Football workouts begin in earnest Monday (July 25)

July 24, 2016 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


It used to be only a handful of schools began football practice early to play openers during "zero week". Not this year.

School who begin practice Monday (July 25) do so because their first game takes place Aug. 18, 19 or 20. That gives them the requisite workout and conditiioning time to prepare for a first game - 3 1/2 weeks. The same goes for schools who begin play on Aug. 25, 26 or 27. They begin practice on Aug. 1.

So how many schools and games is that exactly for Zero Week 2016? It's 98 schools and 49 games. That's 40 percent of the schools in the state.

The first game of the season -- one on Aug. 18 -- is in Tucson. It matches Sahuaro at Sabino. Forty-five games are set for Friday Aug. 19. Some of the games that might pique fans' interest that night are Chandler at Red Mountain, Boulder Creek at Hamilon, Williams Field at Arcadia, Westview at Basha, Queen Creek at Cesar Chavez, Sandra Day O'Connor at Mountain Pointe, Desert Vista at Perry, Junipero Serra, Calif. at Saguaro, Salpointe at St. Mary's and Skyline at Westwood.

Three games conclude the first week, highlighted by the Sollenberger Classic doubleheader at Coconino High School. Matchups that day are Brophy Prep vs. Pinnacle at 1 p.m. followed by Desert Edge vs. Centennial at 6 p.m. Desert Edge won the D-III title last year and Centennial won D-I. Both are competing in D-II (now 5A) this season.