1st and 10: High school football story lines for Week 9
With two games left in the regular season for 11-man football, story lines heat up with playoff hopes on the line and records about to be broken.
Where do the top teams line up and who is chasing who for the final playoff spots?
It is Week 9 and let the dominoes fall.
Here are 10 of the more intriguing story lines across the state:
No. 10 Homecoming king?
Avondale Westview (6-2) at Goodyear Millennium (4-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
This could be for the Division I, Section II championship with both teams at 3-0 in section play. Millennium still has to play Laveen Cesar Chavez, which Westview already has beaten. Westview is led by running back Jalen Johnson. This is homecoming for Millennium, which has been up and down, struggling with injuries but the line is healthy and another Diggs, Andrew, has returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
No. 9 Passing torch
Chandler (7-1) at Chandler Basha (5-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
If you want to see two of the state's best quarterbacks, here is the place. Chandler senior Bryce Perkins threw for six touchdowns passes against Gilbert Perry last week, while Basha's Ryan Kelley, a sophomore, passed for six TDs last week against Gilbert Highland. Perkins has committed to Arizona State. Kelley got the first of what figures to be many more offers to come over the weekend from ASU.
No. 8 Urgent care
Payson (5-3) at Lakeside Blue Ridge (4-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
Great Division IV matchup with Blue Ridge playing with playoff urgency. It doesn't want to be denied a playoff spot after winning it all last year. But the Yellow Jackets are teetering on the edge, ranked 14th this week. Payson, ranked 10th in the MaxPreps playoff rankings, had won four in a row, before giving up 65 points to Snowflake last week.
No. 7 Long ride
Parker (7-1) at Mohave Valley River Valley (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
This could be a Division IV quarterfinal matchup. River Valley will ride workhorse running back Brandon Long as far as his powerful legs can take them. Parker has a been collection of hard-nosed players, finding ways to win. But this will be its biggest test to date.
No. 6 Championship form
Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge (7-1) at Tucson Salpointe Catholic (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Defending state champion Salpointe needs to win this Division II game in order to keep its hopes alive for securing a home field in the first round of the playoffs. Ironwood Ridge hasn't lost since the season-opening 24-20 setback at Peoria Liberty. Since beating Vail Cienega 17-7 the following week, nobody has come close to challenging the 2012 state champs. Salpointe's Dennis Bene and Ironwood Ridge's Matt Johnson are two of the best coaches in Arizona, matching wits.
No. 5 Power shift
Snowflake (7-1) at Show Low (4-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
Clearly, the White Mountains power has shifted to Snowflake, which scored 65 points against Payson and 50 against Blue Ridge during its five-game winning streak. Show Low, shuffling through quarterbacks, is hoping sophomore QB Rhett Ricedorff will be the answer to knock the hottest team off the mountain.
No. 4 Offensive display
Scottsdale Saguaro (8-0) at Gilbert Higley (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Higley has scored 156 points in its last two games, as sophomore quarterback Mason Crossland has thrown 15 touchdown passes. But this is the ultimate test with Saguaro's defense not giving up much, and the offense as explosive as any in Arizona, in any division. Christian Kirk is 199 receiving yards away from Mark Andrews' career state record.
No. 3 Jet stream
Thatcher (7-1) vs. Glendale Joy Christian (7-1) at Phoenix North Canyon, Friday, 7 p.m.
Huge Division V battle with two of the best quarterbacks at this level matched up. Joy Christian junior Matt Mitchell is an accurate passer who gets the ball to his jets, Tonka Watson and Isaiah Goodspeed. Thatcher has its own jet, senior QB Heath Motes, who ran for 404 yards on 22 carries with six touchdowns rushing and two passing out of a spread, read-option offense last week in only three quarters against Willcox. Motes has rushed for more than 200 yards in each of his past four games.
No. 2 Rocket mission
Tempe (8-0) at Phoenix Moon Valley (8-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
Nobody would have ever figured this would be this big a game this late in the season, but Moon Valley is the up and comers in Division III with a talented array of athletes leading the best team at the school since the 2004 14-0 state championship team. Their mission Friday, however, could be impossible: slow down senior quarterback Emanuel Gant.
No. 1 Sneed deed
Phoenix Pinnacle (7-1) at Phoenix Horizon (7-1), Thursday, 7 p.m.
News of Pinnacle senior QB Brian Lewerke's broken finger spread quickly on Twitter late last week, but Lewerke calls himself a game-time decision for the big rivalry game. Everybody was anticipating the sequel after last year's shootout between Lewerke and Horizon QB Dalton Sneed that Lewerke and Pinnacle eventually won. Does Pinnacle have enough offensive ammo? The better question might be, Can they solve the determined Sneed?
