Mesa’s quarterback battle went down to the wire with coach Kelley Moore opting for Brody Skinner over Kyler Fackrell. Fackrell won’t be left out in the cold, though. He’ll start as the X in Mesa’s offense.

Mesa Mountain View is going with varsity-seasoned senior Blake Decker over junior Brad Heap. Heap is likely to play some tight end while Decker calls the signals.

Quarterback decisions are huge for coaches, especially when the decision involves splitting hairs.

Keeping the guy not chosen happy is critical, but the player not chosen shares a responsibility with the coach: moving on for the betterment of the team.

Besides, he’s just an ankle sprain away from getting his chance, anyway.

LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN, ER, FLOODED

With NCAA rules allowing colleges to begin two-way communication with juniors Sept. 1, Chandler Valley Christian volleyball standout Chanel Brown wasn’t quite prepared for the onslaught that came her and her family’s way.

“We had been warned that Chanel would be getting a lot of e-mails and letters Sept. 1,” Chanel’s father, Mitch, said. “We were overwhelmed! We checked our e-mail account at 12:01 am on Sept. 1, and the incoming e-mails started popping up one right after the other.

“We lost count at 40. Every Division I college you could think of from the Pac-10, SEC, ACC, WCC, Ivy League.”

Later this week when the Browns checked their mailbox, they could hardly open it. There were more than 20 large envelopes from colleges all over the country, media guides along with handwritten letters from head coaches to Chanel.

Such is what’s ahead for the Trojans setter, a national prep sophomore player of the year finalist in 2007 according to prepvolleyball.com.

She expects to be one of the most highly recruited setters in the country for the class of 2010. She received nine full-ride offers from Division I schools last year.

Brown figures to face more off-thecourt matters this year than on-thecourt.