Brad Cesmat
Quick hits from the Valley high school football scene..
As the calendar rolls into October, Red Mountain is 5-1 with the only blemish, a 4 OT one-point loss to Perry. Red Mountain doesn’t get near the attention of many other schools in the SE Valley, but if you look at the Mountain Lion program, year in and year out, they are the most consistent of the Mesa schools. The Mountain Lions will be picked to win their final four regular season games, if/when some surprising results happen, could Red Mountain be a dark horse for the Open Division playoff? Rankings come out Tuesday on the AIA website. Be interesting to see where a team like the Mountain Lions stand…
Brophy is unbeaten, and now opens region play at Hamilton. A deep dive on the numbers show that the Broncos under first year head coach Jason Jewell have allowed just 19 points through their first six games. The numbers also show that the teams they’ve played have a combined record of 14-22(beating Liberty in week one was an impressive result). One opposing 6A coach told me “Jason is doing a good job with having the players know what to do, they’re defense is very sound”. May sound simple, but when you’re dealing with 16, 17, 18 year olds, confusion in year one can sometimes set in…
Jerry Rice was on the Hamilton sideline Friday night to watch his son Brenden play. It’s the first time that the Hall of Famer was at a Husky game. Brenden Rice will make his college choice sometime next month. On the field Friday night, the Huskies played their entire roster against Dobson…
Perry v Chandler next Friday. Can Perry’s defense get just a few stops on Chandler and make it a game? Every year that seems to be the narrative among high school observers. Chubba Purdy hooked up with Jorden Young for 10 catches and 125 yards Friday night against Boulder Creek. All Purdy did was run for 104 and a score and hit on 5 TD passes for 304 yards. Louisville is getting a difference maker and a great kid. Howwwweeeevvvvveeeerrrr, Chandler still looks invincible. The hones is on the defensive players and coaches at Perry to change that…
Who you got? Chubba Purdy or Bijan Robinson for 2019 Offensive Player of the Year?
Now that Higley has nine transfers eligible, are they rounding into postseason form? They opened region play Friday night shutting out Maricopa. The Knights play at Casteel on Friday. A year ago when the two teams met during the regular season, the Colts won 56-24. The Knights eliminated Casteel in the playoffs 34-27. Jason Harris vs Brock Dieu will be worth the price of admission. Wouldn’t surprise me to see some maroon and gold shirts on the sidelines for this one. Arizona State football is on a bye week and coaches will likely be out scouting on Friday night…
Very impressed with every facet of Williams Field on Friday night. Steve Campbell just goes about his business every year. Friday night his team had every excuse to come out flat after learning of the Noah Nelson suspension earlier in the day. Instead, they put together a solid performance, winning at Casteel…
Tommy Christakos is starting to round into form at Chaparral. Take him or Kelee Ringo at Saguaro off the field, a team just isn’t quite the same. Chap still has October games with Liberty and Pinnacle. Brayten Silbor will only get better at quarterback with the reps, while Jack Miller is out. Of all the players that fans ask me about in this 2020 recruiting class, none of them move the needle quite like Miller. Fans have the same two questions, 1)Will he stick with his commitment to Ohio State(he’s never wavered) 2)Will he play again this season for Chap(I’m not a doctor, I haven’t asked)…
