The quarterfinals of the 6A AIA High School football playoffs are set to begin this weekend, highlighted by a much-anticipated Premier Region rematch as Tyler Shough and Jawhar Jordan Jr. lead the Hamilton Huskies into Perry High School to take on Brock Purdy and the Pumas.

The first meeting between the two squads just three weeks ago looked like something out of a video game, the teams combining for 1,519 yards of offense and 128 points as the Pumas edged Hamilton 65-63 in one of the more thrilling matchups of the season.

Behind a 549-total yard performance from Purdy, Perry (10-1, 3-1) set a 6A record with 809 yards of total offense, which is one of the top totals in state history across all conferences. Receiver D’shayne James also had a strong performance, hauling in 193 yards, throwing for 86 more and accounting for two touchdowns as the Pumas pulled out the victory.

The Huskies (8-3, 2-2) had a big night of their own offensively, led by stars Shough and Jordan. Senior quarterback Shough was 16-of-29 in the contest for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Not to be outdone, Jordan ran wild, going for 297 yards and six touchdowns as the Huskies fell just short.

Offensive production has been the story of the season for both squads, as Perry and Hamilton put up over 500 yards and 45 points per game, averaging 566.5 and 512.6 yards and 48.6 and 45.3 points, respectively.

For Hamilton, the story of the season on the offensive side has been the performances of Shough and Jordan. Shough has been among the best in the passing department this season, connecting on 160 of his 256 passes for 2,866 yards, good for seventh in the state. The senior has also shown the ability to protect the football, throwing just four interceptions on the year while tossing 28 touchdowns.

“More than performance, it’s his leadership,” said Hamilton head coach Richard Baniszewski on his quarterback's value. “Tyler is a great leader. He leads by example, he leads by hustle, practice, weight room, you name it, that’s who he is. He’s got ice, he can pull the trigger, he does not pucker, and he probably throws the deep ball as well as any high school kid that I’ve ever seen.”

The signal-caller has benefitted from the ability to spread the ball to an array of targets, highlighted by receivers Brenden Rice, Tim Lockhart and Brandon Schenks, who have combined for 1,811 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2017.

Jordan, meanwhile, has dominated the ground game, rushing for 1,757 yards this season (eighth in the state), including eight performances over 100 yards this season and finding the end zone 28 times, the second-best mark in 6A.

“If we can get Jawhar going, it makes things a lot easier for Tyler and the passing game,” said Baniszewski. “Jawhar is the kind of kid you can say, ‘alright, we going to do this and there’s going to be one defender unaccounted for. Jawhar, you got to take care of him one-on-one,' and a lot of times, that defender’s going to have a hard time tackling him in the open field.”

The Huskies carry playmakers on the defensive side of the ball as well, led by junior linebacker Ryan Guerrero, who heads the team with 95 tackles to go along with three sacks. Additionally, linebacker Noah Hedges and lineman Colin Maslin have combined for nine of the team’s 22 sacks, while senior defensive back Clayton Hooper is tied for third in 6A with six interceptions.

Perry, on the other hand, runs its offense in similar fashion to the Huskies, relying on the arm and rushing ability of Purdy, as well as a deep receiving core to operate one of the top attacks in the state.

Purdy has proven himself a true duel-threat quarterback, throwing for the second most yards of any Arizona quarterback this season with 3,174 and 42 touchdowns, while also leading the Pumas in rushing, collecting 796 yards on the ground and an additional seven rushing touchdowns.

“As Brock goes, the offense goes,” said Perry head coach Preston Jones. “Our offense has had quite a bit of success this year, and a large amount has to do with him and how he plays and how he runs the offense. He’s a good field general.”

The Perry offense also boasts two of the top receivers in 6A in James and Colby Dickie. Dickie this season has received 988 yards (fourth in 6A) to go along with seven touchdowns receptions. James has collected 767 yards of his own and proven to be a scoring threat, coming into Friday’s matchup eighth in 6A with 16 touchdowns, 11 of those receiving.

“D’shayne’s a big, physical body that is very athletic, and Colby’s a little smaller and shifty and runs great routes,” said Jones. “They were both good receivers last year, and they’ve got a year under their belt. So, they’re a year smarter, a year bigger, faster, and stronger, and so what they’re doing this year hasn’t been much of a surprise for us.”

The Pumas have also found success in the run game, and next to the rushing ability of Purdy, the ground attack has been complimented by a pair of senior backs in Kenny Fultz and Braylon Roberts. The duo have combined for 925 yards on the ground this season and 16 touchdowns, solidifying the Puma two-dimension offense.

On the flip side of the ball, the Puma defense is led by safeties Travis Calloway and Victor Nieto, who have accounted for 70 and 67 tackles, respectively, on the year. Additionally, the Perry defense has found success in the pass rush, and behind linemen Travis Calloway (11.5 sacks), Jobiin Sweatt (6.5 sacks) and Harley Scott (6 sacks), the Pumas have sacked opposing quarterbacks 28 times in 11 games this season.

Friday’s matchup is the second time in as many years in which Hamilton and Perry will go up against each other  in a 6A quarterfinal game, and marks one year to the day when Perry eliminated Hamilton in a back-and-forth shootout which saw Perry hang on for a 63-60 overtime victory.

Going back to last season, the Pumas have defeated the Huskies three straight times, two of which came by three points or less.

But Baniszewski and his team aren’t dwelling on anything and know that when it comes to games like these, the outcome is about heart, not excuses.

“There is no ‘try’ here, trying’s not going to get it done,” said Baniszewski. “We’ve talked about that a lot. Try all you want, they’ve done that, there’s going to be a winner, there’s going to be a loser, so, trying’s not good enough. Win or turn your stuff in, it’s that simple, and I think they get that. I think we need to go in with that mindset.”

Friday’s game kicks at 7 p.m. and can be streamed live at https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/azpreps365/f08267db90 and heard on the Fanatic (1580 AM and 99.3 FM).