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The eyes of Arizona high school football will be focused on Chandler even more than usual this fall, with Basha expected to join Chandler and Hamilton on the short list of potential Open Division champions. But with eight spots in Arizona’s top playoff division and two rough West Valley regions giving the winners plenty of power point fuel, the Westside will almost certainly produce one Open team, and very likely to send at least two. Here’s a look at the six top contenders for those spots, plus two intriguing long shots, in a four-tiered system:
Tier 1: Open or Bust
Liberty (6A Desert Valley) – Following overtime losses at Chandler in the last two Open semifinals, it’s fair to label the Lions as an Open final or bust team. While the Lions certainly will miss four-year starting safety Jax Stam and the secondary is their one area of uncertainty, don’t be surprised if Liberty breaks through this year. Every other position group has a star or a player with star potential, namely Oregon-bound DE My’Keil Gardner, Idaho commit Layton Vining, junior QB Navi Bruzon on the edge of a breakout season, plus LB Anthony Ruiz, RB Zach Wallace and WR Grant Brunelle. We should have a better idea if this is THE season for Liberty following its first five games, which include a trip to Colorado power Valor Christian Sept. 16, followed by Sept. 30 at Saguaro in the Open final that never was and Oct. 7 at revenge-minded Basha – a team the Lions battered on both sides of the line in the Open quarters last year.
Desert Edge (5A Desert West) – Co-coaches Marcus and Mark Carter and the Scorpions’ players have not shied away from making a return to the Open a priority. Desert Edge lost to Chandler in the 2020 quarterfinals. It was the stated goal at the Agua Fria district media day, even beyond a 5A championship. While the Chandler teams, Saguaro and Liberty look like a unanimous top five in some order, Desert Edge also looks like the best team in 5A – and the conference has always sent at least one team to the Open. Three juniors — CB Aundre Gibson, LB/DE DeShawn Warner and WR Kezion Dia-Johnson already have multiple Power Five offers. Senior RB Christopher Cordero, senior WR Gavin Parks, senior DE Maxwell Sawyer and junior MLB Jaylen Dawson are back after very productive 2021 seasons. And the co-coaches nephew, OT Kaleb Jackson Carter, arrived from Fresno, received offers from almost half the Big Sky and is eligible from day one.
Tier 2: 50/50 Shots
Centennial (6A Desert Valley) – The program that was the pre-COVID gold standard plummeted to a shocking 3-8 season after trips to the Open in its first two years. While the 2022 Coyotes do not profile like the 2015 team that won Arizona’s first attempt at a super division, a rededicated Centennial squad looks to be in the same general vicinity as Highland, Queen Creek and Red Mountain – either one of the final teams in the Open or favorites for the 6A crown. Northwestern-bound DT Dylan Roberts leads the way and CB Demari Washington and RB Kavaughn Clark have multiple D1 offers. Iowa State sent early offers to WR/DE Noah Carter and CB Kenny Worthy. The big question is, can the offensive and defensive lines return to anything close to Centennial’s dominant standards. Offseason weight-room results are promising. The schedule is still tough, but not as unforgiving as last season’s. Chandler and Chaparral are replaced by Desert Vista and Boulder Creek.
Cactus (5A Desert West) – The highest ranked West Valley team in 2021 is the most unknown quantity this year. With Saguaro and Salpointe out of 4A for the foreseeable future, Cactus played as well as any other school with 4A enrollment could hope for, going undefeated and earning the 4 seed. Waves of change followed the first round loss to Saguaro. Coach Joseph Ortiz left for Perry, most of the Cobras’ starters graduated and the program was promoted into the toughest region in 5A. Both lines are major question marks, but this next batch of Cobras appears to have maintained its speed, personified by WR/DB Will Galvan, RB Damian Jiles, S Polo Banuelos and LB Tovia Vito. Watch out for sophomoreWR/DB Nikko Boncore-Montoya. The schedule is far more difficult with Desert Mountain, ALA-QC and Basha leading into a stacked region featuring Desert Edge, Millennium, Sunrise Mountain and Verrado. Can Cactus get through its first five games with one or two losses, then bump up its offense when Deer Valley transfer QB Rudy Gonzales is eligible.
Tier 3: Dark Horses
Mountain Ridge (6A Desert Valley) – Ask Centennial and Mountain View what the upstart Mountain Lions are capable of when hitting on all cylinders. But Mountain Ridge needs to play with more consistency to contend for an Open spot. The schedule is also spotty, with not enough strength to survive three losses – or maybe even two – between Centennial, Hamilton and Liberty. Top end senior talent like Northwestern commit and OT Alex Doost, QB Brendan Anderson, WR Terrance Hall, Cornell bound DE Jason Kirkland and CB Korey Johnson can play with anyone in Arizona. Junior S Hayden Allen and WR Jayden Sullivan (an Ironwood transfer) can help the team continue to surprise, but a couple more players most step up for Mountain Ridge to leap to Open Division contention.
Sunrise Mountain (5A Desert West) – Like Cactus, the key will be to minimize early losses until a transfer quarterback can step in. In the Mustangs case, there are two options – senior Austin Glimpse (from Centennial) and sophomore Vanden Dugger (from Saguaro). We’ll know after two weeks if SunriseMountain has a legitimate shot. The Mustangs always play Liberty well and wins over the Lions and Long Beach Millikan would put this team in the Open conversation. The 2020 squad was a near miss. This team has a solid senior core like that one, led by LB Micah Johnson, CB De’Mykal Anderson, RB Rex Underhill and CB Caleb Scott. But this senior class isn’t as deep as that one and both sides of the line have far more questions this year.
Tier 4: Long shots
Glendale (4A West Valley) – Though the AIA now has a multiplier that tilts the balance toward 6A and 5A schools, an undefeated 4A school could still make the open. Glendale is the best bet locally. But an opener against Apollo, a trip to Snowflake and a rough region with Yuma Catholic, Northwest Christian, Peoria and Buckeye lessen the Cardinals’ chances of 10-0.
Millennium (5A Desert West) – Though the Tigers were 5-6 last year, 15 starters return and a good number of those are three-year starters. If Millennium can settle on a quarterback finish at least second in the Desert West, this veteran team will be on the radar.
