SPOTLIGHT

Reese has averaged 260.3 passing yards per game with an 8-to-1 touchdown-tointerception ratio — compared to 155 and 0-to-4, respectively.

The key to the two big wins against the Colts in 2016 is going to be crucial yet again for the Shamrocks in this regionopener tonight.

“It goes back to kind of what happened last year, controlling the line of scrimmage,” Cheatwood said.

REST OF THE SLATE Valley Vista at Cibola, 7 p.m.

The Raiders got off to a 1-4 start for the first time in four years, with their only win coming against Gila Ridge, but rebounded nicely last Friday at Alhambra.

Now, the Lions did come in at No. 40 (last in 6A) in the first edition of the AIA rankings, but that does not take away from a dominant 28-0 win for Cibola (2-4 AIA) on both sides of the ball. Senior running back Jesse Escott has been a force since taking over as the feature back in the team’s fourth game of the season. He has eclipsed 100 yards in all three games, totaling 350 for the season to go along with five touchdowns.

Valley Vista (3-2 AIA) has won three straight games following an 0-2 start and beat the Raiders, 42-34, when these two met in Surprise a year ago.

Kofa at Copper Canyon, 7 p.m.

The Kings are ranked 11 spots ahead of Copper Canyon, at No. 23 compared to 34th, but that might not be indicative of this matchup.

A year ago, the Aztecs roughed up the Kings, who had a 5-1 record entering the contest, by a score of 58-0. Copper Canyon out-gained Kofa, 568-21, in yardage and held Kofa running back David Castaneda to 13 yards on eight carries.

Kofa (2-3 AIA) and Copper Canyon (2-3 AIA) do have one common opponent this year: Trevor G. Browne. The Kings beat the Bruins by 11 in their season-opener, and the Aztecs won by 29 last week.

Kofa bounced back from a three-game losing skid last week with a 12-6 win against rival Yuma High.

Yuma High at Buckeye Union, 7 p.m.

It was a promising start to the season for the Criminals, with wins against Parker and Calexico (Calif.) to achieve their first 2-0 record since 2008.

But Yuma High (2-3 AIA) has had a rough go since then against the Imperial Valley schools — 27-3 loss to Brawley, 50-0 loss to Southwest — and Kofa in last week’s game. Buckeye Union (3-2 AIA) has taken care of the opponents it was supposed to beat with wins by 35 points or more against Tempe, Coronado and Washington. But against the tougher opponents, No. 3-ranked Peoria and No. 5 Sunrise Mountain, the Hawks have lost.

This will be the region-opener for both teams. Buckeye Union — which eventually won the 4A Southwest region and reached the playoffs — won this matchup, 42-14, last year.

Gila Ridge at Southwest (Calif.), 7 p.m.

The Hawks have already won more games (two) this year than in 2016 (1-9 record), and while their 2-3 record is not exactly what Corey Semler wanted to see in the first half of his debut season as head coach, the team has stayed in games late. Last week at Brawley (Calif.), they were only losing by three points with seven minutes left before the Wildcats tacked on three touchdowns.

This week, however, Gila Ridge has to take on an opponent that has given local teams a nightmare over the past two seasons. In their past three games, Southwest (4-0 overall) has defeated Cibola, Kofa and Yuma High by a combined score of 147-7. The Eagles swept the YUHSD schools the past two seasons and have a 9-0 record against them since 2015.

Antelope at AZ College Prep, 7 p.m.

The Rams (1-3 AIA, 0-2 2A Metro East) get a nice draw to potentially break a three-game losing streak. AZ College Prep (1-4 AIA, 1-1 2A Metro East) is a first-year varsity program out of Chandler and has struggled so far. In their four losses, the Knights have been shutout three times, but they did get a 25-0 win two weeks ago in their 2A Metro East opener against Scottsdale Prep.

Valley Lutheran at San Pasqual, 7 p.m.

The Warriors (1-4 AIA) got their first win of the season last week at Anthem Prep, edging the Eagles, 62-26. The defensive improvement stood out most in that win for San Pasqual, as the team had surrendered an average of 58.8 points per game prior.

Valley Lutheran (3-2 AIA) has lost two games in a row after starting off 3-0.

PICKS

Warner: VALLEY VISTA over Cibola, COPPER CANYON over Kofa, BUCKEYE UNION over Yuma High, SOUTHWEST over Gila Ridge, CASTEEL over Yuma Catholic, ANTELOPE over AZ College Prep, VALLEY LUTHERAN over San Pasqual

Grady: VALLEY VISTA over Cibola, COPPER CANYON over Kofa, BUCKEYE UNION over Yuma High, SOUTHWEST over Gila Ridge, CASTEEL over Yuma Catholic, ANTELOPE over AZ College Prep, VALLEY LUTHERAN over San Pasqual