The long and slow dog days of summer in Arizona brings us two things. Unrelenting, brutal 110° weather, and the building of hype for the upcoming high school football season. As schedules have been released for most, if not all teams in Arizona, we at WSSArizona have looked over the 6A, 5A, and 4A schedule and picked out just a few games that we look forward to watching when the season kicks off in late August. Here is some insight on a couple of the games we included in our recent post.

Week 4: Desert Edge at Higley

In what has become one of the most captivating rivalries in the valley in recent years, Goodyear’s Desert Edge will travel to Gilbert to take on the Higley Knights in a rematch of last year’s 5A Conference Final. This will be the 4th meeting in 3 years between these two 5A powerhouses. Last year, DE took home a 3OT-win against Higley at home during Week 4, but Higley ultimately got the last laugh, defeating Desert Edge on a last-second stop in the 5A Championship. Just last month, the two again faced off at Just Chilly’s Flight Club in the championship round, where Higley won the tournament via a convincing 36-17 win over Desert Edge. Both teams will look a bit different this time around, on offense and defense. Desert Edge lost much of their core pieces on offense and defense from last season, but returns talented players like Texas A&M-commit Jamar Beal-Goines, WR Zerek Sidney, and LB Joshua Hopphaus. Admittedly, Higley will look closer to the team that won the 5A Title than the Scorpions will look to their team last season. RB Daxen Hall, LB Jacob Pitts, and DB Nijrell Eason II are undoubtedly major losses for Higley. But, it would appear that the Knights have the advantage in returning talent going into the season. It is safe to say that there was no love lost between these cross-town rivals over the off-season. It will be interesting to see how this matchup plays out in September given the storylines on both sidelines entering the year.

Week 3: Centennial (CA) at Liberty

Corona Centennial makes the trip to Arizona this time around as they will go for Round Two versus Liberty on September 21st in Peoria. Last season, it was Liberty who travelled to SoCal to take on the Huskies. The Lions’ shot of a perfect season was blocked by Centennial as they narrowly escaped with a win in a high scoring matchup, 42-35. Liberty will be seeking revenge this time around when they play host to California’s #3 Team from last season. This matchup may have the most raw talent out of any game in Arizona this season. From Centennial, QB Husan Longstreet, WR Cory Butler Jr, and DB CJ Castille all return. Longstreet is the #1 QB in California and committed to Texas A&M. A speed-demon, Butler Jr is committed to ASU. Castille was a defensive-force for the Huskies last season. For Liberty, it will be their stars like LB Hudson Dunn, DL Caden Branston, and DL Paz St John who will be called upon to contain Centennial’s weapons on offense. This Week 4 matchup is a lock to see a packed crowd of spectators and media as we will see a clash of California and Arizona’s best on a Saturday night.

Week 3: Brophy at Centennial

Speaking of raw talent, this Week 3 Matchup between two young teams is sure to be one of the most intriguing games in the valley in early-September. Brophy and Centennial are both teams just oozing with young talent in their program. Both teams have aspirations of contention in the Open Division this season. Taking a look at Brophy, the majority of their offense, as well as DB Cree Thomas, LB Bastian Vanden Bosch, and DB Dominic Mitchell are all coming back for Brophy. Centennial will be getting a ton of talent after Week 5, but they are still a very talented team and will have guys like junior QB Kainan Manna and senior LB Aaron Alvarez leading the Coyotes.

Week 1: Salpointe at Marana

Rounding things out with a matchup down south, two of southern AZ’s best will play each other to kickoff the 2024-2025 Season. Salpointe and Marana are undoubtedly elite when it comes to SOAZ Football. Salpointe, perennial contenders in 6A, are expected to be a Top 5, even a Top 3 team in the conference. Marana is coming off of a down year for their standards, they were defeated in the first round of last season’s playoffs after a 5-5 regular season. However, they are expected to be one of the better teams in the 5A Conference on the backs of Washington-commit Dezmen Roebuck, and key returning players on defense in DB Moses Miller, DL Dominic Olivas, and LB Greg Webb.