Week 5 marked by records, recoveries and resiliency
It was one of the wildest weeks in Arizona high school football history with big scores, record performances, and incredible resourcefulness.
From the White Mountains to the Valley, it was off-the-charts craziness, including one the wildest games in recent memory in Goodyear.
Let's wind back Week 5:
What we learned in Week 5: Don't sleep on Higley
Goodyear Desert Edge and Gilbert Higley played into two overtimes Friday night in a game that actually felt more like an Open Division playoff than a regular-season 5A contest. And even though defending 5A champion Higley was on the short end of a 38-32 loss after recovering from a 25-0 first-half hole, don't count the Knights out of any Open spot at the end.
This team will be way different the second half of the season when highly recruited junior quarterback Luke Haugo becomes eligible, along with three top receivers, after transfer moves forcing them to sit out the first half of the season. But just when you're thinking Haugo can't get eligible soon enough, sophomore QB Gunner Fagrell shook off four turnovers and rallied the Knights with three TD passes and a scoring run to tie the score 32-32 and send the game into overtime. Coach Eddy Zupey will have some interesting decisions to make when Haugo becomes eligible. Does he play both quarterbacks? Or will it be Haugo's offense the rest of the way? Fagrell has definitely earned his keep during this 3-1 start for the Knights.
On the other side, Desert Edge (3-1), which lost its only game 13-0 against Peoria Centennial to open the season, is keeping its Open hopes alive, and shouldn't lose the second half of the season when running back Markhi McKinnon and receiver Jaqua Anderson become eligible. It also will have a kicker and punter with the eligibility of former Millennium specialist Kole Rogers.
But next week will be Desert Edge's biggest challenge. It will have to play Sunnyslope without quarterback Hezekiah Millender, who will serve a onegame suspension after being ejected for taunting after throwing a TD pass late in the third quarter that gave his team a 32-20 lead. Desert Edge struggled mightily on offense without Millender in the final quarter and in overtime. If the Carter twins, Marcus and Mark, figure a way to escape Sunnyslope without Millender at the wheel, then those guy have to be strongly considered for Coaches of the Year.
Biggest takeaway from Week 5: Central's legitimacy
It shows how far Phoenix Union district school Phoenix Central has come under coach Chandler Hovik by his response to losing at Phoenix Mountain Pointe 28-21. Mountain Pointe will get 27 transfers in another two weeks, but this still is a Mountain Pointe program taking major steps under Eric Lauer to get back to the relevancy it had during the Norris Vaughan era, during which the Pride was a top-5 team in the nation in 2013 when it won its only state title going 14-0.
To not have the doors blown open by Mountain Pointe shows the legitimacy of this Central team that is seeking its first playoff win since 1974. And, when you have a freshman QB as poised and confident and accurate as Cam Allen, and you have a big-time transfer move-in from Tennessee in running back Khameron Athy, this Central team has a legit shot at breaking that long drought.
Here's what Hovik said about losing to one of the East Valley blue bloods:
"No ribbon for second place," he said in a text on Saturday morning. "We let a special opportunity get away last night. Our guys aren't happy about keeping it close. We felt we let one slip away last night. We didn't play Central football four four quarters. Shut them out in quarters one, three and four. Too many mistakes in the second quarter to beat a good football team. We know what we have in our locker room and we're looking forward to our homecoming game Friday against North Canyon."
Best record performances: Apollo, Paradise Honors
It took only nine carries for Glendale Apollo senior running back Adam Mohammed to enter the AIA record book. And it took 10 TD passes for Surprise Paradise Honors senior quarterback Gage Baker to join him.
Mohammed, who is headed to Arizona with two of his linemen, scored four TDs on his nine carries in a 48-0 win over Avondale West Point, giving him 78 touchdowns in his career, breaking the previous 5A state record of 76.
"Adam has been the foundation of our program for the last three years," coach Aaron Wall said. "He makes us go."
In Paradise Honors' 69-15 rout at Show Low, Baker was 21 of 28 for 564 yards and 10 TDs passing. The TD total broke his own 3A single-game record of nine, and tied the 11-man state record with former Phoenix Washington QB Mario Armendarez, who threw for 10 TDs in a 2015 game against Avondale Agua Fria.
Not sure how many 3A teams see spread, wide-open passing attacks like Paradise Honors, but what Baker is doing is freaky good. Since a loss to Mohave in the second game of the season, Baker has tossed 25 TD passes in his last three games, giving him 32 in just five games this season. He's on pace to throw 64 TD passes in the regular season (and playoff stats count in the record book). The single-season state record for TD passes is 11-man football is 67, set by Yuma Catholic's Richard Stallworth at the 3A level in 2021.
Best scoring outputs
What got into Queen Creek? And Waddell Canyon View, for that matter?
In game where defense seemed like an afterthought, Queen Creek survived Canyon View 71-61 in one of the highscoring games in state history. And Queen Creek's 71 points wasn't the most on Friday night in Arizona high school football. Winkleman Hayden, in a 1A, 8man game, scored 83 in a 57-point win over Chandler Lincoln Prep.
Lucas George and Tait Reynolds led the offensive eruption that gave Queen Creek (1-3) its first win. George ran for 365 yards and three TDs, and Reynolds, a sophomore QB, ran for 179 yards and five TDs to go with his 130 passing yards and TD.
"Our defense got a few stops and we were able to keep scoring," Queen Creek coach Travis Schureman said.
Around the state
—Defending Open champion Chandler Basha needed only three quarters from Demond Williams Jr., after the Bears were pushed to the end in the last two weeks by Gilbert Highland and Scottsdale Saguaro. Williams completed 20 of 21 passes for 260 yards and four TDs in a 45-7 win over Mesa Mountain. The Arizona commit has completed 83.3% of his passes in a 3-1 start.
—Morenci missed a field goal in the final seconds that would have forced OT, and Lakeside Blue Ridge won 24-21. "We are a 56-yard Hail Mary away from being 5-0," coach Jeremy Hathcock said. "Lotta work to do." Blue Ridge's only loss came during its homecoming last week on that Hail Mary pass at the end in a 28-27 loss to Cottonwood Mingus, a 4A team.
—For the second straight week, Eagar Round Valley lost a game in the closing seconds. After losing to Thatcher 22-20 two weeks ago on a missed last-second field goal, the Elks fell to San Tan Valley Poston Butte 20-18, after Poston Butte drove 80 yards in the last minute to score the winning TD.
—Super 10 top-ranked Peoria Liberty (4-0) needed just one quarter to roll up 35 points on rival Sunrise Mountain, then called off the dogs in a 48-0 rout, leading up to next week's big showdown in California against national powerhouse Centennial. Liberty is ranked No. 18 nationally but might make a bigger move in the national rankings with a win in Cali. But this should be the first time for Liberty that a game doesn't end before 9:30 p.m. with a running clock. Centennial's only two losses came against No. 1 nationally ranked Mater Dei (28-14 on Aug. 18) and No. 2 nationally ranked Las Vegas Bishop Gorman (56-28 on Sept. 8).
Game of the Week
Phoenix Brophy Prep (3-1) travels to play Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep (3-1) next Friday in a huge game for both teams. Brophy has one of the better defenses in the state, while Notre Dame features The Republic's No. 1 Dynamic Duo in QB Noah Trigueros and WR Cooper Perry.