High school football: Recaps of key Week One games
The high school football season kicked off with a bang on Friday night, with 73 games around Arizona.
Here's a look at some of the key games we covered.
Centennial gives Casteel a rude welcome to big-school football
by Richard Obert
Welcome to big-school football, Queen Creek Casteel.
A school poised to make the move not one but two levels up after capturing the 3A state championship last year got down by 35 points before putting up a fight in the end on Friday night in its first game with seniors and first game playing at 5A.
Top-ranked Peoria Centennial, the established 5A power, felt it needed to let the home team know how far it has to go yet to get to its level in a 42-19 win that ended the state's longest active winning streak at 14 games. Read the complete story here.
Chaparral wins overtime thirller over Hamilton
by Katherine Fitzgerald
Chaparral football jumped up to 6A this season and has already put its stamp on the conference, winning in dramatic fashion 36-33 in overtime at Chandler Hamilton on Friday. Read the complete story here.
Rattler, Pinnacle light up the scoreboard vs. Perry
by Richard Morin
Phoenix Pinnacle senior quarterback Spencer Rattler didn’t have a moment to himself all night long.
Even after throwing for 338 yards, rushing for 58 more and accounting for five all-purpose touchdowns in a 59-33 win over Gilbert Perry on Friday, a camera and boom microphone followed Rattler everywhere he went. Read the complete story here.
Marana takes road win at Horizon
by Will Tyrrell
Marana was able to find the end zone on the ground four times with three different players to help complete the two-hour road trip Friday night for 42-36 victory.
Marana's win was also Louie Ramirez's, 25, first win as a head coach. He is believed to be the youngest coach in the state.
Highlight of the game
The play of the game came midway through the first quarter when Marana quarterback Trenton Bourguet found receiver Diego Miranda in the back of the end zone for a 15 yard touchdown pass to put Marana on the board for the first time this season.
The ball got tipped but Miranda stayed with the play and secured the ball for the score.
"He's just dynamic," Ramirez said smiling and shaking his head.
Quote of the game
"Shout out to our guys, we don't have a lot of depth but a lot of our young guys really stepped up and made plays and just really responded," Ramirez said. "You look at that next man up mentality our guys really did that."
Up next
Marana has its home opener against Laveen Betty H. Fairfax on Friday at 7 p.m. Horizon travels to NAU for a neutral site showdown against Gilbert Higley on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Liberty edges Brophy
by Nate Fain
In a dominate defensive performance on opening night, Peoria Liberty defeated Phoenix Brophy Prep 7-0.
Though Brophy, a team that went 1-9 last season, came out ready to play in John Kitna's first game as coach, the experienced Liberty defense had an answer for everything the former NFL quarterback was willing to throw at them.
Brophy's offense was held to just 77 yards from scrimmage in the first half. And even when they got things going in the second half, getting the ball into the red zone twice, Mark Smith's Lions came up with key stops.
Stars of the game
Several players on the defense Liberty had strong outings. Defensive end Braxton Croteau and linebacker Ryan Puskas fought through blockers all night, and both recorded two tackles in the backfield. But junior defensive back Jaren Pina had the biggest impact, with two interceptions, one of which ended one of Brophy's best drives of the game.
Key play
At the start of the second half the score was 0-0. That changed quickly when Brophy kicked the ball off to Eli Pittman. The cornerback and kick returner found a hole and carried the ball to the Brophy 30 yard line. A few plays later, Jace Accurso ran in the only touchdown of the game on a 4-yard rush.
Quote of the game
"(The kick return) boosted our offense's moral. We figured, we we are this close we better score, and we scored," Eli Pittman said.
What's next
Liberty travels to Copper Canyon next week, while Brophy hosts Shadow Ridge.
Arcadia starts Taylor era with a bang
by Kynan Marlin
Arcadia made its 2018 debut under new head coach Kerry Taylor on Friday night against Scottsdale Coronado.
So far, so good.
In the first half, Kadin Beler found Paxton Earl across the middle for an easy scoree. The Titans would tack on the two-point conversion to take a 15-0 lead.
From there, the Titans would roll to a 49-0 victory.
Last season, the Titans were outscored 472-29 and finished the season 0-10.
Overall, it had lost 13 games in a row but now, Arcadia is 1-0 on the season.
Red Mountain takes out Mesa rival Desert Ridge
by Damian Adams
Mesa Red Mountain's Darren Smith threw a 77-yard touchdown strike to spark the Mountain Lions in Friday night's season season opener.
That made the score 10-0. Red Mountain would build a 24-0 lead before giving up a touchdown with 18 seconds left.
Desert Ridge avoids the shutout but Red Mountain gets the win.
Up next
Red Mountain is at Cesar Chavez, while Desert Ridge visits Avondale Westview. Both games kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday.