Scheduling for the next two-year block figures to get under way by the end of the month when another proposal for computer scheduling is offered up and conferences ultimately decide how they want to go about the tedious process of determining their opposition.

In the meantime current impressions of scheduling and how they might work in the future are worth a look.

Football is unique as it doesn’t require a companion schedule, obviously, for girls. When it comes to other team sports such as basketball, soccer, baseball and softball, Arizona schools match up in tandem by gender. We’ll use basketball as our example here since it’s winter.

Last week, for example, Gilbert Highland’s boys basketball team played Laveen Cesar Chavez and vice-versa the girls.

Chavez has one of the top boys teams in 5A; the girls are near the bottom.

“That was great for our boys,” Highland girls basketball coach Miner Webster said. “For us, and no disrespect to Cesar Chavez, it’s not so good. We’d like to play as many strong teams as possible. The way it’s done now we don’t get as many opportunities as we’d like. I want to play the best teams we can all the time.”

Highland’s girls have a full plate with eight rigorous region games over the next five weeks, but its nonregion games are against Phoenix Central and Mesa Skyline, both schools who grapple at best to qualify for the playoffs. Highland has benefitted from solid nonregion games with Phoenix Desert Vista and Mesa Dobson and Chandler Basha.

A prime example of a school not as fortunate is Chandler High. Chandler girls coach Zon Thompson’s squad has faced a nonregion schedule that features Scottsdale Desert Mountain, Mesa Westwood, Sierra Vista Buena, Phoenix Trevor Browne, Phoenix Mountain Pointe, Scottsdale Horizon and Phoenix Alhambra. The Wolves have won every one of those games, but in Thompson’s view, it hasn’t helped his team become as battle tested as it needs to be in the Fiesta Region. None of the Wolves nonregion opponents have a win over a bonafide state-title contender.

“Our schedule could be better and needs to be better,” Thompson said following a game his team played and lost vs. an out-of-state team in the Nike Tournament of Champions in December. “We need more tough games to prepare us for our region.”

On the flip side, Mesa Westwood and Mesa High have struggled much of this decade and beyond in girls basketball to compete with top teams in 5A-I. Their nonregion schedules are lined with Metro Region and West Valley schools who aren’t top-of-the-line foes. It’s an avenue good for them giving them a shot at picking up some wins and earning all important victory points. That’s the only way they have a shot at qualifying for postseason.

Yet even if they do, it would likely be as a low seed — No. 14, 15 or 16 at best. Westwood’s girls are currently 7-2 vs. nonregion foes. The Warriors have beaten Mesa Desert Ridge (1-6), Casa Grande (2-5), Alhambra (3-4), Phoenix Camelback (6-3), Glendale Ironwood (2-6), Surprise Valley Vista (5-2) and Yuma High (1-8). Their losses are to Chandler (8-0) and Tolleson (8-0). They lost to Chandler by 58 and to Tolleson by 71.

The general sense is that computer scheduling is on the way for the first time. If computer scheduling is adopted, it will factor in a mileage range to great degree for schools to determine opponents, meaning more games against schools closer in proximity.

That could mean games among teams in the newly configurated 5A East Valley, Central and Pima regions and fewer games against teams from the Metro Region and other West Valley schools. The current power-ranking system does not differentiate between wins. A win over a 1-17 school is worth as much as a win over a 17-1 school in terms of victory points (90) in basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball.

Given that the overall brand of play in the East Valley continues to exceed that of the westside and southern parts of the state there may be a lot of schools with records of 11-7, 10-8 or 9-9 as good or better than someone 14-4 from the other side of town. The problem is without the qualitative factor missing from the current power-ranking system, too many good teams could be left out of the playoffs and a few too many and medicore ones left in.

Scheduling is a tough process. Hard to please everyone. But it’s one keenly important in these days of power points, rankings and jockeying for playoff positions. It’s one giving athletic directors and coaches a good amount of angst these days.

SOCCER COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Mesa Mountain View and Mesa Red Mountain will play their region boys and girls soccer games on Friday at Mountain View High School, marking the Kevin Sullivan night. Sullivan, the boys soccer coach at Mountain View, was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this fall and has undergone cancer treatments and a bone marrow transplant during that time. Admission to the game is free and donations can be made at tables and through concession sales at the games, which are at 5 p.m. (girls) and 7 p.m. (boys) that day.

Also Gilbert Highland and Gilbert High will dedicate proceeds from a $1 admission from a Jan. 23 boys and girls soccer doubleheader between the schools at Highland High to help defray medical costs for Sullivan and his family. The Highland girls play that day at 5 p.m. and the boys follow at 7 p.m.

WILDCATS WOW

After a down year last season, Gilbert Mesquite’s boys basketball team recorded a marquee win last Saturday night over third-ranked Phoenix St. Mary’s and continued to improve its status in the Fiesta Region for its first region Friday at Gilbert Highland. Mesquite is the first Arizona team to defeat St. Mary’s this season. The victory over the Knights was the 10th this season for Mesquite, which was 9-17 in 2007-08 and finished last in the Fiesta in 2007-08.

FLOWING WELLS INVITE

The 43rd annual Tucson Flowing Wells Wrestling Invitational takes place Friday and Saturday at Flowing Wells High School with not only some of the top big schools in attendance but those in lower classifications as well. Tucson Sunnyside (5A-II) prevailed last season in the team competition over Cottonwood Mingus (4A-II).

Local teams competing in the double-elimination, individual format tourney are Chandler Basha, Mesa Red Mountain, Mesa Mountain View and Chandler. Top teams from other conferences entered include Safford (3A), Tempe Marcos de Niza (5A-II) and Yuma Cibola (5A-II). Phoenix Desert Vista, Marcos de Niza and Basha were the only East Valley schools finishing in the top 10 of the tourney last year. Ten of the top 25 teams ranked in the latest Inside Trip wrestling rankings are in the field from 5A-I through 3A.

SAY WHAT

“It’s important trying to send a message to other teams. They’re not the only ones competing for the region championship.”

Kyle Mahoney, Seton Catholic guard, on beating Higley in order to remain tied with Queen Creek atop the 4A East Sky region standings. The Sentinels host the Dons Friday night.