AJ Peterson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Seton Catholic Prep for AZPreps365.com

This Friday in a 4A Desert Sky Region matchup, Seton Catholic Prep takes on Mesquite High School on the football field. The Mesquite Wildcats come in as the two-time defending 4A state champions, so this is no small matchup for the Sentinels. 

Seton has lost its last two games by seven and five points, respectively. Coach Pete Wahlheim recognizes close games are won and lost by penalties and big plays down the stretch.

“It just comes down to making one or two plays,” Wahlheim said, adding that the Sentinels have won a few close games as well. “We just make mistakes at critical times. It’s killing us.”

Despite their 2-3 record, the Sentinels find themselves ahead of the Wildcats in the region standings, as Seton is 1-0 in region play (51-48 victory over Ben Franklin on Sept. 17) while Mesquite is 0-1 in region play (20-14 loss to ALA—Queen Creek on Oct. 8). Junior quarterback Jake Morris and the Sentinels are looking forward to the matchup.

“We can really prove ourselves,” Morris said. “We really need to focus up [and] study our plays.”

The Wildcats have started the season 3-3 and enter Friday’s matchup on a two-game losing skid, both losses coming by seven points or less — just as Seton’s did. Two of Mesquite’s losses, however, have come against two of the top teams in the state at the 4A level: ALA—Queen Creek and Cactus. Although the Sentinels find themselves on the road this week, assistant coach Dirk Young doesn’t believe much changes in terms of game preparation. 

“It is a foreign territory, but you still prep the same way,” Young said.

Wahlheim spoke fondly of the Wildcats’ well-balanced offense, led by quarterback Gerardo Saenz and running back Blake Corner, both seniors. Corner is currently second in the Desert Sky Region with 738 rushing yards, while Saenz is third in the region with 1123 passing yards on the year. The Sentinels will no doubt be focused on stopping those two.

“It’s kind of basic football: get after the passer and tackle,” Wahlheim said. “We’ve just gotta play as a unit.”

The Wildcats aren’t the only ones with talent on the offensive side of the ball. Both Morris and senior running back Mikey Castro find themselves right behind the aforementioned Wildcats on the Desert Sky Region leaderboards. Castro has rushed for 512 yards, good for third most in the region, and has also added nine touchdowns, the second most in the region. Morris has thrown for 933 yards, good for fourth in the region. Not to mention, senior wide receiver Mikey Williamson leads the region in receiving, with 519 yards, adding seven touchdowns as well. 

This game not only has potential playoff implications, but it also has some history. In 2019, the first of Mesquite’s back-to-back 4A state titles, the Sentinels got the best of the Wildcats, beating them 41-39 on a game-winning field goal, Young mentioned. In 2020, Mesquite beat down on Seton, winning 50-8. Seton hopes to avenge that loss this go-around. 

“Our kids have lots of confidence,” Wahlheim said. “We’ll show up and give them a run for their money.”

When it’s all said and done, the winner of Friday’s game will be in a prime position to make this year’s state tournament. Whether it is Seton at 2-0 in region play, or Mesquite at 1-1 with a tiebreaker over Seton is yet to be seen. It all goes down Friday night in Gilbert. 

“Practice needs to be perfect this week,” Morris said. “We’ve gotta win.”