Breaking down 4 quarterfinal matchups
Is it another collisions course for No. 1 Highland and No. 2 Chaparral?
Time will tell.
But after one playoff round, both look like they're well-equipped to make long runs.
The 6A bracket, however, might be the most unpredictable in the state. The parity is off the charts and any of the eight teams left have what it takes to win it all.
Let's break it down and predict who moves on:
6A Conference quarterfinals
No. 9 Casteel (5-6) at No.1 Highland (8-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Casteel survived Desert Vista 38-29 last week with a 21-point fourth quarter. The Colts face a much tougher defense in Highland, which is on a mission to capture its first 6A title after falling to Chaparral in last year's final. If the Colts can turn loose running back AJ Murphy like it did last week (168 yards on 20 carries), they have a chance. QB Landon Jury is efficient but he'll need help being protected against Highland's strong front seven. Highland beat Casteel 38-17 just two weeks ago when Murphy was held to 53 yards and Highland QB QB Gage Dayley went off for 291 yards and four TDs passing, completing 20 of 23. Expect more of the same.
Prediction: Highland 39, Casteel 21 No. 5 Brophy Prep (7-4) at No. 4 Red Mountain (10-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
It's not been easy for Red Mountain to get here. The Lions beat Centennnial
20-19 in the first round. They barely got by Higley 27-23 in the final week of the regular season. But they showed they're capable of beating anyone in the 23-21 win over Open Division team Queen Creek on Oct. 29. Linebacker Parker McClure has been showing why he is one of the state's top defensive players.
Against Brophy, the Lions will have to be ready for QB Elijah Warner and his talented receivers trying to pick the apart. Warner has thrown 25 TD passes with six of those going to Taj Hughes, who has a remarkable 80 catches this season. Hughes has 126 catches in his career. If Red Mountain can get big receiver Jakobi Lane and back/receiver Lenox Lawson loose and punish Brophy on the ground, it will win. But Brophy's
strength is on defense, especially that front line, led by Zac Swanson and Mardale Rowe, who both have 18.5 tackles for losses.
Prediction: Brophy Prep 18, Red Mountain 14
No. 11 Glendale Mountain Ridge (8-3) at No. 3 Gilbert Williams Field (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Mountain Ridge is playing with house money at this point. They have nothing to lose. And they're loose bunch, led by the dynamic junior tandem of QB Brendan Anderson and WR Terrance Hall. Hall has caught 17 of Anderson's 37 TD passes. These guys can light up a scoreboard in a hurry. But this figures to be a huge challenge against a fast, athletic, physical defense, led by junior middle linebacker Fili Snuka Laulu, who has 115 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
Williams Field beat both Red Mountain and Brophy Prep and scored 34 points in a the second half to put away explosive Anthem Boulder Creek in the first round, as QB C.J. Tiller threw for four TDs and Kaden Cloud surpassed 100 rushing yards. Mountain Ridge's second-half defense against Mesa Mountain View in a 40-35 first-round win shows how well the Lions coaches are able to adjust on the fly.
Can they do it against Williams Field? It's going to be close.
Prediction: Williams Field 35, Mountain Ridge 33
No. 10 Pinnacle (4-7) at No. 2 Chaparral (7-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
This should be fun. It's tough to beat the same team twice in the same season, let alone dominate them. Chaparral can't feel too comfortable after beating Pinnacle 42-0 two weeks ago. You know Pinnacle's going to adjust to QB Brayten Silbor, who passed for 298 yards and four TDs with Gavin Higley catching five passes for 194 yards and a TD. Now Pinnacle is aware that Chaparral has two big-play receivers in Higley and Grady Hickey (77 catches for 1,062 yards).
Chaparral limited Pinnacle's big-play targets of Duce Robinson and Myles Libman the last time they met. But the Pioneers are coming in with confidence after knocking off Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor 32-29 in the first round. Remember, Pinnacle battled Open team Liberty tough in a 33-27 loss and beat 5A power Salpointe Catholic 28-21. Expect a much better game this time around from Pinnacle.
Prediction: Chaparral 35, Pinnacle
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