What we learned in Week 4
This was a pivotal week in Arizona high school football, a week in which much was learned about a number of teams there were still questions about, the marquee players took over, a Hail Mary was received, national noise was made, and a couple of freshmen came of age.
Let’s catch up on what took place the past couple of days in Week 4 of The Arizona Republic’s Rewind:
Biggest takeaway
In the biggest win against an outof-state team for any Arizona school this year, Chandler left no doubt that it is a Top 25 team in the nation in its dominating 35-10 win over Orange Lutheran out of California. OL came into the game as a Top 25 team in the nation but never led, as the Wolves jumped out to a 14-0 lead before everybody filed into Austin Field on Friday night. Orange Lutheran (3-1) was supposed to be one of the top five teams in California and won a game at Concord De La Salle, which rarely if ever loses at home. They’re humungous on the front line, but the Wolves’ defensive front was quicker off the snap, put pressure on the quarterback and Austin “Scooby” Bradley had the backbreaking play of the game, returning an interception back for a touchdown to get Chandler (3-0) out to the early 14-0 lead. Nobody doubted Chandler still is among the Open title contenders with a fast, physical defense that has always been there. But after the offense struggled in two losses to Chandler Basha and a loss to Chandler Hamilton last year, everybody wanted to see how the Wolves’ offense would respond behind Blake Heffron at quarterback after Dylan Raiola left for Pinnacle, then, figuring that the AIA would make him sit the first five games, to Buford, Georgia. The real first test came against Orange Lutheran, and the Wolves delivered in a way that it would be a shock if they’re not back in the Top 25 nationally come Monday.
On the rise
There are a couple of freshmen that high school football fans need to start seriously looking at: Phoenix Central quarterback Cam Allen and Basha tailback Noah Roberts. Three games into their varsity careers, they’ve already made major impacts for their teams.
Central is 3-0 behind Allen, whose dad Mat is the offensive coordinator. Cam had his most impressive game yet in Thursday’s 41-14 rout of Mesa Dobson, passing for 306 yards and two TDs on 18 of 23 passing. Through three games, he is 38 of 49 for 737 yards and 10 TDs and the biggest stat, no interceptions.
Roberts was a key player in Basha’s 35-31 comeback win at Scottsdale Saguaro on Friday, catching a pass over the middle from Demond Williams Jr., and outrunning the secondary on his way to a 42-yard touchdown with a little mroe than four minutes to play that gave the Bears a 35-31 lead. Saguaro got stopped on its next drive, and Basha bounced back from that 22-21 loss to Gilbert Highland. Afterward, the senior Williams, who accounted for all five of Basha’s TDs, predicted Roberts would be among the top running backs in the nation at the end of the season. Roberts looks like he’s headed that way. Coach Chris McDonald likes to rotate backs, but in the limited number of touches Roberts has had so far, he looks like the closest thing I’ve seen to former Brophy Prep great Mike Mitchell from the early 1990s with his combo of size, speed and power.
Best Hail Mary
With 19 seconds left, after Lakeside Blue Ridge had scored the go-ahead touchdown, Cottonwood Mingus quarterback Reighns Stokes faked left, before letting loose a 50-yard pass that Mikey Grijalva caught for the touchdown and a 28-27 win, spoiling Blue Ridge’s homecoming before a big crowd. It was Mingus’ first win in four games. Mingus is a 4A team. It was the first loss for 3A Blue Ridge (3-1), which battled, behind the great play of wide receiver David Simmons, who caught two TD passes, including the go-ahead score late in the game, before Mingus’ heroics.
Best defenses to start season
Take your pick on the best defense in Arizona: Peoria Centennial, Peoria Liberty or Chandler. All three schools, in my book, have the best defenses in the state. Just look up their scores and the competition it came against. Centennial shut out a Desert Edge team in the opener, and, since then, Desert Edge has put up 35 points in a win over Notre Dame Prep and 54 in a shutout of Camelback. Liberty held Hamilton and Sandra Day O’Connor each to a combined 34 point in game in which the running clock was used, then shut out Queen Creek 56-0 Friday, another running clock. Chandler held Orange Lutheran to its lowest point-total of the season.
Best breakthrough
Glendale Copper Canyon not only scored its first points of the season, but it got its first win by flipping the script. After getting shut out 17-0 in the first half by new program Maricopa Desert Sunrise, the Aztecs went on a 21-0 run in the second half to win 21-17. The season was officially kick-started by linebacker Manuel Torres, who intercepted a pass in Desert Sunrise territory and returned it for a touchdown for Copper Canyon’s first points in three games. The defense forced two more turnovers that led to junior Nolan Huizar’s two TD passes to Sean Dinkins. Adam Farr had two interceptions in big moments to help Copper Canyon celebrate it first win in one calendar year. The last time Copper Canyon won a game was Sept. 9 of last year, a 12-6 overtime win over Tucson Rincon University. It then got shut out the next three games and lost its last six games of last season.
Around the state
—Top-ranked (4A) Oro Valley Canyon del Oro improved to 3-0 with a 5020 win over Tucson Desert View, as senior running back/linebacker Kayden Luke (5-11, 220) ran for 241 yards and three TDs on 12 carries. He leads the Dorados in tackles, playing nearly every snap on defense. Coach Dusty Peace says he’s “gotta be one of the top twoway players in the state.”
—Phoenix Arizona Lutheran racked up 327 rushing yards on 49 carries and Rylan Bass caught two passes for 133 yards to go with his 106 rushing yards in a 56-36 2A win over visiting Camp Verde. And, oh yeah, the 3-0 Coyotes converted all seven of their two-point conversions.
—Gilbert Higley dug deep to pull itself out of a first-half hole and beat Marana 29-24 in a 5A game between top-10 teams. Daxen Hall had his best game of his career, rushing for 305 yards and four TDs, as Higley made adjustments to the line play and kept the Tigers off the board in the second half.
—Casa Grande Vista Grande’s defense has yet to give up a point in the school’s first-ever 3-0 start, as it shut out Queen Creek Crismon 43-0.
—Snowflake, which plays in 4A now, let 3A Show Low know who rules the White Mountain in football with a 55-17 thumping, behind QB Brennan Bryant’s 241 yards passing and Karter Raban’s 88 yards rushing.
—Phoenix Brophy Prep, playing Phoenix Sunnyslope for the first time since 1983, turned it up several notches defensively, and sacked Oregon-commit Luke Moga four times and kept him under 100 yards passing in a 49-7 win that shows how much that 35-34 loss to Williams Field to start the season has resonated with the 2-1 Broncos. Bastian Vander Bosch and Brandon Byrne each had two sacks and Cree Thomas returned an interceptions for a TD.
Games of the Week
There are two big ones this week and we’ll be covering both. On Thursday, the rivalry continues between Phoenix Pinnacle and Phoenix Horizon, both 3-0, in a 7 p.m., battle at Horizon. Horizon’s defense faces its first huge challenge to try to stop QB Wyatt Horton, after outscoring its first three opponents 177-17.
Friday, Goodyear Desert Edge (2-1) plays host to 3-0 Higley in a rematch of last year’s 5A quarterfinal that Higley won 45-42.