Sept. 24-25 football at a glance

September 22, 2015 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


The last week of September football is upon us and the number of unbeaten teams is small, particularly in Division I and Division II.

The lone unscathed schools in D-I to this points are Hamilton and Mountain Pointe. Each has played solid schedule so far. D-II has a couple of D-I defectors with perfect marks -- Skyline and Corona del Sol. What these four have in common this week are quality opponents capable of knocking them from the ranks of the unbeaten. D-III has six unbeaten teams, D-IV eight, D-V six and D-VI four.

Here's a glance at some of the games featuring unbeatens and a few more for Thursday Sept. 24 and Friday Sept. 25:

THURSDAY SEPT. 24

Centennial (3-1) at Hamilton (5-0): Centennial hasn't skipped a beat moving up from D-II and Hamilton is still Hamilton without the fanfare as the season reaches its midpoint. Centennial's defense has been outstanding while Hamilton has seen an uptick in its offense from a year ago. These schools have met twice before splitting meetings in 2007 and 2008. Centennial enjoyed a bye last week and brings an offense led by quarterback Isaac Steele to south Chandler. The Coyotes prefer the ground game and it may be their ability to throw that's most critical if Hamilton can neutralize the rushing game. Hamilton is balanced and has more weapons who can do damage than in 2014. Quarterback Travis Lockhart got experience last year that's served him well.  

FRIDAY SEPT. 25

Pinnacle (3-1) at Mountain Pointe (4-0): Pinnacle has reeled of three consecutive victories -- the best one last week over Brophy. Freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler is learning at the highest level for the Pioneers and getting it done. Mountain Pointe is thankful for in-state transfer Marcarius Blount (running back) and out-of-state transfer Jack Smith (quarterback). They've powered the Pride's offense. The duo has accounted for 1,604 of 1.914 total yards for the Pride. Rattler had a tough go in his debut vs. Chandler, but has put up good numbers since.

Desert Ridge (3-1) vs. Brophy Prep (4-1) at Phoenix College: Brophy sustained its first loss last week on a Pinnacle field goal in the final minute. The Broncos must recover put that tough defeat behind them with the Jaguars coming their way in this D-I matchup. Both teams have fared better on the ground than through the air, although Brophy has the better passing attack. Desert Ridge relies mostly on RB Jathan Tenorio while Brophy looks to RB Ryan Velez. Brophy has missed wide out Robert Brooks Jr. the last couple games with Chad McClanahan and Noah Pittenger picking up the slack as targets for QB Cade Knox. Desert Ridge has a dangerous threat in Tavian Patrick on the ground occasionally or as a a receiver. This will be the fifth meeting between the schools -- all taking place in the last two years. They've split the previous four.  

Skyline (4-0) at Salpointe Catholic (2-2): Skyline continues to excel with a strong rushing game as they head to Tucson for a D-II battle with the respected Lancers. Skyline's headliner in the backfield is Amari'i Keyes. Keyes appears on his way to another 1,000-yard season with 673 yards and 10 TDs. Gaining in stature the last couple weeks to complement Keyes is RB Kaleb Hardin (384 yards, 6 TDs). Skyline may not be quite as polished a rushing team as Ironwood Ridge, which gouged Salpointe for 275 rushing yards last week in a 33-7 win. If Salpointe can't slow the rushing damage it could be a long night for the hosts. Skyline is flying high, but can''t afford to look past the always tough Lancers.

Corona del Sol (4-0) at Sandra Day O'Connor (3-2): Both schools dropped from from D-I to D-II this year although Corona had a miserable year in D-I last year (1-9) while SDO was 7-5 and reached postseason. Corona has played the easier schedule by far and will try for a fifth consecutive win. The Aztecs first four opponents are a combined 4-13. Corona is led by running backs Mason Carroll and Cameron Brice, who've teamed up for 797 yards and 11 TDs.  SDO has played three D-I teams in its first five games, losing to Brophy and Desert Ridge and beating Boulder Creek. SDO's opponents are 7-14 and three of those teams are winless (Boulder Cree, Willow Canyon and Millennium). The Eagles feature a balanced offense led by quarterback Bailin Markridge. Markridge helped guide the Eagles to a playoff berth last year and has accounted for 1,037 yards rushing and passing this season and  spread the ball around to four receivers.

Higley (3-1) at Queen Creek (2-2): Queen Creek plays its second former section mate in succession in the Knights, in this D-II clash. Queen Creek spotted Williams Field a 17-0 lead at halftime and a comeback ended up short in a 17-14 loss. Queen Creek has the ability to throw, but runs as much as possible. The ground game is led by Gavin Danielson, who has rushed for 522 yards in four games. Danielson has rushed for 100 yards or more in both of the Bulldogs' victories and been limited to under 100 in both defeats. Queen Creek's losses are to state runners-up from last year  -- Hamilton (D-I) and Wiliams Field (D-III). Higely prefers to throw the ball often. Junior quarterback Mason Crossland is averaging 33 passing attempts and 284 yards a game in the Knights' four games. Crossland's top four targets are underclassmen.

Gilbert (3-2) at Mesa High (3-1): These teams are riding high at the moment with the respite supplied competing in Division II. Gilbert's fourth coach in the last five years, is Derek Zellner. Zellner was on staff at Dobson the past couple seasons and was quarterback on Dobson's 1987 state title team. The Tigers have come along since an opening night loss to St. Mary's, winning three of four games with the one loss a respectable one to Williams Field. Gilbert is led by versatile running back Mario Meza, a good runner and receiver,  and sophomore quarterback Jack Plummer. The Tigers have rushed for slightly more yards than they've thown. Mesa has momentum as well with back-to-back wins over Shadow Ridge and Mesquite. The Jackrabbits lack depth, but fron tline players such as LB-RB Dylan Hendricks, RB Kris Jackson, WR Jackson Clement and WR-DB Elijah Cook are giving the Jackrabbits plenty of steady play.  

Maricopa (4-0) at Tempe High (1-3): These teams met the last two seasons with Tempe prevailing both times --one a shootout the other a defensive struggle --  in D-III shootouts. Tempe lacks the offensive firepower of recent seasons, but still has its eye on upsetting the unbeaten Rams. Maricopa quarterback Aaron Owens opened this season with a 537-yard, 6-touchdown performance through the air. He's been effective in two of his other three starts. Last year against Tempe he passed for 362 yards and five TDs. Tempe, coming off a 12-1 season that saw them lose in the D-III semis to Williams Field, averaged 46 points a game last year. This year the Buffaloes are scoring 16 points per game.  

Bagdad (5-0) vs. Pima (5-0) at Gilbert Christian HS: A preview of the 2015 D-VI championship game? Possibly. Bagdad has gone to the D-VI championship game the last two years winning one and losing one. Pima has been in the hunt the last four seasons reaching the semis all four years and advancing to the final in 2012. The Roughriders bowed the last two seasons to Mogollon. Both teams have shown they can score at will. Bagdad sophomore quarterback Israel Loveall passed for 797 yards and 19 TDs and added 180 yards rushing. He has two favorite receivers - Benjamon Loveall and Ea Fonte (15 catches each and a combined 13 TDs). Devin Nelson is the Sultans leading rusher with 466 yards. Pima's forte is running the ball led by senior RB Curtis Hancock. Quarterback Parker Blair is steady and twins Jarrett and Justin Kartchner make plays on both sides of the ball.