Standing on the sidelines next with Brett Quintyne, Jason Skoda and other members of the media last Friday night, we all were able to witness a Mountain Pointe Pride team dominate both sides of the ball against Pinnacle. Unlike previous years, Coach Norrris Vaughan mixed in a heavy dose of passing plays throughout the game, using QB Jack Smith's talent to help put away the Pioneers.

"We threw the ball really well," head coach Norris Vaughn said after the Pride's 27-7 victory over Pinnacle. "We made plays when we had to, especially on third down."

Smith showed poise and arm strength last Friday, and the UNLV commit has a big-time playmaker on the outside in Isaiah Pola-Mao. When you throw in senior Ralph Roman and junior Jaydon Brooks as additional reliable targets for Sith, it's a wonder that they aren't part of the championship conversation.

Mountain Pointe's running game isn't flashy, but it's effective. Macarius Blount carried the ball 27 times for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win over Pinnacle. Blount might not be breaking Paul-Lucas like 60-yard gains, but he moves the pile forward every play.

Believe it or not, the defense is as strong as ever. Keevile Brown led Mountain Pointe with 14 tackles in the Pinnacle game, while Isaiah Pola-Mao and his 6'2" 289-pound freshman brother Matthew, were forces to be reckoned with. Dillon Goulet and Rashie Hodge Jr harassed quarterback Spencer Rattler and batted down balls at the line, while Daulton Rittenhouse was all over the field, piling up 12 tackles.

Chandler and Hamilton get all the glory, and they deserve it. The accomplishments both of those schools have are impressive. But shouldn't Mountain Pointe, who capped off a dominant 2013 undefeated season with a state championship, and finished last season as a semifinalist be afforded that same respect?

Coach Norris Vaughan was asked after the game if he felt that his team was overlooked. He responded with, "Some things we did tonight, I would overlook us too. We didn't block really well, we had too many penalties late in the game." It's almost as if he's looking for reasons to keep his team off the championship radar, when the truth is that Mountain Pointe could be the toughest team to beat in Division 1. The Pride are the type of team that wears an opponent down, and they make sure to not beat themselves.

While some may think that because they graduated nearly all of last year's talent, and struggled to put away a since-undefeated D2 Marcos de Niza team, that they weren't worthy of a place in the top-tier conversation Still, it is very possible that if the Pride are able to come out with a victory in the 10/1 'Tukee Bowl against Desert Vista, they go undefeated in the regular season- a feat they'll alone accomplish in D1 if Chandler can beat Hamilton in week 10.

After beating Pinnacle, coach Vaughan said, "I just want to win." At the end of the day, if they do that, the respect will come.