Cody Cameron is in his second year with ArizonaVarsity, and he brings a unique mix of playing, broadcasting and analytical experience to the team. Follow him on Twitter HERE, and make sure to Follow Arizona Varsity on:

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This past Friday Night I went out to Desert Ridge High School to watch the Jaguars take on the Red Mountain Mountain Lions. After a dominating first half performance where Red Mountain jumped out to a commanding 28-7 lead, Senior RB Ty McElroy took a fourth down toss in the fourth quarter to the right side and punched his way into the end zone for his 2nd score of the night. Red Mountain cruised to a 34-14 win to open up the season with a 1-0 record after the road victory.

Hyrum Boren, a player who played outside linebacker last year for Red Mountain, made his first Varsity start at QB last Friday night, and man did he look impressive. Boren converted on multiple 3rd downs in the first half that kept scoring drives alive by throwing darts to his wideouts with perfect accuracy. Boren also showed off his dual-threat ability by picking up first downs with his legs. Boren is a tough competitor who will only get better as the season progresses. I talked to Boren after the game about his impressions on his first varsity start, “Just to see what works and what doesn’t,” said Boren. “I didn’t play quarterback last year and this was my first game (at QB) in 2 years. Just getting the kinks out early and we’re just going to be better from now on.”

Jared Wilson absolutely lit up the Desert Ridge secondary in the first half. Wilson was Boren’s go-to target, especially on third downs. Wilson did a great job of finding soft spots in the secondary, and making tremendous catches in traffic. Wilson made the play of the game when he caught an underneath route, juked out multiple Desert Ridge defenders, and scooted down the left sideline for a Mountain Lions TD. “Our QB trusts us receivers,” said Wilson. “He’ll put it out there for us because he knows we’ll do are best and most of the time come down with it.”

After about a half of football I was about ready to give George Ramirez the MVP award.The junior safety and ArizonaVarsity’s Underclassman Defensive Player of the Year award winner from last season had a statistic in just about every category after two quarters of football. Ramirez made a couple huge hits on some tackles, had a pass break-up to end the half, blocked a punt in the first quarter, had a couple carries on offense, threw a TD at wildcat QB on offense, and also punted a ball inside the 20. Give me 11 George Ramirez’ and I’ll win a bunch of football games every season.

I’m a huge fan of Joquarri Price. The Senior DE and San Diego State commit showed off tremendous strength by shedding off a few blockers to make a couple plays in the backfield. He had the defensive play of the game as he came off a block and stripped the ball away from a Red Mountain RB early in the fourth quarter.

Jared Nichols played very well for Desert Ridge in the secondary. The Junior DB came flying down to make a great open field tackle in the red zone early in the first quarter. He did a tremendous job in coverage, staying over the top on deep passes and breaking up a couple 50/50 balls.

There is nothing too flashy about Koby Hathcock. He doesn’t wear any tape or wristbands on his arms, he doesn’t even wear gloves. What you do get from Hathcock is a hard-nosed football player who gives max effort on every single play that he’s in. He was constantly making plays sideline-to-sideline from his LB position. He does a great job of coming up to force as well as driving his hips and feet through contact. This young man fights like a warrior on every single play. Iowa State will be getting a pretty special player at long-snapper.

Deadly Duo

The Red Mountain backfield is one of the best in the state. The combination of power and speed that both Senior RBs Ty McElroy and Deonce Elliott possess is a coach’s dream. Add the fact that ASU commit Ben Bray and Air Force commit Costen Cooley anchor the offensive line, and you have yourself a pretty powerful running game. McElroy finished with a pair of TDs, and Elliot added some dynamic big yardage runs. “They’re two of the best backs in the state,” said QB Hyrum Boren in our post-game interview. “I can confidently say we have the best backfield in the state.”

Desert Ridge's Schedule

Desert Ridge has yet another season where their schedule is absolutely brutal. The Jaguars will have to play Chandler, Desert Vista, Liberty, Queen Creek, Mountain Pointe, and Highland this season. Even next week’s opponent Westview is a very well-coached team with good athletes on both sides of the ball. One of the keys to success here is the development of 6’5 Junior QB Austin Kolb and the chemistry he builds with his WRs. Kolb finished this game completing 10 of his 21 pass attempts for 136 yards and a TD. Red Mountain did a great job of using different blitz schemes to get to Kolb especially on 3rddowns. Kolb had a couple really nice runs, escaping pressure to pick up big first downs. One of Desert Ridge’s best playmakers in WR Andrew Chino was in street clothes, and WR and Cal Commit Aidan Lee only had one catch on the night. That won’t happen every single week. Once Kolb gains some more game experience and continues to strengthen his chemistry with his wide-outs, this Jaguars offense has the ability to become explosive.

2020 Red Mountain DE Tre Smith (6-4, 230)

Tre Smith is an absolute beast. The Senior DE finished with multiple sacks including back-to-back sacks late in the 4thQ. Smith has a non-stop motor and has an explosive first step off the snap of the football. Smith has a few FCS offers from South Dakota State and Abilene Christian, and if I’m a school that’s located in the northern part of this state, I would think highly about offering this Red Mountain DE.

2022 Desert Ridge RB Jordan Wilson (5-9, 175)

Wilson was a big bright spot for the Desert Ridge offense. The Sophomore RB exploded through a hole on an inside run play and sprinted past the Red Mountain defense for a 49-yard TD run in the first quarter. Wilson finished the game with 102 yards on only 15 carries.

"I’ve been playing with that line since Freshman year, some of them since 6th grade. That’s the best I’ve ever seen them block.” – Red Mountain running back Ty McElroy on the offensive line performance.

“All of our guys came out to play, all of our young bucks. They bought into what Coach Enders was preaching all week. Be in you gap, play sound football like he always preaches. Enders is one of the best DC’s out here.” – Red Mountain Safety George Ramirez on the defensive performers, and how he thinks the defense executed Defensive Coordinator’s Kyle Enders’ game plan.

(1-0) Cesar Chavez @ (1-0) Red Mountain

(0-1) Desert Ridge @ (0-0) Westview