Most of the schools in the newly formed 5A Central Region, which promises to be fiercely competitive, open 2009 with seasoned quarterbacks. That makes for happy coaches.

Mesa Mountain View, Chandler Basha, Tempe Corona del Sol and Gilbert High — all of which start practice Monday — have full or part-time starters returning. Mesa Dobson opened practice last week and has senior Jordan Gruber back with experience.

Basha and Corona have the most seasoned varsity quarterbacks. The Bears employ Mike Benjamin, who was pressed into service late in his sophomore year and got a full year under his belt last season. Chase Cartwright has piloted Corona the last two seasons. His job is made easier with the presence of 1,000-yard rusher Michael Lang in the Aztecs' backfield.

Gilbert coach Dan Dunn is opting to keep senior Brandon Bialkowski behind center. Bialkowski may be slinging the ball often this season as the Tigers try to build a line and running game. Bialkowski has a pair of returning receivers with big-play skills in Jesse Brantley and Dominic Long.

Mountain View opted last season to go with senior incumbent Blake Decker, who didn’t disappoint with a solid season. When he was injured in late September and missed a few games, junior Brad Heap stepped in and the Toros didn’t miss a beat.

Heap is poised for a big year, also with a 1,000-yard rusher back to help in Jacom Brimhall.

Mesquite, which began practice last week, hopes to keep senior Steven Hansen healthy. Hansen missed three-fourths of 2008 due to injury. Coach Mike Reardon likes Hansen's mobility and believes his senior will improve his throwing.

Running behind at quarterback is Gilbert Highland, which graduated Drew Davis. Junior Hayden Haviland and sophomore Parker Rasmussen are the top competitors, and coach Pete Wahlheim isn’t against using both. Preseason workouts may determine if that plan changes.

DESERT RIDGE

Mesa Desert Ridge hasn’t had a history of winning defensive struggles. Don’t expect that to end soon with the spread offense the Jaguars use. But coach Jeremy Hathcock is hoping a couple factors go toward improving that unit this season.

“This is the toughest and most disciplined team I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Hathcock said. “We’re young with only two senior defensive starters back, but it’s also the fastest team I’ve had since I’ve been here. I think the speed and toughness will help us a lot.”

In the nine losses the Jaguars have endured the last two seasons, they have given up at least 31 points in each of those.

Four of those defeats were to Peoria Centennial, two to Tempe Marcos de Niza, two to Mesa Red Mountain and one to Mesa Skyline. Marcos de Niza and Skyline remain region foes for Desert Ridge this season.