Upsets of elite football programs are scarce

August 27, 2014 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


If zero week (last week's games) of the 2014 prep football season is representative of the dominance of elite programs then predictability of outcomes will continue to be quite easy over the next 10 weeks.

Division I Hamilton crushes Sandra Day O'Connor. D-II Salpointe bashes Buena. D-III Williams Field eases past a top D-IV team in Show Low. D-III Queen Creek blanks Poston Butte bigtime. The matchup between two very good D-II schools  in zero week -- Ironwood Ridge and Liberty -- produced a 24-20 win for Ironwood Ridge. Last year when the teams played, Liberty prevailed by two points.

Holding out hope that any elite team would fall to anyone but anothe elite isn't logical given the losses experienced by elite schools between 2010 and 2013. Take a look at these schools and who their in-state losses have come against. Rarely is it a team outside the elite realm:

DIVISION I: Hamilton -Three losses to Mountain Pointe, one loss each to Desert Vista and Chandler. Mountain Pointe -- Three losses to Hamilton, three losses to Brophy, one loss to Desert Vista, Chandler, Desert Ridge and Basha. Desert Ridge -- Five losses to Hamilton, one loss to Mtn. Pointe, Red Mountain, Marcos de Niza, Mesquite and Highland. Chandler -- Five losses to Hamilton ,three losses to Desert Vista,  two losses to Mountain Pointe, one loss to Brophy, one loss to Centennial, one loss to Desert Ridge and one loss to Basha. Desert Vista -- Four losses to Hamilton, three losses to Mountain Pointe, one loss to Desert Ridge, one loss to Centennial, one loss to Brophy, one loss to Corona del Sol and one loss to Boulder Creek. Brophy -- Two losses to Mountain Pointe, two losses to Centennial, two losses to Hamilton, two losses to Desert Ridge, two losses to Red Mountain, one loss to Chaparral, one loss to Desert Vista, one loss to Chandler, one loss to Basha,

DIVISION II: Centennial -- Two losses to Chaparral, two losses to Deer Valley, two losses to Ironwood Ridge, one loss to Chandler and one loss to Red Mountain. Chaparral -- Two losses to Salpointe, three losses to Marcos de Niza and one loss to Desert Mountain. Marcos de Niza -- Three losses to Ironowood Ridge, two losses to Chaparral, one loss to Salpointe, one loss to Saguaro, one loss to Mountain Pointe, one loss to Centennial, one loss to Cienega, one loss to Mesquite, one loss to Campo Verde, one loss to Perry. Salpointe -- One loss to Hamilton, one loss to Desert Vista, one loss to Chaparral, one loss to Centennial and one loss to Notre Dame Prep. Ironwood Ridge -- Four losses to Salpointe, two losses to Centennial, two losses to Cienega, one loss to Tucson, one loss to Marcos de Niza, one loss to Marana Mtn View, one loss to Apollo, one loss to Canyon del Oro.