Arizona high school football – Syndication Server

2 California and Arizona teams faced off and the result skewed heavily to Cali

Sierra Canyon and Centennial high schools took down Saguaro and Liberty, respectively, the night before USC traveled to Tempe to play ASU.

Ahead of this weekend’s college football game between the University of Southern California and Arizona State University, two of the top California high school teams faced off against two of the top Arizona teams. In what may be a precursor to the result of USC vs. ASU this weekend, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) and Centennial (Corona, Calif.) took down Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.), respectively.

We’ll start with Sierra Canyon vs. Saguaro because this game was brutal. Saguaro is a historically dominant team that once again reached the Open Division championship last year, but with the departure of head coach Jason Mohns at the end of last season, there has been some transition. Nevertheless, between the classes of 2024 and 2025, there are seven three-star players on the Sabercats, who entered the evening 3-1.

No matter. It was a 63-6 beat-down in which the Trailblazers took a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and continued racking up points through the third quarter. Wyatt Becker, ranked a three-star QB by 247Sports and four-star on the 247 Composite Ranking, had twice as many total touchdowns (8) as he did incompletions (4) as he finished the game 18-22 with 364 yards, seven passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown, according to Dan Lovi of the Los Angeles Daily News.

According to ArizonaVarsity, Saguaro’s worst loss previously had been 65-0 in 2011. Friday’s game comes close.

Across Los Angeles County, past Anaheim, and into Corona, No. 17 Liberty was putting up a much better fight against Centennial. The Lions took a 35-21 lead over Centennial at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and it looked like they may hold on to beat what is widely regarded as a top-3 team in California.

Arizona’s optimism quickly turned as Centennial drove down the field in less than two minutes, with four-star QB Husan Longstreet connecting on a deep pass to three-star receiver Cory Butler, and then Cornell Hatcher ran in a 17-yard touchdown.

Hatcher has been playing absolutely out of his mind this month. Against No. 2 Bishop Gorman two weeks ago, he rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns. This week, he one-upped himself and practically dragged Centennial to a win, rushing for 300 yards and four touchdowns, according to MaxPreps.

He scored that 17-yard TD to cut the deficit to a single touchdown. He punched in a one-yard touchdown that cut Liberty’s lead to one point after a missed PAT. And then he punched home the game-winning 13-yard run that preceded a two-point conversion, leading the way for 21 Centennial points in the fourth quarter alone.

With his rushing and tough fourth-quarter defense that caught an interception midway through the fourth and then iced it at the end, the Huskies eked out the victory and improved to 3-2, with their two losses coming against top-2 teams in the Super 25. Liberty’s loss is its first of the season.

As for USC and ASU, who will meet in Tempe on Saturday night? There’s definitely a chance it’ll look more like the Saguaro-Sierra Canyon game than that of Liberty-Centennial. Southern California will look to go 3-for-3 this weekend.

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Basha, Liberty are true challengers to Arizona HS football supreme

Basha High School took down No. 8 Chandler, putting it alongside Liberty as the new drivers of Arizona high school football.

Arizona high school football has grown from a state with a couple of elite teams to one with several programs that can challenge both in-state rivals and powerful teams around the country.

With the performance of Basha and Liberty this season coming on the heels of both schools’ growth in recent years, they have proven to be in reach of the mantle as the best team in Arizona.

The creation of the Open Division in 2019 revamped the playoff format to feature the best teams regardless of division for a championship. Before this, there were long swatches in which one team played ruler, and the others fell into line.

In the highest division, Hamilton High School dominated for a decade, winning seven championships from 2003-12. Chandler High School broke through the division next, winning five championships in six years starting in 2014.

Centennial High School led 5A — except when it jumped to 6A and won there too. It had four titles from 2014-18, three of which came at 5A and one at the highest level of 6A.

Saguaro High School was the most dominant of all, winning the title 11 of the 13 years from 2006-18. Its reign of 4A was only stopped when the Open Division allowed it to face off against the Hamiltons and Chandlers for the championship. In the first year, the Sabercats beat Hamilton but fell to Chandler in the title game; in 2021, Saguaro took down both en route to the trophy.

Basha and Liberty have now officially entered the fray, vying to be the next team to build a champion and perhaps even a dynasty for the 2020s.

Basha’s defensive slugfest against No. 8 Chandler this Halloweekend came one week after a win over Hamilton.

They rose in part from not only convincing players to not transfer with Arizona’s open enrollment policies but also by getting transfers from schools such as Hamilton. They have six players from the class of 2023 ranked as three-star recruits or better on the 247Sports Composite, including four-star cornerback Cole Martin, an Oregon commit. They have four more in the class of 2024, including a pair of four-stars in cornerback Miles Lockhart and quarterback Demond Williams Jr.

With its in-state victories and an early-season win over Los Alamitos in California, Basha has firmly entrenched itself as a leader of Arizona high school football this season.

The team’s only loss this season? The Liberty Lions, who at 8-0, have also beaten teams in-state and out. The Lions crushed Valor Christian—which might be the best team in Colorado—by a score of 50-7 and then beat Saguaro in their next game.

