The Bounce-Back Blueprint: 2025’s Most Improved Squads

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school football season always finds a few teams that flip the script, and this year's been no different. From programs that were just hoping to stay competitive a season ago to those now making serious playoff noise, it's been a fall full of comebacks and course corrections. These are the schools that didn't just improve their record — they reminded everyone what Friday nights are supposed to look like when they truly find their rhythm.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Canyon View (5A)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Canyon View's turnaround this season has shown in more than just the win column — it's a full identity shift. A year ago, the Jaguars were scraping by with 18 points a night and searching for an answer on both sides of the ball. Now they're hanging mid‑30s on people and holding opponents under 16. That's the kind of swing that tells you a team figured itself out. They've done it with a balance of efficiency, explosiveness, and a defense that plays angry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='739479' first='Brady' last='Scott'] has been the heartbeat of that change. He's throwing darts for over 2,000 yards and 26 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He's calm, steady, and keeps them on schedule, and when he wants to push it, he's got the perfect weapon in junior wideout Braylon Anderson — a legit matchup nightmare who turns single coverage into touchdowns. Anderson and senior receiver Brandon Catalan have given Canyon View real vertical juice, and that space has made the entire offense smoother.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the biggest difference might live up front and on defense. [player_tooltip player_id='884795' first='Tiki' last='Teeples'] has been collapsing pockets from the interior with a team-leading 8.5 sacks and 13 TFL, and outside linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1177564' first='Jackson' last='McCarthy'] has been living in the backfield with as many TFLs and just one less sack. That kind of pressure has freed up the secondary, where [player_tooltip player_id='1513511' first='Brady' last='Grizzell'] keeps cashing in with takeaways. When your defensive front and back end are that synced, you stop people cold.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The result? A confident, physical group that finished 8-2 and looks nothing like the 3-7 team from a year ago. They finish drives, create short fields, and play with the kind of swagger you only get after months of proving it on Fridays. Canyon View isn't a surprise anymore — they're a problem everyone else in 5A has to solve.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Williams Field (6A)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams Field's season has felt like a reset button got hit. A year ago, the Black Hawks limped through losses and never really found rhythm. This fall, they look like a different team — balanced, mean up front, and patient enough to wear people out. That change starts with how they run the ball. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1369422' first='Courshawn' last='Hill'] has been flat-out dominant, averaging more than 120 yards a night and punching in 17 touchdowns, including a 277-yard, three-score clinic against Saguaro. His running mate, [player_tooltip player_id='1430235' first='Q' last='Skillings'], brings that bruiser energy, pounding defenses for another nine more scores. Together, they give Williams Field a rhythm most defenses can't match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What makes it all work, though, is the composure under center. Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='677793' first='Dominick' last='Barjona'] doesn't have to throw 40 times to make an impact — he just makes the right throw. He's completing almost 70 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and rarely puts the ball in harm's way. Add in receiver [player_tooltip player_id='883448' first='Trey' last='Smith'], who's turned into a reliable target and dangerous return man, and suddenly this offense feels like it can control the game in any situation. They can grind it out with Hill and Skillings or stretch the field when defenses overcommit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, this team has rediscovered its bite. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1577725' first='Joshua' last='Chappell'] and senior Leon Bracken have been a problem in the backfield, each with 8.5 TFLs, double-digit pressures, and 3+ sacks. It's not a defense built around one superstar — it's 11 guys flying to the football, all contributing to a turnover-heavy attack that's forced 15 takeaways spread across ten different players. They're not just surviving drives anymore; they're ending them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All of that adds up to the version of Williams Field people remember — physical, disciplined, and built to travel in November. They'll line up, hit you in the mouth, and make you feel it Saturday morning. That's why they're back near the top of 6A and why nobody's volunteering to see them come playoff time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Millennium (5A)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Millennium didn't just clean up the record — they changed the way games feel when they take the field. The offense has a clear center of gravity in Dmari Bryant, and everything spins off his legs. He's been that “we're good, give it to 6” answer all year, chewing up chunk yards and turning drives into touchdowns. When teams sell out to stop the run, Rayden Reibel makes them pay. He's been efficient and decisive, pushing the ball where it needs to go and keeping the structure of the offense intact. That balance has turned Friday nights into pick-your-poison: load the box and you're light outside, sit back and Bryant walks you down the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The perimeter has quietly raised the ceiling, too. [player_tooltip player_id='884212' first='Kadin' last='Johnson'] gives them a legit vertical threat and catch‑and‑run production that flips field position fast. It isn't 10 targets a night; it's timely shots at 18–20 yards a pop that force defensive coordinators to call the game differently. That's where you see Millennium's growth — they're not one‑note anymore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, the jump is about heat. Ayden De Leon and Angelo Ortiz have lived in backfields, stacking sacks and making quarterbacks play on a clock. Interior or edge, it hasn't really mattered — the pocket keeps shrinking. And on the back end, [player_tooltip player_id='884406' first='Kiaun' last='Davison'] has been around the football, giving them that extra-possession juice that separates good teams from dangerous ones. He's forced 6 turnovers this season. Add it up and you get a group that flips the field, cashes short fields, and forces you to chase the game the whole second half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This version of Millennium is simple to describe and miserable to prep for: heavy run, efficient answers, timely explosives, and a defense that speeds you up. Last year, they were trying to manufacture offense. This year, they have it in bunches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Chandler (6A)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chandler's so-called “down year” last season wasn't a collapse — it was a recalibration. For a program used to dominance, the .500 record felt off, but what came out of it was hunger. This fall, that edge is back, and it shows in the way they attack every drive. You can feel the urgency return in the details: cleaner execution, smarter situational football, and a roster full of players that seem intent on reminding everyone who Chandler is.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1190650' first='Will' last='Mencl'] has become the centerpiece of that return to form. The junior quarterback's poise and precision have reestablished Chandler's offensive identity. He's spreading the ball around with confidence — nearly 3,000 yards, 28 touchdowns through the air, and another eight on the ground — and doing it with command that forces defenses to pick their poison. He can take the easy throw or tuck it and go, and his balance has unlocked the entire playbook.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When he drops back, defenses have to account for more than just one weapon. [player_tooltip player_id='591191' first='Jai' last='Jones'] has been that consistent chain mover, always in the right spot on third down, while [player_tooltip player_id='401174' first='Skyler' last='Ormita'] and [player_tooltip player_id='884199' first='Maxwell' last='Sprott'] stretch the field and punish coverage mistakes. Together, they've made Chandler's passing game feel inevitable again. Every throw looks intentional, every route designed to stress leverage, and that's when this team is at its best.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, the swagger is back too. Austin Reese sets the tone with physicality and clean tackling from the back end, and [player_tooltip player_id='739445' first='Hamisi' last='Juma'] has that instinct you can't teach — he's around the football constantly, flipping possessions and tempo. They fly to the ball, play fast, and let the offense dictate pace from there. Chandler's not searching for its identity anymore — they've found it again, and the rest of 6A can feel the Wolves heating up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->