In collaboration with BJ Media, WSS has released the first AZHSFB Rankings of the Year.

The comprehensive rankings of the 4A, 5A, 6A Conference, and Open Division sees some familiar faces at the top of the rankings. The 2023 Open Division Champion Liberty Lions are starting off their season at the #1 Spot on the “Way Too Early” Open Division Rankings. Behind them, are the Centennial Coyotes out of Peoria. Liberty defeated Centennial 33-21 in the Open Division Championship last season, cementing themselves as one of the most dominant teams of the past couple of years, finishing undefeated in the state of Arizona.

Flipping over to 6A, Chandler sits atop of the conference at #1. The Wolves finished 8-3 last season, led by a strong group of Seniors, including the Illinois-committed Ca’lil Valentine, who rushed for over 1300 yards, and reached the end zone 19 times last fall. Chandler will get stronger after Week 5, as Tolleson-transfer Hamisi Juma and CDS transfer Jai Jones will be eligible for their Week 6 matchup clash with Liberty.

The 5A Runner-Ups from last season, Desert Edge, is expected to have another deep playoff run this season. They are WSS’ #1 Team in 5A heading into the year. Similar to Chandler (and several other schools in the valley), DE will only get stronger when they make the short trip to Millennium in Goodyear during Week 6, as linebacker AJ Burnette, QBs Elijah Sherbin-Fox and Blake Roskopf, WR Breon Ballard, and more will become eligible to play. Desert Edge is seeking their first State Championship since 2015 this season under new head coach Henri MacArthur, who was been with the program since 2015.

Closing out with 4A, the Yuma Catholic Shamrocks will look to defend their 2023 Conference Title as they are ranked at #1 in our rankings. The Shamrocks return much of their championship winning team, including QB Nash Ott, WR/DB Sir Stokes, and RB/LB Rocky Stallworth. One major loss is RB Tayt Ford, who accounted for 23 TDs and nearly 1,700 total yards. Despite this, Yuma is the favorite to win 4A entering the season, and it will be interesting to see how things playout for the Shamrocks as they set out on their journey to go back-to-back.

It should be noted that rankings will be updated leading up to, and during the football season. These rankings are purely speculation at the moment, and are not to put down any teams mentioned/not mentioned.