There is no getting around the size and presence of Eastmark quarterback Dayne Silver.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound sophomore almost looked out of place at Friday’s game between the 4A Firebirds and 3A Crismon.

He was much bigger than everyone else around. It was similar to seeing old footage of Shaquille O’Neal in AAU or high school when he was so much bigger than everyone else on the court.

It made Silver seem even taller than 6-5, and the oddest sight was seeing him under center and taking a snap from junior center Easton Baer, who is listed a 5-10.

Baer has a very wide snapping stance, meaning Silver has to get very low to receive the ball every play. There were times it looked as if there wasn’t even room for a yellow penalty flag between Silvers’ hands and the ground.

“I don’t think about it,” Silvers said after Friday’s win over Crismon. “I have to take the snap no matter what. It’s something I’ve had to deal with for a long time.”

Silver only played six quarters last year after sustaining a broken left clavicle (non-throwing arm) in the second game of the year as a freshman. While he looks the part, Silver is still figuring out how to use all of his upside sooner than later.

He made a couple of mistakes in the fourth quarter that could have swung the 24-22 win a different way, but the best part was he owned those miscues after the game.

“That was on me,” Silver said. “I need to make better decisions. We could have put it away right there. I’ll go back and look at film and get better.”

Serenity now

Ryan Freeman came to the realization that he couldn’t do it all.

It came after spending time doing the opposite – attend to his family’s needs and run a football program – as the Campo Verde football coach has freed himself of the idea of trying to be everywhere for everyone all of the time.

Now, he knows the program will continue on and go through the well-organized steps of preparing for whatever is on the docket that day or even a couple of days when he is in Tucson where his daughter is in a hospital.

“I’ve been given so much grace by everyone in the program,” Freeman said. “At first, I felt like I could do it all. I’d power my way through and be there, but I just couldn’t do it anymore.

“I know my assistant coaches are an extension of me, and they can handle anything that pops up and get us ready for whatever we have going on that day.”

Freeman and his family have been through some health issues that have his 11-year-old needing medical care.

“It’s been hard, so very hard,” he said. “We have faith and the support we have received and what it means to us is hard to put into words.”

Sign that card proudly

Hogan O’Malley made it known in the first big event of the year that he just might be the Division I favorite.

The Corona del Sol senior shot 7-under 135 (69-66) at the Grand Canyon University Golf Course last weekend to win medalist honors. ALA-Gilbert North senior Jake Goyen was two strokes back as he came in with a 5-under 137 (69-68).

The East Valley had a good showing in the team standings behind No. 1 and No. 2 – Pinnacle and Catalina Foothills -- as Desert Vista, Mesa Mountain View, Casteel, Corona del Sol and Perry finished sixth through 10.

Mat time

For the third straight year, the Williams Field wrestling program will hold an outdoor wrestling match in “The Nest.”

The Black Hawks will be hosting Mesa in January. The Nest is the common area in the middle of the campus that has leveled seating.

Williams Field coach Travis Fentress and Mesa coach David DiDomenico are friendly colleagues and after Coach D returned to Jackrabbits program one of the first things he did was set up a match in The Nest.

DiDomenico brought ALA-Gilbert North to The Nest two years ago and handed the Black Hawks a rare home loss.

Outside of the border

There are 14 games on the schedule this week involving out of state schools with seven of those games involving teams from the East Valley.

So far this season, Arizona as a whole is 4-4 against out of state teams.

Here are this week’s out of state match ups involving East Valley programs:

Friday

Highland at Anna (Texas) – Anna is ranked No. 19 in Texas by MaxPreps. The Hawks are No. 14 in AZ.

Orange Lutheran (Calif.) at Basha- Orange is ranked No. 7 in California and No. 23 nationally. The Bears are ranked No. 2 in Arizona and No. 38 nationally.

Liberty (Nev.) at Casteel – Liberty is ranked No. 2 in Nevada. Casteel is No. 17 in AZ.

Chandler at Cathedral Catholic (Calif.) – Cathedral is ranked No. 14 in California. The Wolves are No. 4 in AZ.

Higley at Coronado (Nev.) – Coronado is ranked No. 7 in Nevada. The Knights are No. 6 in AZ.

Saturday

Williams Field vs. Eastlake (Wash.) at San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Eastlake is ranked No. 15 in Washington. The Black Hawks are No. 19 in AZ.

Granite Hills (Calif.) at Perry. Granite Hills is ranked No. 33 in California. The Pumas are No. 21 in AZ.

Delivering a message

One of the privileges of field access that comes along with having a press pass is being within earshot of coach conversations with players before, in the middle of and after games.

Those conversations are off limits for print without permission. It’s not something that should be shared to the public. It’s a private conversation.

With that said, Hamilton football coach Travis Dixon gave an epic straight forward, impassioned talk with his players of a fourth quarter, blow-out win that shows why he has been able to return to his alma mater and grab his players’ attention.

Also witnessed Crismon coach Scott Hare address his players after a difficult, final-20-second loss on Friday. His message made it very clear why he has been successful at previous spots like Mesquite as he implored his players to realize the good that came out of a difficult loss to a ranked team from a bigger classificiation.