FLORENCE, South Carolina - Liv Tyler says when she first saw the title of the script for her new film, "The Strangers," she thought it was a comedy. Turns out it was a thriller about a couple trying to survive when three masked strangers invade their home.

Tucked away in the heart of San Tan Valley, The Good Life Festival – a multi-event, season-long gathering at Encanterra Country Club – regularly puts a focus on food, wine and music.

Arianna Rivera and Codi Sichling were on different athletic paths prior to this tennis season. Sichling, a volleyball player for Florence, only played tennis for fun, and Rivera only considered herself a recreational player.

Several East Valley players advanced to the 3A state tennis individual and doubles championships Friday evening at the Phoenix Tennis Center.

Savor la dolce vita at Encanterra Country Club, where a bouquet of celebrity chefs, including Food Network stars Duff Goldman and Tyler Florence, host tastings and cooking demos, and the Valley’s best restaurants offer food truck favorites along with a variety of wine and champagne.

Desert Vista opens with big victory: Katie Shepard scored four goals and six other players also scored for Desert Vista in an 11-0 shutout of visiting Phoenix Central in its girls soccer season opener Monday.

Arizona High School Football Coaches Association Big 25 Team (regardless of classification), as voted by Arizona high school football coaches:

James Contes is a good student with plenty of academic college options, but nothing yet for football.

The much-buzzed-about gourmet food trucks that seem to orbit mostly around Phoenix will inch eastward this weekend for the Street Eats Food Truck Festival, hosted by Food Network chef Tyler Florence.

Seton Catholic used a dominant second half to beat Independence in the first 4A Division II game of the season for both teams, 28-10, on Friday night at Mesa Community College.

Desert Vista, the No. 6 seed, and Hamilton, the No. 3 seed, battled through two scoreless halves and a pair of scoreless overtime periods before the Thunder finally prevailed 6-5 in penalty kicks in a 5A Division I girls quarterfinal Saturday at Hamilton High School.

Truth is more entertaining than fiction.

Senior linebacker, Tyler Hinchey, and junior Jovi Lemusu, McClintock Chargers, tackle senior, Rodney Jankans, of Apollo High School during the first half of Friday night's 4A game at McClintock High School in Tempe

By now, Tyler Brandt should be used to challenges. In his first year as head football coach at Maricopa last season, he faced a number of them — from starting his new job too late to work with his players over the summer to inheriting a football environment one player called “horrible.”

Normally, cross country and football are rarely, if ever, mentioned in the same breath.

Gilbert Mesquite's Erica Medlan took first place in the No. 1 singles bracket in the girls portion of the Chandler Hamilton Invitational at Hamilton High School. Jaclyn Daywalt, also from Mesquite, was first in the No. 2 bracket and Chandler Seton Catholic's Molly McCarville won the No. 3 bracket.

Michael Strnad has been a familiar sight at the state track and field championships for the past three years.

Division III Outlook

Believe it or not, there was a time when Kyle Ciliento thought he was never going to score a goal in high school. As a freshman at Phoenix Pinnacle, Ciliento failed to score in his first two matches.

Courtney Byron knows what it means to be in the spotlight. The Scottsdale Notre Dame player not only successfully defended her 4A-II state girls tennis championship this season, she was also the best player in Arizona in 2007, earning a No. 1 ranking in the 16-plus age group of the USTA’s Southwest Section.

Carlos Melendez' 25-yard touchdown run and subsequent two-point conversion propelled San Tan Foothills to a thrilling 52-50 comeback victory over host-Coolidge on Friday night.

Visiting Valley Christian ended the regular season with a 49-12 win over Phoenix North Pointe Prep in a 2A Central Region game. The Trojans (6-3, 2-3) led 27-0 at halftime thanks in large part to the running of Tyler Hunt, who rushed for four touchdowns by halftime. For the game, Hunt finished with 167 yards on 11 carries.