Week 1 is (almost) in the books, with a few teams still preparing for Saturday matchups.
But with several games on Thursday, and a large majority on Friday, we were now able to get a look at what we can likely expect from teams across all conferences. There were some surprises, both good and bad, as well as some outcomes many likely expected.
We saw the emergence of potential stars and storylines that will tug at your heartstrings.
Here’s a look at what we learned from Week 1 of the Arizona high school football season.
A rivalry has been born in the far East Valley
It’s been the goal of the Queen Creek school district since Crismon opened its doors a few years ago. They wanted to establish an inter-district rivalry, much like the CUSD has with its programs.
Queen Creek is still the powerhouse 6A program. But Crismon and Eastmark are close in proximity and student body population, making it the perfect option to establish the rivalry. That all came to fruition Friday night when the Rattlers and Firebirds played an instant classic that came down to a last-second field goal by Eastmark to walk away with the 24-22 victory.
These two programs will continue to grow under head coaches Jason Lyons (Eastmark) and Scott Hare (Crismon). They will move up to higher conferences and talent will continue to filter in. The outlook of this rivalry in the future is bright … and very exciting.
AZ vs Everybody
It’s no longer just a saying, it’s a movement. Arizona has long wanted respect as one of the best football states in the country, and it’s finally started to earn it over the last six or seven years.
How did it earn it? By playing teams from out of state. Labor Day Weekend is big for that, as it allows teams the extra time to travel. This year, some of the top programs in the state went across state lines to open the season. Most came back as winners.
Casteel went to San Diego to play Helix, a former powerhouse in Southern California. The Colts got the Joe Bushman era started in impressive fashion, dominating from start to finish for a 51-14 victory. They also debuted Penn State-like uniforms with the all white jerseys and single blue stripe down the center of the helmet. Bonus points.
Queen Creek took its talented roster to Sin City and came away with a dominating 42-19 win over Mojave. Tait Reynolds tossed a few touchdown passes and recorded his 39th career rushing touchdown in the Bulldogs’ win.
Pinnacle traveled East to La Cueva, N.M., to open the season, taking on one of the better programs in New Mexico. The Pioneers were dominant, scoring early and often as they made the trip back to the Valley with a 44-0 win.
Red Mountain has traveled out of state to open the season for a few years now. Just about every time the Mountain Lions come home with a win. That was the case yet again as they traveled North to face Desert Pines in Nevada. The trip resulted in another win, this time 44-21, for Red Mountain.
Westwood traveled to California to face off against a tough Burbank team. The Warriors battled, but came away with a 41-27 loss.
Campo Verde also made the trip to California to face off against Capistrano Valley in Mission Viejo. The Coyotes came up short, 26-16.
Buckeye took a trip across the Pacific to face off against Kaua’i out of Hawaii. The Hawks have made Hawaii a destination for years now. This trip, however, didn’t go their way as they fell 22-12.
The CUSD is the best football district … and it may not be close
The Chandler Unified School District dominated to open the season. Basha showed why it was the No. 1 team in the Arizona Varsity Statewide Media Poll, Hamilton made a statement against ALA Queen Creek, and Chandler went to Peoria and came away with a big win over Centennial to kick off the Ty Wisdom era.
Casteel dominated in San Diego and despite a rough go for the Perry defense, according to head coach Joe Ortiz, the Pumas still came away with a win over a much improved Boulder Creek team.
Arizona College Prep is the only CUSD team left to play this weekend. The Knights face Willow Canyon at the Walkup Sky Dome on the campus of Northern Arizona University at 1 p.m.
Add in Seton Catholic and Valley Christian and the city of Chandler as a whole may be the best.
Liberty’s defense is as good as advertised
Maybe this isn’t something we learned, but rather reinforced. The Liberty defense is legit, led by Minnesota commit Hudson Dunn and Boise State commit Paz St. John along the front seven. The two helped wreak havoc against Mountain View Friday night, forcing multiple turnovers that led to Liberty touchdowns on the other end.
Arizona State commit Zeth Theus was a ball hawk at safety for the Lions as they started their third Open Division state championship title defense 1-0 with the 37-0 victory.
Millennium RB D’Mari Bryant starts season strong
There is no official award for the most touchdowns scored by a single player every year in Arizona. But if there was, Millennium running back D’Mari Bryant got off to a fast start.
The junior scored five touchdowns in the first quarter of the Tigers’ season opener against Betty Fairfax. Yes, five.
Millennium went on to win 62-0.
A tip of the cap to the new head coaches
The Arizona high school football coaching carousel went wild this offseason with several new coaches being hired at schools all across the state.
Many led their teams onto the field for the first time this past week, and several came away with victories.
- Jeremy Hathcock recorded his first win as the Mesa High head coach with a 34-14 victory over Shadow Ridge.
- The tradition Trace Carroll is bringing back to Chaparral has been impressive, but how would it transition to the field? Apparently very well as the Firebirds dominated West Point to open the season with a 56-0 win.
- Ben Kullos picked up his first win as the Sandra Day O’Connor head coach, as the Eagles knocked off Valley Vista 42-6 to begin the 2025 campaign.
- The Ty Wisdom era at Chandler began in a good way Friday with the Wolves knocking off Centennial 24-17.
- It took a bit to get going but Mountain Pointe eventually ran away with a 34-8 win over Maricopa for Jon Roberts’ first win as head coach.
- Jay Campos took over Mica Mountain following the program’s first-ever state championship. He got things started in impressive fashion, beating Poston Butte 41-8.
- Nick Offenberger has started a movement at McClintock with players transferring in and the program on an upward trajectory. That proved to be the case Thursday as the Chargers took down Camelback, 36-19.
- B.J. Pasquel got things started at Arcadia with a 37-8 victory over Bradshaw Mountain.
- For the first time since 2016, the Maryvale Panthers started the season 1-0 after beating Kofa, 34-21. Mark and Marcus Carter picked up their first victory as head coaches of the Panthers in the process.
- Jesse Hart may have to catch his breath, but he came away with his first win as Mesquite head coach over Desert Sunrise, 43-40.
- Daniel Saenz picked up his first win as Catalina Foothills head coach over Ironwood Ridge, 21-17.
- It was likely closer than Trevor Reddick would have preferred, but his Snowflake Lobos got it done over an impressive Coconino team Friday night, 28-23.
- Zack Regan’s tenure at Lee Williams got started in convincing fashion with a dominating 62-7 win over Wickenburg.
- Nogales snapped a 20-game losing streak against Amphitheater Friday to start the Warren Smith era.
- Stephen Hemming picked up his first win as Heritage Academy Laveen head coach as the Patriots beat NFL Yet last week. They’re now 2-0.
- Trivium Prep got the Jeremy Meager era started a week ago but is now 2-0.
- Shadow Mountain gave Joseph Scott his first win as head coach in a defensive slugfest, 3-0, over North Canyon.
- Scottie Harris has the Miami High Vandals 2-0.
- Catalina picked up a victory last week over Santa Rita to start the Virgil Henderson era.
Notables
- Valley Christian is as good as advertised after the Trojans improve to 2-0 by knocking off Show Low, 6-0.
- Desert Edge wide receiver Aiden Honeywood is a star in the making after hauling in five catches for 133 yards and a touchdown.
- For the first time since 2019 the Desert Vista Thunder started the season 1-0 after beating Cesar Chavez 44-19.
- Saguaro could be much improved after taking Desert Mountain to the wire Friday night.
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