DV football ranked No. 25 nationally in preseason poll

The hype machine is in full swing. But Dan Hinds would rather it tone down, thank you very much.

With the release of yet another preseason national high school football poll last week - this one from PrepNation.com - Hinds saw his Desert Vista squad come in at No. 25 nationally, No. 5 in the Southwest and No. 1 in Arizona.

"All it is for me is a headache to keep these kids focused," Hinds said. "But I'll tell you what, these kids, they're really not saying much about that stuff. I don't feel that they're reading it and believing it, so as long as we can keep that going, we'll be in good shape."

Chandler Hamilton is the next Arizona team ranked in the PrepNation's Southwest poll, coming in at No. 11. Brophy College Prep, the defending Class 5A-I champion who knocked off DV in last year's championship game, is ranked 15th.

An early-look poll released in June by MaxPreps.com had DV ranked at No. 19 nationally. No other school from Arizona made that list. A more recent statistical rating by the site put the Thunder at No. 336 nationally and No. 3 in the state.

Another poll released last week, the ESPNRISE.com FAB 50, had DV at No. 46 nationally. No other Arizona team was ranked.

Finally, ArizonaVarsity.com, which covers preps in Arizona, has the Thunder as its preseason No. 1 in 5A-I.

"I think it's great that people out there are thinking we're going to be a great team," Hinds said, "but we've still got to go out and play.

"There could be some team in Arizona right now that's not even in the top 10 in Arizona, and they're thinking, ‘Hey, man, we've got to go out and play,' and they could be working hard to get ready," he added. "Preseason rankings alone mean nothing, but it's what we're doing right now (preparing for the season) that matters."

The Thunder finished last season 9-5 and state runners-up after starting 2-3, thanks in large part to what those around the team thought was a sense of over-confidence heading into the season.

Hinds is hoping this year the hype won't get to his players heads. DV lost its opener at home to Gilbert last year, 18-10 - a game thought to be winnable.

The two teams open the season against one another again in 2008, at Gilbert.

"We all learned from last year," Hinds said. "We learned from our first five games. It took us a while to shake that. We're definitely not going to let that happen again.

"If we get beat by Gilbert, it's because they were a better team and we were supposed to lose, but we're not going to lose to a team that we should beat because of us not being ready."

Kennard continues to grab limelight

Devon Kennard's national profile continues to climb.

After a successful showing at the USC Rising Stars camp in June, Kennard found himself in the top five of three major recruiting services.

The ESPN 150 has him at No. 4 overall and the No. 1 defensive end; and the recruiting services Rivals.com (No. 5 overall, No. 1 DE) and Scout.com (No. 8, No. 1) also have him high on their lists for prospects in the Class of 2009.

He narrowed his top five schools to USC, ASU, California, UCLA and Texas in late June.

Lineman Kraus done for the season

Offensive lineman Dave Kraus is out for at least three to four months because of a knee injury suffered at a big man camp over the summer, Hinds said. He will likely miss the entire season.

Kraus, a senior, was set to be a top returning lineman on the Thunder, alongside center Connor Wilson.

"That's one of those freak things," Hinds said. "I don't know, we could maybe have him come back for the state game or something, but he's pretty much done. It's unfortunate."