The 2015 Division I through V football playoffs are in semifinal mode with a mix of familiar and foreign faces battling across the divisions.

The familiar are: D-I quartet (Chandler, Desert Ridge, Centennial and Mountain Pointe); Marcos de Niza, Westview and Saguaro (D-II); Desert Edge (D-III); Snowflake and Northwest Christian (D-IV) and Joy Christia and Round Valley (D-V). Those 12 schools have advanced to the semis or better at least twice counting this season and dating back to 2010. The rest have been no-shows to that end until this year -- Skyline, Paradise Valley, Sunnyslope, Verrado, Pusch Ridge, Lake Havasu, Benson and American Leadership Academy.

All Division I, II and III semis are Friday (Nov. 20) at 7 p.m. The D-IV and D-V semis are Saturday (Nov. 21) at either 2 p.m. or 6 p.m. as indicated below. A glance at each semifinal matchup:

DIVISION I

Desert Ridge (10-2) vs. Chandler (11-1) at Hamilton HS: Desert Ridge is discounting the blowout loss to Chandler back in early September (60-39), taking a that-was-then, this-is-now approach. Desert Ridge went right at Chaparral last week, pretty much discarding the pass and running to victory with a good defensive effort in tow. That is likely the recipe to beat Chandler for any opponent. Ball control and scoring enough to offset the Wolves' high-powered offense. Desert Ridge rushed 41 times last week and passed nine. Chandler quarterback Mason Moran did a number on D-Ridge last time, passing for 300 yards and rushing for 135 more.  

Centennial (9-3) vs. Mountain Pointe (12-0) at Desert Vista HS: The teams have played just once in their nearly quarter-of-century existence. That was in their infancy -- 1991 with Mountain Pointe prevailing. Now they are perennial title contenders. Both operate with huge offensive lines, and of course, run the ball well. Trench warfare the matchup to watch. Noone has put the kabosh on Mountain Pointe quarterback Jack Smith, who has accounted for nearly 2,800 yards of offense and is 84 yards shy of 1,000 rushing for the season. Centennial relies on several backs to carry its ground attack, led by Quentin Gomez, while Smith and Marcarius Blount are the Pride's dynamic tandem.

DIVISION II

Marcos de Niza (11-2) vs. Skyline (12-0) at Mesa Mtn. View HS: Both schools whacked opponents they faced in the regular season last week to advance. Marcos avenged one of its losses in a big way to Ironwood Ridge while Skyline was more dominant the second time in sending Mesa High to a second defeat. Marcos de Niza has more speed, but Skyline has proven methodical with a ground-and-pound running game and the efficient running of its offense by quarterback T.J. Duarte. Keeping opponents off-balance with Duarte's ability is a weapon for Skyline. The Coyotes sport two 1,000-yard rushers (Amarii Keyes and Kaleb Hardin) while Marcos de Niza is usually more prolific via the pass. That wasn't the case last week when Marcos rushed for 344 yards .  

Saguaro (10-2) vs. Westview (10-2) at Sunrise Mountain HS: Saguaro had the look of a state champion last week in drubbing Queen Creek. The Sabercats defense enjoyed one of its best games of the season (good timing) and the offense was productive as usual. Westview wins with its rushing attack and that was in good stead last week in knocking off Williams Field. The Knights piled up 300 yards on the ground led by the duo of Tyler Vasko and Stacy Campbell (over 100 yards each rushing vs. Williams Field). Defenses have to key on Saguaro running back Stone Matthews and wide out Byron Murphy and even if they do, the pair are nearly unstoppable. Quarterback Kare Lyles can locate help when those two are blanketed and that comes in the form of receiver Julian Carter and tight end Jared Polawski. Westview must run the ball effectively and chew up clock to have a shot.  

DIVISION III

Sunnyslope (11-1) vs. Paradise Valley (12-0) at North Canyon HS: It's check-up time for Sunnyslope, which suffered its only loss to Paradise Valley. That took place on Sept. 11 in a big way, 51-13. PV has handled most of its opponents in similar fashion. The Trojans margin of victory in their games is 35 points (53-18). PV faced three teams in the regular season who reached the playoffs and two of them are still alive (Sunnyslope and Desert Edge). Sunnyslope's schedule proved light with the only playoff team faced during the season, Paradise Valley. PV quarterback Daniel Bridge-Gadd and receivers Jacob Brown and Jim Dragon victimized Sunnyslope in the regular season scoring all seven of the Trojans' TDs. Bridge-Gadd passed for 323 yards and three TDs. Sunnyslope was close at halftime (down 21-13), but failed to make a game of it after intermission. Sunnyslope's offense is the running game. The Vikings have rushed for 800 yards in their playoff wins. Senior back Jeff Goebel has 539 yards rushing and six TDs in postseason. Goebel was limited to a season-low 87 yards by PV in their meeting in September.

