Midseason prep football glance identifies mainstays and surprises

September 30, 2014 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


October is selfish this year housing the entire second half of the high school football season -- five games taking place before or on Halloween for Divisions I-V and one week of D-VI postseason.

Here's a snapshot division by division at the expected or unexpected that's taken place since the season kicked off on Aug. 22:

DIVISION I

USUAL SUSPECTS: Hamilton is temporarily occupying first chair in the Division I band. Mountain Pointe, Chandler and Pinnacle are a bit behind, but Chandler has a chance to rectify that Thursday (Oct. 2) night. If Chandler does not upend Hamilton, the Huskies will be the clear favorite since they will have defeated Pinnacle, Mountain Pointe and Chandler among its first six conquests. Defending champ Mountain Pointe may have been fortunate to split with Chandler and Hamilton. The Pride will have the revenge factor going for it should it battle Hamilton again. Pinnacle seems to have dislodged Desert Ridge as the fourth best team on paper. Desert Ridge hasn't given up two-plus 30-point games in four years (win over Sandra Day O'Connor and loss to Brophy).

SURPRISES: Look to Boulder Creek (5-0), Sandra Day O'Connor (4-2) and Highland (4-1). Boulder Creek isn't winning by huge margins, but the Jaguars are learning to win and win close games. Sandra Day O'Connor shook off a blowout loss opening night and hung tough with Desert Ridge in its other defeat. Highland fell to one of D-III's lone unbeatens, Queen Creek, in humiliating fashion on Aug. 29. Its four straight wins since have seen the Hawks average a tick less than 40 points a game in wins over Mesa, Mountain View, Mountain Ridge and Campo Verde. Don't forget Skyline (5-0), but the Coyotes schedule hasn't been arduous. They have been more dominating in some of their wins than last year. Schedule is tougher in second half.

DIVISION II

USUAL SUSPECTS: Salpointe has held serve in defending its state championship. The Lancers are 5-0 and their last four games have been road wins. Perhaps the most impressive came last week beating Marcos de Niza in come-from-behind fashion. Salpointe has plenty of competition with perennials Chaparral (4-1), Centennial (3-2) and Marcos de Niza (3-2) lurking along with Liberty (4-1), Ironwood Ridge (4-1) and Cienega (4-1). That's not all as five more schools -- not the first that come to mind of late in the title hunt -- are unbeaten at 5-0. They are Sahuaro, Westwood, Arcadia, Deer Valley and Sunnyslope. Chaparral, Centennial and MDN have more losses, but quality is attached to each one. The unbeatens will need to strut their stuff in section play, which is generally more of a challenge. Sunnyslope, Sahuaro and Deer Valley were in the top half of their sections last year and are positioned to do the same this year.

SURPRISES: Westwood and Arcadia head the list. Westwood should know the proof of how good the Warriors really are comes to light in its upcoming games with Mesquite, Campo Verde, MDN. Likewise Arcadia and Poston Butte (5-1). Westwood was 4-1 at this point last year, Arcadia was 3-2 and Poston Butte 3-2. Each needs multiple wins in section play to have a shot at the playoffs. Westwood and Arcadia won just once in section play last year and Poston Butte was 0-4. Poston Butte has notched five consecutive wins after opening with a shutout loss to Queen Creek.

DIVISION III

USUAL SUSPECTS: Let us guess. Saguaro and Queen Creek. Knew it. Both are 5-0 and clash Thursday in their section opener at Queen Creek. They are clearly top shelf in the division. Williams Field is 5-0 on the field, but 1-4 because of the use of ineligible players. Only six of Williams Field's games will count (last week and the final five). Those will include games with Queen Creek, Saguaro and Higley. No less than 11 schools are either 5-0 or 4-1 in back of Saguaro and Queen Creek. The unbeatens on a similar track to last year are Peoria and Tempe High. Verrado and Moon Valley have already surpassed 2013 win totals and Alhambra is one shy. Desert Edge at 4-1 is likely to crack the top six by season's end with Buckeye, Prescott and Sunrise Mountain having decent shots at equaling or bettering their win totals.

SURPRISE: Flowing Wells at 5-0 sticks out like a sore thumb. The Caballeros were 0-5 this time last year. If their improvement is indeed legitimate theyll likely end up 8-2 or 9-1. Their biggest obstacle is section foe Canyon del Oro. Kudos also to Alhambra (5-0), Metro Phoenix's shining light. The Lions were 3-2 this time last year. Tough games are ahead with Moon Valley and Tempe.

DIVISION IV

USUAL SUSPECTS: Seton Catholic (5-0) and Coolidge (5-0) are doing their usual thing. Seton's taken care of business quite effectively while Coolidge has played two tight game vs. teams that may surprise in Combs and Fountain Hills. Down south Sahuarita boasts the only other unbeaten mark in the division at 6-0. With their remaining schedule the Mustangs could well run the table prior to the playoffs. Last year's runner-up, River Valley is 4-1 with the same and only loss last year at this point (Yuma Catholic). Up north Snowflake has the edge over Show Low (2-2) and defending champ Blue Ridge (2-3). It's clear unless Blue Ridge can manage wins the next two weeks vs. Snowflake and Show Low the chance of the Yellowjackers reaching postseason is a stretch. Show Low could still recover since it played up against high-caliber D-III opponents Queen Creek and Williams Field although (that loss is scratched) and were dumped by one of D-V's best in Tempe Prep.

SURPRISE: Any of Combs (4-1), Florence (3-2), Fountain Hills (3-2) and Estrella Foothills (3-2) is worth noting. With the north down some this year, these schools may make a statement come November. Combs and Florence have to deal with Seton and Fountain Hills with Snowflake, Show Low and Blue Ridge. Estrella Foothills has losses to Seton and Snowflake and were in those games. The Wolves throttled Fountain HIlls. Their tough test in Ocobert is vs. River Valley.

DIVISION V

USUAL SUSPECTS: Defending champ Yuma Catholic (5-0)  and Arizona Lutheran (5-0) lead a pack of five schools who are unbeaten. Joining them are the best team from the north, Round Valley (4-0), Bourgade (5-0) and San Tan Foothills (5-0). Northwest Christian, Tempe Prep, Pusch Ridge Academy and Thatcher lead a 10-team mix of 4-1 squads. Yuma Catholic has the best chance to go unbeaten during the next month with its toughest game next week at home vs. Arizona Lutheran. Arizona Lutheran faces NWC and YC the next two weeks. Bourgade has consecutive gamescoming up  vs. NWC, YC and ALA. Eleven of the 16 schools that qualified for the the D-V playoffs last year are 5-0 or 4-1.

SURPRISE: The one who stands out is Paradise Honors (4-1). The Panthers were 1-4 this time last year and won only two games.

DIVISION VI: Not much change in the 8-man ranks. Last year's finalists -- Bagdad and Mogollon -- are the lone unbeatens at 5-0. In fact, the final eight from last year are all among the top 10 records thus far. Bagdad matches up in section play with Glendale Prep on Thursday while Mogollon looks like it has a relatively easy road to 9-0. Valley Union, Pima and St. David -- all 4-1 -- have a nice three-way battle going in their section. Gilbert Christian has a date soon with Ray that should determine that section champ.

SURPRISE: Valley Union missed the playoffs for the third year in a row last year after a run of 8-win seasons and a state title. The Blue Devils were 1-4 in their first five games last season. This year they're 4-1. The next two weeks tell the tale with games against Pima and St. David.