Don Ketchum
Former Staff Writer, AZPreps365.com

Whatever the motivation, win in finale would be sweet

November 3, 2010 by Don Ketchum, AZPreps365


By Don Ketchum
Different teams have different agendas entering the final regular-season weekend of big-school football in Phoenix and north-northeast-northwest Arizona.
If you are Peoria Liberty, you are looking for a second straight 10-0 regular season when you visit Goodyear Desert Edge in a Class 4A Division II Skyline Region game on Friday night.
If you are Desert Edge (7-2), you want to finish the best regular season in school history on a strong note and earn a good spot in the playoffs that begin next week.
How about if you are Phoenix Alhambra (0-9) or host Phoenix Carl Hayden (1-8)? You aren’t going to the playoffs, but a win in the finale would leave a sweet, not a bitter, taste.
The same thing is true for Flagstaff city rivals Flagstaff High (0-9) and Flagstaff Coconino (2-7). They meet again in Northern Arizona University’s Walkup Skydome at 7:30 on Friday night. The intensity would be the same if both were unbeaten, and this year’s game has the additional story line of transfers on both sides from now-closed Flagstaff Sinagua.
Other top games (Friday unless noted) . . .
Goodyear Millennium (7-2) at Avondale Westview (7-2) on Thursday night (Nov. 4). Westview is coming off a 41-21 loss to rival Peoria Centennial, and needs a strong finish to secure a good playoff spot in this Class 5A Desert West Region game. Millennium also wants to show that it won’t be left out of the playoff equation.
Phoenix Greenway (6-3) at Phoenix Washington (8-1).  Greenway will have to find a way to limit the damage from Washington dual-threat quarterback Devonte Smythe.
Glendale Raymond S. Kellis (7-2) at Peoria (7-2). Peoria continues to make a strong late-season push for what it hopes will be a long playoff run.
Phoenix Pinnacle (5-4) at Phoenix Horizon (7-2). It’s doubtful that anyone will be able to challenge fellow Class 5A Desert Valley team Scottsdale Chaparral, but these two teams are looking to get in. It obviously is more of a must-win for Pinnacle.
Prescott (5-4) at Phoenix Shadow Mountain (5-4). Shadow Mountain has had a solid second half under first-year coach Mike Giovando, and can reach the playoffs with a win, something a lot of the Matadors’ predecessors could not say.