Top Games of the Week
In this article:
Football is back here in Arizona, and this week’s matchups project to be some tough, gritty games across the state loaded with talented prospects. Take a look at some of the top matchups of the week across the state: …
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingFootball is back here in Arizona, and this week’s matchups project to be some tough, gritty games across the state loaded with talented prospects. Take a look at some of the top matchups of the week across the state:
St. Mary’s @ Brophy
A huge rivalry is renewed as 4A St. Mary’s will take on the highly touted 6A Brophy Broncos. Brophy is stacked with division 1 talent with some of states best prospects such as Benjamin Morrison Benjamin Morrison 6'0" | 175 lbs | DB Brophy Prep | 2022 State AZ (Notre Dame Commit), Zac Swanson Zac Swanson 6'4" | 255 lbs | DL Brophy Prep | 2022 State AZ (Texas Commit), Tyler Powell Tyler Powell 6'7" | 240 lbs | TE Brophy Prep | 2022 State AZ (Arizona commit), and many others. St. Mary’s has a promising 2022 QB prospect in Nick Martinez Nick Martinez 6'1" | 190 lbs | QB St. Mary's | 2022 State AZ where he’ll get to test himself against some of the state’s best. The energy at Brophy should be rockin all night for both teams week 1 matchup.
Mountain Ridge @ Liberty
A big time game in the west valley as Mountain Ridge will look to take down a west valley powerhouse in Liberty. Liberty comes off a 2020 open division semifinals loss to Chandler where they earned the respect of the entire state in a hard fought game. They’ll return a handful of key players which includes 2022 DB Jax Stam Jax Stam 5'11" | 200 lbs | DB Liberty | 2022 State AZ . Mountain Ridge will be led by 2023 QB Brendan Anderson Brendan Anderson 6'1" | 180 lbs | QB Mountain Ridge | 2023 State AZ where he’ll have a tough matchup against a strong Liberty defense. Anderson is on of the top 2023 QB’s in the state with big potential, so it will be interesting to see what he can do against a tough program.
Higley @ Williams Field
Another rivalry game to keep tabs on. Higley comes off a 4-5 season from 2020, but they played some tough programs and kept all of their losses within 1 score with the exception of the 63-7 loss vs Chandler. Williams Field took down Higley 28-27 last season, as they come off a 5-3 2020 season, which was very similar to Higley’s situation. 2023 prospects Kyler Kasper Kyler Kasper 6'5" | 195 lbs | WR Williams Field | 2023 AZ and CJ Tiller CJ Tiller 6'2" | 190 lbs | QB Rancho Cucamonga | 2023 State CA from Williams field will be a nasty duo to watch, while Higley’s 2025 freshman QB Jamar Malone will get his first high school action and start. The Kyler Kasper Kyler Kasper 6'5" | 195 lbs | WR Williams Field | 2023 AZ vs Nijrell Eason Nijrell Eason 6'0" | 165 lbs | DB Higley | 2024 State AZ matchup will be fun to watch as well, as both are top prospects in the 2023 class.
Cactus @ Mesquite
A rematch of the 2020 4A state championship will take place at the Northern Arizona University Skydome in Flagstaff where both teams will travel north to go toe-to-toe. Mesquite beat Cactus in the ship 39-38 thanks to Ty Thompson Ty Thompson 6'4" | 215 lbs | QB Mesquite | 2021 State AZ and Eric Lira Eric Lira 5'11" | 180 lbs | WR Mesquite | 2021 State AZ , which Mesquite loses to graduation. They will however return standout 2022 LB and Marshall commit Andrew Morris Andrew Morris 6'2" | 215 lbs | ATH Mesquite | 2022 State AZ who is a game changer anywhere he lines up. Cactus comes into their week 1 matchup returning numerous starters on both sides of the ball, as they are a 4A favorite to make another deep playoff run. This game checks all the boxes to be dog fight, and should be a gritty game to catch up in Flagstaff on Friday.
Bagdad @ St. David
Two 8-man teams will go at it after coming off strong 2020 seasons. In 2020, Bagdad lost in the semi’s to Mogollon while St. David lost in the quarterfinals to Williams. However, Bagdad starts the season 1-1 while St. David starts 1-0. It should be an interesting 8-man matchup with a couple ranked prospects like Bagdad’s Connor Watson Connor Watson 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR Bagdad | 2022 State AZ and St. David’s Talon Haynie Talon Haynie 5'8" | 165 lbs | ATH St. David | 2022 State AZ .