Mountain Pointe and Salpointe, the defending Division I and Division II champs, respectively, put perfect records and long-winning streaks on the line as the high school football season hits the halfway mark.

Here's a look at some of this week's top games, beginning with a Thursday night special at a special starting time.

THURSDAY SEPT. 25

Basha (3-1) at Westview (2-2): Last year's game -- Westview 38, Basha 28. Both teams lost last week with Westview dropping  its last two. Each has a new coach and so far they've been good considering their schedules have not been light. This one will be a clash of offensive styles -- Basha's aerial game against Westview's ground and pound. Basha quarterback Ryan Kelley wasn't as sharp last week vs. Pinnacle as he was in the Bears' three wins. Kelley threw a season-high 42 times, for a season-low 196 yards with one TD and one pick. Westview is led by running backs Rameihk Bowles (482 yards) and Jalen Johnson (373 yards). Bowles has rushed for 100 yards or more in everty game so far. Johnson is a receiving threat as well. The game starts at 8 p.m., not the usual 7 p.m.

FRIDAY SEPT. 26

Mountain Pointe (5-0) at Hamilton (4-0): Last year's regular-season game -- Mountain Pointe 37, Hamilton 27. The teams are right where they figured to be at this point and each has one a close game. Mountain Pointe got a dose of reality battling Chandler, who is nothing like the Pride's previous four opponents. Hamilton brings an improved offense to the field this year and will try to slow Mountain Pointe's terrific running game. If the Huskies do that, the Pride will be forced to show they can throw. At this point it's hard to imagine anyone neutralizing Mountain Pointe's ground game. Mountain Pointe has won its last 19 games in a row and Hamilton has a 63-game, home-winning streak on the line dating back to 2004.

Salpointe (4-0) at Marcos de Niza (3-1): Last year's game -- Salpointe 40, Marcos de Niza 7. Salpointe quarterback Sammy Muniz gets better and better as the season progresses. Muniz passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns last week in a 7-point road-win over Campo Verde. Muniz has accounted for almost 1,000 yards of offense (968) and leads the Lancers in rushing as well as passing. Salpointe hasn't had trouble moving the ball, but four turnovers slowed its production last week. The Lancers have won 18 games in a row. Marcos de Niza's lone defeat is to D-II foe Chaparral, a game in which the Padres managed just seven points. The Padres need to be at the top of their game to pull off an upset. Leading the way for Marcos is running back Avery Sanders, the team's leader in rushing and receiving yardage (434).  

Queen Creek (4-0) at Higley (4-0): Last year's game -- Queen Creek 56, Higley 35. Queen Creek has been impressive taking down Highland and Poston Butte early. Those are the only losses for those schools to date. This is the meaty part of Queen Creek's D-III schedule with Saguaro looming next week and Williams Field shortly thereafter. Running back Weston Barlow has picked up where he left off last year rambling for 816 yards and 13 TDs in four games. Barlow rushed for 280 yards in last year's win over Higley. Higley absorbed a blow when it lost seasoned quarterback Tyler Bloom in its opener, but diminutive Matt Crossland filled the bill nicely. Crossland had thrown for 1,177 yards in three-plus games with four primary targets. The competition rises a good notch maybe two with Queen Creek on the other side. Queen Creek has dominated play in this series of late, winning the last seven in a row.

Marana Mtn. View (2-2) at Poston Butte (4-1): Last year's game -- Marana Mountain View 28, Poston Butte 27. After getting blasted 43-0 in its opener at Queen Creek, Poston Butte has shown resiliency with four straight wins. With a tough section schedule coming up in October, the Broncos would like to have a .500 season in the bag with a win here. Marcos de Niza, Campo Verde, Mesquite and Westwood are just around the corner in section play. Marana Mountain View snapped a two-game skid with win over Desert Vista last week. Six wins give most teams a good shot at postseason and Marana Mountain View would be half way there with a win. Poston Butte is the first of five straight games for MMTV against teams who are .500 or better.

Liberty (5-0) at Centennial (2-2): Last year's game -- Centennial 42, Liberty 31. A balanced offense and solid defense has been the formula for unbeaten Liberty. Running back Jake Schuiteboer paces the ground game an quarterback Tyler Wyatt, despite missing a game has been splendid throwing. Liberty is giving up just 12 points a game at the season's mid-point. Liberty, like all of Centennial's opponents, will have its hands full with running back Dedrick Young. Young has put up good numbers against  Chandler and Brophy, cracking the 100-yard mark in both contests. Centennial has faced mostly quality opponents and took out frustration from close losses to Chandler and Basha in hammering Raymond Kellis last week.

Sandra Day O'Connor (3-2) at Valley Vista (4-0): Last year's game -- Valley Vista 21, Sandra Day O'Connor 6. Sandra Day O'Connor didn't brood aftera season-opening 43-7 loss to Hamilton. The Eagles have bounced back to win three of its last four games beating Westview last week and giving Desert Ridge all it could handle in a shootout. SDO has relied on junior quarterback Bailin Markridge and senior running back Noah Barinque the past two seasons for much of its offense. Markridge totatled 272 yards (rushing and passing) in the loss to Desert Ridge. Valley Vista has taken it to a a pair of East Valley opponents among its first four wins - Mesa Mountain View and Mesa. Quarterback Akil Abdullah accounted for 253 yards rushing and passing and four of the Monsoon's five TDs in a 35-19 win over Mesa last week.  Valley Vista took advantage of four Mesa turnovers to key the victory. O'Connor is likely the best team Valley Vista has faced thus far.

Sahuarita (5-0) at Safford (3-1): Last year's game -- Sahuarita 33, Safford 21. Sahuarita continues to play winning football under coach David Rodriguez, now in his fourth season at the helm of the Mustangs. Sahuarita is 29-8 in the last  3 1/2 seasons and has matched their 2011 start at 5-0. Both schools feature dual-threat quarterbacks -- Sahuarita's Calvin Jenkins (976 yards rushing and passing) and Safford's Tyler Shurtz (795 yards rushing and passing).  The defenses have played well giving up 50 and 60 points, respectively or around 10 to 12 points allowed per game..