Sept. 10-11 football games at a glance

September 9, 2015 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Many schools are performing as expected as teams prepare for their third or fouth games of 2015. There are some who have startled the masses to this point. Among those are Perry (D-I), Sunnyslope (D-II), Corona del Sol (D-II). That trio is a combined 7-0. Can they maintain their unbeaten status this week? We'll find out.

Here's a glance at some of the top and/or intriguing contests this week (Thursday Sept. 10 and Friday Sept. 11):

THURSDAY SEPT. 10

Desert Ridge (2-0) at Chandler (2-1): This is the top game of the week and has the spotlight all to itself a day befor everyone else. Desert Ridge enjoyed a better second game handling D-II Sandra Day O'Connor with ease last week after slipping past D-I newcomer Liberty in its opener. The Jaguars have a history of beating teams they figure to knock off almost without  (might have to modify that grouping to the Sensational Six (adding Centennial). One such foe is Chandler, although Desert Ridge has little history with the Wolves with only three meetings in their history. Chandler throttled Desert Ridge in the first two, but the last one was a 38-35 first-round playoff victory wrapped up by a goalline stand that former Chandler coach Jim Ewan remembers well. Current Green Bay Packers backup QB Brett Hundley's number was not called on that fateful play for Chandler and Desert Ridge went on to play in its only title game giving Hamilton a scare. Desert Ridge should be emotionally ready for this one while Chandler has endured its opener as defending champ vs. Pinnacle, a rocky visit to Bishop Gorman and last week's battle with Chaparral. It's the Wolves first home game so they should be pumped. A defining game early for D-Ridge. Should be a good one.

FRIDAY SEPT. 11

Liberty (0-3) at Perry (3-0): Perry qualifies as a surprise out of the gate with wins over Dobson, Mesquite and Mesa Mountain View given its rather young squad compared to most others. Liberty could be a trap game, if one wants to call it that since Liberty is winless thus far moving up to D-I. Liberty has played three good teams -- Fab 5 Desert Ridge and Brophy plus Basha. Those three D-I schools are a combined 7-1 to date. Liberty has the ability to pull this one off. We find out if Perry is full of itself right now or can focus on the task at hand.

Sunnyslope (2-0) at Paradise Valley (3-0): Two schools who dropped from D-II to D-III are liking their new existence. PV may be the team to beat in the division, particularly after its impressive win over Desert Edge last week. So far there are 16 unbeaten teams in D-III in its massive 57-team membership. Sunnyslope was expected to see a dropoff with graduation losses  that cost the Vikings 4,400 yards of offense. This is a tough assignment for Sunnyslope with easy wins so far  -- surprisingly big over Peoria and not so much North Canyon.Sunnyslope has allowed nine points so far. Good luck producing a similar effort vs. the high-octane Trojans.

Brophy (3-0) at Red Mountain (1-1): Brophy coach Scooter Molander notched career triumph No. 100 last week as the Broncos continued an impressive, methodical start. Red Mountain used a bye week after a shocking loss to Mesa High to prepare for out-of-state foe Westlake on the road last week and came back with a much-needed win. This one is a tall order for Red Mountain, which has faced Brophy six times in the Ron Wisniewski era with a 2-4 record in those meetings. Most have been close games. Life gets no easier for Red Mountain after this contest with arguably the toughest schedule  remaining-- Hamilton, Chaparral, Highland, Hamilton, Desert Vista, Desert Ridge, Mesa Mtn. View and Mountain Pointe.

Cesar Chavez (1-1) at Alhambra (2-0): Might not be going out on a limb to mark this as the section title game. Alhambra was on its way to a D-III playoff berth last year, but lost its final three games to miss out. The Lions have romped past Kofa and South Mountain while Chavez, with more more experience against quality opponents, has a tough loss to D-II Higley and a shutout of Camelback. Chavez is the favorite, but Alhambra looks to give the Champions all they can handle with a postseason berth likely hinging on the outcome.

Sunrise Mountain (2-0) at Flagstaff (2-0): Neither has faced an elite foe yet, but this game might lend a better idea how strong these teams are. Sunrise Mountain has beaten Cibola and Arcadia handily; Flagstaff has topped North and Kingman. None of those teams has registered a victory yet. Sunrise Mountain quarterback Chase Cord has been productive so far, passing for 723 yards and nine TDs. Cord is in his third season starting behind center. Flagstaff is led by a strong running game that piled up more than 300 yards iand better than 400 yards all told in the win over Kingman. Quarterback Christian Singleton passed for 3 TDs last week.

Corona del Sol (2-0) at Buena (0-2): If you're a Corona fan you like seeing the victories pile up (Westwood and St. Mary's so far). The Aztecs will add another this week vs. struggling Buena. Corona has a good chance of being unbeaten once it begins section play in October. The Aztecs section slate will be the true barometer of where the program is in what likely will be a one-year visit to D-II. Corona is led by running back Cameron Brice and efficient senior quarterback Austin Freese.

Chaparral (1-1) at Desert Edge (1-1):  Desert Edge bolstered its schedule with matchup vs. a D-I Chaparral. Not sure it's good to face Firebirds after losing tough game to PV and Chaparral coming off tough loss to Chandler. At worst i'ts good competition for Desert Edge, who has a relatively easy schedule from here on out. Chaparral's defense will be tested, but did a nice job last week against high-powered Chandler. It will be more interesting If QB Tehran Thomas returns from a foot injury for Desert Edge to see its offense at full bore against Chaparral's defense.

Basha (2-1) at Desert Vista (2-1): Basha tries to rebound from its first loss, a thrashing at the hands of Centennial. Ditto QB Ryan Kelley, who was limited to 120 yards passing last week and top wide out Hunter Dean-Gibson limited to30 yards receiving. Basha will continue to throw while Desert Vista, which has won two in a row, looks for ball control with running backs Lelon Dillard and Keishaud White to help slow the Bears and keep Kelley off the field.

Show Low (2-0) at Florence (2-0): Good D-IV cross-section matchup. Neither team has been fully tested yet so this should give the coaching staffs a bette idea how they stand. Florence, now with head coach Scott Howard shifting spots with Bill McKane, possesses a handful of playmakers in sophomore QB Jared Wood, senior RB Beau Griego and junior receiver Joshua Williams. Show Low counters with junior QB Rhett Ricedorff, senior RB Willie Wyatt and senior wide out Quentin Clark.

Tempe Prep (1-2) at Arizona Lutheran (1-1): Last year's D-V runner-up (Tempe Prep) vs. D-IV quarterfinalist Arizona Lutheran. Great series for these teams in the last six years with Arizona Lutheran winning three out of five meetings. All have been close, usual low-scoring affairs. Tempe Prep has lost two games in a row to D-IV Snowflake and last week in OT to D-IV Northwest Christian in a thriller.  ALA has a new coach in Dave Peter and is getting acclimated to some new faces on offense. Veteran quarterback Cameron Haag and receiver Gabe Galvan are off to strong starts. The running game has shifted to senior Tremell Carson, who is averaging more than 100 yards a game. Tempe Prep relies on a relentless rushing attack. This year the assignment falls to QB Gabe LeBeau and backs Isaiah Brittain and Connor Waltz.