The quarterfinals are upon us and everyone has one less day to prepare. Due to the Veteran’s Day holiday this round will be played on Thursday, Nov. 10. The opening week of the postseason provided a couple of surprises with two double-digit seeds (No. 10 Desert View and No. 13 Red Mountain) advancing. Both schools, however, were arguably as prepared as any of the top 13 seeds for the postseason after battling through challenging regular-season schedules. A week removed from those upsets, half of the field hails from the Premier Region and undefeated Mountain Pointe remains the favorite.
Note: all games start at 7 p.m.
No. 8 Desert Ridge (8-3) at No. 1 Mountain Pointe (11-0)
The odds-on favorite, and best defense in the state, remains No. 1 Mountain Pointe. They have won by at least two touchdowns in 11-straight games, including last week’s anticlimactic trouncing of Cesar Chavez. They have won 23 of their last 24 games, dating back to last season, and have advanced to at least the semifinals in each of the past four seasons, including winning a state title in 2013. That aforementioned defense is led by seniors Xavier Cota and Isaiah Pola-Mao, but they have seven sophomores or juniors amongst the top 10 in tackles. They’re fast and precise and give up, gulp, 11.4 points per game.
Still, Thursday’s game is a rematch of the closest game they’ve played all year. The Oct. 14 meeting with Desert Ridge looked like it was on its way to another lopsided score, but the Jaguars rallied from a 20-0 first-quarter deficit to come within one score before a fourth-quarter touchdown put the game away for the Pride. Mountain Pointe’s Rashie Hodge Jr. had 207 yards and scored all four touchdowns in that game, while junior running back Tyrese Allen had 96 yards and star receiver Jalen Harris had three catches and a touchdown for Desert Ridge. The Jaguars will need big games from Allen and Harris and a defense that had held teams to 27 points or fewer in seven-straight games to hold off Hodge and company.
The two teams have met five times previously, including the 27-13 victory for Mountain Pointe in October. The Pride is 4-1 in those games, beating the Jaguars, 27-9, in the 2013 semifinals for the only playoff win in the series.
No. 13 Red Mountain (7-4) vs. No. 5 Brophy Prep (8-3) at Phoenix College
Through much of the first seven weeks of the season it appeared that Premier Region newcomer Brophy Prep was headed for its first state title game appearance since 2008. They were the kind of rugged defense that could compete with Mountain Pointe and seemed to have the kind of running game that could control the ball and clock. They were 7-0 with signature wins, including beating four playoff teams in that stretch. So, when things came unhinged against Basha and two more losses followed, it appeared the Broncos had lost their way. That changed in the playoffs, though. They ran up a season-best 52 points (their most since 2014) and a big lead in a rematch with Pinnacle, and while questions about the defense may have emerged, Noah Pittenger’s monster game (279 yards) proved Brophy’s running game may be back on track.
They’ll have to do it again this week with No. 13, the lowest remaining seed, visiting. The Mountain Lions won a defensive battle against No. 4 Skyline, 16-13, and used three field goals to pull off the upset. They might have a similar game against Brophy. Since Sept. 16, Red Mountain has held opponents to 17 points or fewer six times. Seniors Jacob Porter and Andrew Brown put together outstanding regular seasons on the defensive side of the ball and will be vital cogs in slowing Pittenger.
Red Mountain and Brophy have played four times previously in the postseason, splitting the matchups. Coincidentally, all of their meetings have occurred in the quarterfinals, including Brophy’s 14-13 win in 2012.
No. 6 Hamilton (7-4) at No. 3 Perry (10-1)
Three weeks ago Perry knocked off Hamilton for the first time in school history. On Thursday they’ll be asked to do it again. That victory snapped a four-game losing streak to the Huskies and helped validate an historic regular season for Perry. In some ways, there are some similarities to the high-scoring offense Head Coach Preston Jones put on the field in 2011, when Perry was in Division II and scored 50 points or more in seven-straight games. But this is a wildly different, more dangerous team. The Pumas racked up 515 points in 11 games this year. They streaked through the Premier Region with only Chandler stopping them, and still managed 35 points in the nine-point loss. In that Oct. 21 win at Hamilton they scored 55 points and arguably could have had more. Junior Brock Purdy threw five of his 35 touchdown passes in that win and had a season-high 482 yards.
That’s arguably where the biggest advantage for Perry lies in this week’s rematch: they have the kind of offensive explosiveness with Purdy and the James Gang to counter Hamilton’s typically wily defense and running attack. The Huskies looked revived in their 47-30 win over Tucson last week, but this is the same team that gave up 55 points and 63 points in back-to-back losses to close the regular season.
The Huskies and Pumas have played five times since 2013, including a 27-10 loss in the first round in 2014. Perry’s win over Valley Vista last week was just the school’s second postseason win ever.
No. 10 Desert Vista (7-4) at No. 2 Chandler (9-2)
The turnaround for Chandler is real. Questions arose following their 52-7 loss to Mountain Pointe on Sept. 8 that sent them to 2-2 on the season. They haven’t lost since, and really, those games haven’t been close. They’ve won seven in a row and outside of a nine-point victory over Perry, their potential matchup in the semifinals next week, their margin of victory has been a staggering 41 points per game. Again, that’s not their points scored per game, that’s the average spread between points scored and points allowed. Credit sophomore quarterback Jacob Conover for some of that. He’s thrown 16 touchdowns and just one interception during that stretch. Also, credit T.J. Green, who has amassed 100 yards rushing in six of those seven games, including rushing for 307 yards and three touchdowns in the season finale against rival Hamilton. And also credit the defense, which, led by a linebacking corps of Parker Henley, Zach Bowers, and Sam Pepper, has held opponents to 16 points or fewer four times in seven weeks.
Trying to curb all of that is a Desert Vista team that like Chandler hasn’t lost since taking on Mountain Pointe. The Thunder’s 27-13 loss on Sept. 30 ignited a five-game winning streak and while they have not had the sheer dominance of Chandler in that span, Desert Vista has been at its best. The Thunder, who upset No. 7 Mountain View, 28-14, might have the defense to curtail Chandler. They haven’t allowed more than 27 points in a game since their opening week loss in overtime to Perry and junior linebacker Jerry Davis tends to live in the backfield. If the Wolves put points on the board, though, especially early, the Thunder may not have the offensive firepower to keep up.
The two teams have met twice in the postseason before. The Wolves won, 34-14, in the 2015 quarterfinals and lost in round one, 31-14, in 2007. Thursday will be the 11th meeting all-time between the two schools with Desert Vista owning a 7-3 advantage in the previous 10.
