Electric Friday night upsets, rebound performances, and more

Another week of high school football, means another week of unexpected scores, storylines, and more.

Before looking at Friday’s electric action, lets look back at Thursday night.

Thursday

The Fiesta Bowl High School Football Showdown featured Canyon View and Chaparral this week.

The Canyon View Jaguars ultimately came on out victorious, 38-31. It was back and forth early, with the Jags pulling away late on the back of great defensive stops and turnovers.

The Jags gave us another thriller in Week 4! 😮‍💨

Canyon View outlasted Chaparral, 38-31, on Thursday night in the Fiesta Bowl High School Football Showdown. pic.twitter.com/svuF2Fhrgp

— Fiesta Sports Foundation (@Fiesta_Bowl) September 18, 2026

JR Alcantar is 4-0 in year two with the Jags now, after leading them to a 5A state title appearance in 2025. That is a heck of a coaching job on a team with lots of talent. 

On Chaparral’s side, year two of Trace Carroll is still going well. He’s made them competitive again and the talent is only going to continue to develop and grow. Wide receiver Jax Breslow is going to be a star on Saturdays.

Another Thursday night score to note: Sunrise Mountain beat Arizona College Prep, 37-32. Both teams are now 2-2 in what will be a wild 5A conference.

Friday night madness

Kicking off Friday with the game of the night, Liberty at Basha.

After a 1-2 start for Basha, including a blowout loss to Pinnacle last week, the Bears respond with a 30-22 final score.

The defense flew all over the field to force multiple Liberty turnovers, which is uncharacteristic of the Lions.

The Open division may be “wide open” this year with improved Centennial, Hamilton, and Chandler teams, but Basha won’t let two early season losses prevent them from being there at the end of the year. Neither will Liberty let this loss slow them down.

Basha wins 30-22 over Liberty. The defense came alive in the second half with an forced fumble returned for a TD and a late INT. An impressive bounce back from last year’s Open state champion. pic.twitter.com/MEDpjKV707

— Patrick Breen 🌵 (@pjbreenphoto) September 19, 2026

Speaking of Hamilton, the Huskies took care of business against Casteel, 44-25. This team is explosive on offense and may be in the drivers seat for the Open Division title when the regular season concludes. Devante Roebuck had three rushing touchdowns and Jax Sculley played lights out as the signal caller.

Down in 5A, the shocker of the night was ALA Gilbert-North beating Desert Edge 33-30. We know the Eagles are a solid team, but no one expected the Scorpions to drop a game this year.

Coach Ty Detmer credits his coordinators for getting the most out of his two-way players and drawing things up that they can execute through cramps and injuries.

The 5A conference may be the most competitive one this season. Both of these two team could meet in December, but Desert Mountain, Canyon View, Millenium, Horizon, Desert View, and Campo Verde have teams talented enough and well coached enough to get there.

Gridiron will have more on this game on our site…

ICYMI: In a classic game with 6 lead changes, ALA-Gilbert North knocked off Desert Edge 33-30.

Big game for Isaac Massey on both sides of the ball.

— Gridiron Arizona (@gridironarizona) September 19, 2026

Down in 4A, Maryvale beat Eastmark 30-23. Much different story in year two of the Carter Brothers’ return to the ‘Vale. A 3-1 start with a win over a team like Eastmark is huge and sets the stage for a team that can make a deep postseason push once a few transfers are inserted into the lineup as well.

Tempe high school came back against La Jolla and won 33-32 on the back of senior athlete Jaiden Hart-Rodriguez. He had three touchdowns, two picks, and kicked an extra point… might just be the best performance of the week.

Other scores

Take a look at Gridiron’s manual scoreboard for other scores across the state.

Score of the Night: Basha 30 Liberty 22. Bears get off the mat and deliver the Lions their first loss. Here’s the rest of the 6A & 5A scores on the Manual Scoreboard. . . . pic.twitter.com/jnKwINZWs4

— Gridiron Arizona (@gridironarizona) September 19, 2026