Though Liberty is rather new to the Super 25, it is by no means a new team on the block. They reached the Open Division semifinals in both of the last two years. They fell to the Wolves in heartbreaking fashion both times — in 2020, failing to convert a game-winning two-point conversion, and in 2021, holding a big lead entering the fourth quarter but instead losing in overtime.

Liberty hasn’t gotten over the hump, but it will get another chance to do so with its raging defense leading the charge. The Lions are firmly in the national eye and will look to maintain its spot in the Super 25 next week as it faces the 7-1 Centennial Coyotes.

Chandler, Hamilton and Saguaro have already been put on alert this season. Centennial is next on the docket. Basha and Liberty are no longer on the horizon — they have arrived, and it’s not clear who will be able to stop them come Open Division playoff time.

USA TODAY Sports Super 25 high school football rankings, Nov. 1, 2022

High School Football Playoffs: Start dates in each state (plus D.C.), and how to watch

Watch Basha Football Live or On-Demand: NFHS Network

Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer accepts high school coaching job in Arizona

Former Heisman Trophy winner and BYU offensive coordinator Ty Detmer is getting back into coaching at the high school level.

Former Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer is getting back into coaching. This time, it’s at the high school level.

Detmer has accepted the head-coaching position at American Leadership-Queen Creek High School in Arizona, per the AzCentral. He last coached in 2017, when he was BYU’s offensive coordinator and has since been working as a district athletic director. Detmer has previous experience coaching at the high school level with St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Texas in 2012.

Detmer won the Heisman Trophy at BYU in 1990, when he posted the most passing yards and total offense than any previous Heisman winner at the time. He succeeds Rich Edwards, who previously led American Leadership-Queen Creek to the first state football championship by a charter school in Arizona Interscholastic Association history and guided it to the Arizona 4A semifinals in 2020, one year after it went undefeated and captured the 3A title.

“I was working closely with the (ALA) coaches and the executive group, a liaison between them,” Detmer said. “I’ve been around the program for a year. When I heard Rich was stepping down, our executive team approached me about moving into the post. I thought it would be a great opportunity to get to teach the boys more. This will be more hands-on for me with the kids. I missed that competition time.

“That age of kid, it’s always fun for me to see them come in as 14-year-old and leave as 18-year-old young men, help shape their character a little more at that level. My dad coached football for 50 years and I saw the impact he had on them.

Detmer will retain former BYU standout quarterback Max Hall as American Leadership-Queen Creek’s offensive coordinator.

Arizona parents debate hiding COVID test results to keep fall sports season going

According to the Arizona Republic, parents in Arizona debated hiding COVID-19 test results following cancelations after positive tests.

Parents in Arizona debated hiding their kids’ COVID-19 test results last week after at least two Phoenix-area high schools canceled football games because of positive tests according to the Arizona Republic.

At least 100 students from Cactus Shadows High School in the Cave Creek Unified School District were in quarantine this week after students began testing positive for COVID-19 according to a district spokeswoman. As a result, Cactus Shadows canceled its first two junior varsity and varsity football games of the year. Chaparral High School of the Scottsdale Unified School District did the same after two student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19.

Following the cancelations, a Facebook page called “Parents in Support of 2020 Football in Arizona” surfaced and has been picking up steam with more than 1,400 members. Cave Creek resident and Notre Dame Prep football parent Brad Schweigert posted in the group last week, urging parents to “manage COVID-19 testing ourselves” and keep the test results private.

“If the results are positive, then keep him away from the team and tell your coaches he needs a couple weeks off for “personal” reasons,” Schweigert wrote.

Schweigert went on to say that they had worked out a deal with 360Care, a COVID-19 testing provider, to test football families at a discounted rate. Schweigert’s post said 360Care had given football families a $10 discount to use their testing services. Test results would not be reported to the county.

“I do think we must take control of this issue and manage it ourselves as a parent group,” Schweigert said. “We have already seen the results on how this will be managed for us if we leave it up to county health and school officials.

“I’ve seen several people already suggest that no players should get tested for the rest of the season. The way I see it, the plan we have laid out is a much safer and more responsible alternative.”

In response to Schweigert’s plan and any other notion of parents hiding COVID-19 test results, David Hines, the executive director of the Arizona Interscholastic Association, called the suggestion of hiding test results “absolutely unacceptable.”

“The bottom line is we want to protect kids,” Hines said. “We have been given an opportunity to play. Everyone has to follow the procedures. Whether it’s the fans, the players and the coaches, there are protocols to help reduce the chances of people getting it.”

According to Scottsdale Superintendent Scott Menzel, parents are required to report their children’s positive COVID-19 tests under a commitment to the district that each parent signed.

“If we can’t trust that our parents are partnering with us to ensure the health, safety and well-being of their student-athlete and all those that they participate with, that creates a different challenge for us,” Menzel said. “We want everyone to be able to operate in community together, and that means being up front when someone’s sick.”