Verrado (10-1) vs. Desert Edge (10-2) at Millennium HS: This semi is also a rematch when Desert Edge prevailed, 49-23, on Oct. 30. Like the Sunnyslope-PV meeting, Verrado hung tough for a half (down 21-9) before faltering in the second half. Desert Edge is rolling now that quarterback Tehran Thomas is healthy again. Thomas missed three games --  Paradise Valley, Chaparral and Peoria. PV and Chaparral games were losses. Thomas amassed 220 yards rushing against Verrado three weeks ago when the Scorpions ran up more than 400 yards on the ground. Thomas rushed for 160 yards last week in a victory over Cesar Chavez. Verrado must play better defense to have a chance. On offense the Vipers are led by senior quarterback Lathon Lax and sophomore running back Ja'Tai Jenkins. 

SATURDAY NOV. 21 (Games at Arcadia HS) 

DIVISION IV

2 p.m. -- Lake Havasu (11-1) vs. Pusch Ridge (11-1): Two years ago Lake Havasu competed in D-II and Pusch Ridge in D-V. Neither has won or played in a championship game so that ends for the winner. Lake Havasu knocked off Casa Grande and Show Low to advance and Pusch Ridge dispatched Payson and last year's champ River Valley.  Lake Havasu isn't picky in how it moves the ball. The Knights rushed for better than 300 yards in knocking off Casa Grande and followed up passing for more than 400 yards in defeating Show Low. Lake Havasu is led by junior quarterback Jack Warner and senior running back Jacob Kalogonis. Pusch Ridge, which had never advanced to the semifinals in football until this season,  found a way to score 38 points with only 246 yards of offense against Payson in the first round. In last week's quarterfinals its rushing attack was limited to 89 yards, but two passing scores and a great defensive stand in the final seconds combined to eliminate River Valley. Running backs James Raica and Tamerat McLeod pace the ground game that's piled up more than 3,100 yards.

6 p.m. -- Northwest Christian (10-2) vs. Snowflake (11-1): These are proud programs accustomed to deep runs in postseason. NWC has been more successful of late at the end game winning two titles in the last five years and reaching the semis or better for the fifth time in six years. Snowflake has playing in the semifinals for the fourth time in the last six years with no titles in that span. The Lobos lost in the title game last year, but have 10 titles in school history. NWC, like Pusch Ridge, moved up to D-IV this year. The Crusaders avenged a three-TD loss to Yuma Catholic in late October last week with a shocking 48-0 win over rival and defending D-V champ Yuma Catholic. NWC is averaging 50 points a game in its playoff wins over Flowing Wells and Yuma Catholic. Quarterback Drew Inness and running back Travis Pollay are the focal points of the offense. Inness has thrown for 2,415 yards and 37 TDs. He has four targets with 450 yards or more receiving. Snowflake has a pair of solid wins beating Dysart easily in the first round and taking charge in the second half last week to eliminate Estrella Foothills. Snowfake posted second-half shutouts in both games. Snowflake's offense is led by senior quarterback Tyler Claridge, junior running back  Zach Solomon and junior receiver JT Tate.   

DIVISION V (Games at Fountain Hills HS)

2 p.m. -- Round Valley (10-2) vs. Joy Christian (11-0): Joy Christian seemingly has played at a higher level than any team in the division this season. The Eagles season-low scoring is 40 points and has outscored opponents 670-150. The only playoff teams it faced were Paradise Honors and Round Valley. Round Valley is the team that gave Joy Christian its toughest game -- a 40-29 loss in early September. Joy Christian can light it up through the air with quarterback Matt Mitchell and the speedy receiving tandem of DuJuan Lawrence and Isaiah Goodspeed. Mitchell has accounted for more than 3,000 yards of offense rushing and passing and 47 TDs. He's also a running threat. Junior running back Tyler Graham ran for three TDs in last week's 74-34 win over Bisbee. Round Valley is led by quarterback Kyron Woolf and running back Sullivan Udall. Both have rushed for more than 1,000 yards. Round Valley advanced to the semis with a 12-7 win over Tempe Prep.

6 p.m. -- American Leadership Academy (11-1) vs. Benson (12-0): Both teams were one and done in the playoffs last year and resolved to go further this time, enjoying outstanding seasons in going deeper.  Benson has dominated Hopi and Miami in the first two rounds while American Leadership breezed past Paradise Honors and edged Santa Cruz last week -- the only team it's lost to this season. American Leadership has the makings of a contender now and in the future with its top skill players juniorsor sophomores. Junior quarterback Dallin Edwards is a dual-threat. Junior running back Jermiah Boyd has rushed for nearly 1,500 yards and top receivers Haiden Stowers and Bujon Boyd have teamed up for 23 TD receptions. Both are sophomores. Benson thrives with the running game and doesn't rely on just one back to do most of the damage. A trio of juniors -- Brandon Laird, Keegan Graf and Alex Hernandez are all effective. Senior quarterback Nick Hernandez has been solid when called upon to throw.