The end of the season looms upon us as playoffs begin and final bids for the postseason are made! Best in the West is taking a look at some of the big games this weekend happening on the Westside.
Game of the Week: Desert Edge @ Cactus
In what has become a stellar West Valley showcase over the past 5 seasons, Desert Edge and Cactus will meet in Glendale as two of the top six ranked teams in the 5A Conference.
With just two games remaining in the season, Desert Edge’s Open Division hopes are still alive as the first team on the outside looking in but a victory on the road against Cactus is vital in maintaining that position. Since their season-opening loss against Centennial, the Scorpion’s offense is averaging 35 points per game while their defense has only allowed two teams to score more than 13 points all season long.
That stellar defense has been spearheaded by Kansas commit, DeShawn Warner. The senior defensive lineman has been a menace to backfields with 11 sacks and 12 TFL to go alongside his two interceptions and a whopping five caused fumble. Junior quarterback, Hezekiah Millender looks to continue leading the offense. While he only threw for 30 yards last week against Canyon View, he led the way alongside senior running back and Idaho commit, Markhi McKinnon, both with a pair of touchdowns.
Don’t cut me off 🏎️😁 pic.twitter.com/bZV6NlZVDw
— Markhi Mckinnon (@MarkhiMckinnon) October 21, 2023
Since being promoted to the 5A Conference by the AIA last year, the Cactus Cobras have certainly been battling up a weight class. In the past two seasons, Cactus has taken on the likes of Basha, Sandra Day O’Connor, Desert Mountain (all teams who have flirted or even won the Open Division in that time), plus the treacherous 5A Desert West Region.
While a lot has changed in the past three years with the defending 5A runner-ups, one constant has been the production and talent of Raymond Jones and Nikko Boncore-Montoya. Both have put up stellar defensive numbers but Boncore-Montoya has continued his productivity on both sides of the ball with 966 reception yards, 12 receiving TDs, a rush touchdown, and 20 tackles. But another name to watch on defense has been junior, Gabriel Sotelo, who has snagged five interceptions in 2023. And even though the offensive line has dealt with the injury bug, sophomore QB, Antonio Casias, continues to get better, now averaging 191 pass yards per game while totaling 18 passing touchdowns.
#9 @CHSCobraFB edged #12 Sunrise Mountain in a triple-overtime thriller on Friday night. WR’s @Nikko_Boncore and @JulianStubble17 combined for 19 catches for 307 yards and four total touchdowns in the victory. pic.twitter.com/zYEdvpzKZS
— BJ Media (@BJMedia1) October 23, 2023
This west-side matchup only continues to grow its lore in its eighth all-time meeting. Desert Edge holds a 4-3 lead over Cactus since their first meeting in the 2010 4A DII quarterfinals.
4A West Valley Contenders
In one of their best seasons in recent program history, the Thunderbird Titans are on the verge of hosting a playoff game for the first time in over a decade. But to retain their top-eight seeding, they’ll have to hit the road and get through an undefeated Northwest Christian squad who has become a favorite for the 4A crown.
The Titans’ offensive efficiency has been primarily at the hands of running back, Elijah Little. The junior has rushed for over 100 yards in seven of THS’s eight games for an absurd 1,123 rush yards and 17 touchdowns this season. And don’t take your eyes off of fellow running back, Tyler Woods, because the senior has tacked on another 589 rush yards for Thunderbird to collect seven TDs. The rushing duo is averaging over 210 rushing yards per game. Combine that with junior quarterback, Andrew Cohill’s, 161 passing yards per game and those three players alone are responsible for nearly 400 yards of offense per game.
Week 8, The MTN creates caves. #76@CoachCamps5 @CoachNaletteTHS @TBirdFB @PrepRedzoneAZ @gridironarizona @JUSTCHILLY @Sports360AZ pic.twitter.com/bYudXrZgiO
— Micah “The MTN” Fonsica (@MicahFonsica) October 22, 2023
And don’t sleep on Woods on defense as well – Travis Woods, that is. The fellow senior has a team-leading 76 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss.
Northwest Christian has an aggressive offense of their own with senior quarterback, Evan Tarasenko at the helm. The QB has already surpassed 2,000 passing yards in 2023 for 29 touchdowns. A veteran receiving core made up of Gunnar Penzkover, Marshall Gillette, and Cole Muscari, has accounted for 26 of Tarasenko’s pass TDs and all three receivers have over 350 reception yards.
Gillette has also shown off his hands on defense as he leads the team with three interceptions.
@NC_CrusadersFB up 14-0 after 99-yard TD at Buckeye: pic.twitter.com/dOKXNglLid
— Jose E. Garcia (@AZPreps365Jose) September 30, 2023
This is the first meeting between these two schools in program history. Northwest Christian is currently ranked third in the 4A Conference while Thunderbird ranks sixth.
Final Opportunities in 3A
After going 5-5 in their inaugural AIA season in 2022, ALA – West Foothills has put themselves in a position to claim a region title and sits fifth in the 3A standings. Meanwhile, Dysart finds themselves in a must-win situation in the final week of the 3A season for a chance at the postseason.
Mid-Szn Highlights
– ALA Westfoothills (Waddell, Az)
– class of 2024Week 1-5 stats:
-Wr – 4rec – 149yds – 1td (2 games)
-Qb – 32/54 – 414yds – 7 td (3 games)
-Ss – 5 solo – 9 total -1 Sack (2 games)@AlaFoothills @davidortizjr12 @Coach_Hoff_NAU @coachtui_utu @CoachCimpl pic.twitter.com/8PnP1n5evg— Caden Callister (@cadencalli) September 18, 2023
A balanced offense has been the key to success for West Foothills in 2023. Three different players have accumulated over 800 total yards of offense while another three players have racked up over 250 yards. Caden Callister has been able to do it all. The senior Swiss army knife has totaled 38 rush yards, 381 receiving yards, and 414 passing yards while also snatching 22 total tackles, two defensive interceptions, and a sack. Meanwhile, JJ Brutus has been a monster on defense with a team-leading 23 tackles for loss and 21 sacks.
Dysart senior quarterback, Kye Brown, will lead the Demon offense against a stout ALA- WF defense. Brown has not only thrown for 1,660 yards and 19 touchdowns, but he has also dominated the ground game, averaging 70 rush yards per game to tack on another 10 TDs. Brown’s primary receiver, Avion Bailey, has averaged 100 reception yards per game while reeling in 12 touchdowns. The Demon defense will lean on players like Noah Ramirez, who has 60 total tackles, three sacks, and three interceptions.
Perfect way to start the season. Thank you to everyone who came out to support our team! pic.twitter.com/CeJcrP15Vp
— DysartDemonFootball (@DysartFootball) August 19, 2023
This is the second meeting between the schools in a crucial season finale. Last year’s game saw a 56-14 ALA – West Foothills win which earned the Guardians one of the final spots in last season’s playoffs.
Be sure to head out and support your local teams this Friday night! Also, keep watch at Sports360AZ for all of our high school football content including Bleacher Talk, Zone Read, AZ Audibles, Recruiting Roundup, and more.
Join the conversation on Twitter using #FridayNight360AZ and follow @Sports360AZ to keep up with the action from across the state on Friday nights!
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Devon Henry
Arizona native, Devon Henry, joined the Sports360AZ crew in 2018 after graduating from Arizona State's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication. Devon has avidly partaken in coverage of the Arizona high school sports scene since 2013 and has covered NASCAR and INDYCAR at Phoenix Raceway since 2017. Devon is also a play-by-play announcer, calling over a dozen different sports and hundreds of events.