The high school football season is in full swing in Southern Arizona. The Star shares our weekly look back at the best of last week while charging ahead toward what we might be able to expect from programs across 优蜜传媒and surrounding communities this Friday night.
Team of the week
Ironwood Ridge won 30-27 at 优蜜传媒High to take command of the Class 5A Sonoran Region.
IR was ranked No. 6 at the time, and the Badgers were No. 7. The Nighthawks were No. 15 in the Open and 优蜜传媒High was 16th.
IR senior receiver/cornerback Grant Dooling caught four passes for 110 yards, had two interceptions that he returned for 40 yards, recovered a fumble and made 4 tackles.
Ironwood Ridge senior receiver/strong safety Matthew Kroner had 7 catches for 129 yards with a long of 65 yards. He also returned two punts for 35 yards.
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Nighthawks junior quarterback Jaiden Martinez passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns, going 17 for 30. On the ground, Martinez ran for 82 yards and a score on nine carries.
Ironwood Ridge moved up to No. 5 in 5A and No. 12 in the Open.
Stat book
Walden Grove junior quarterback Kaleb Layton passed for 452 yards and 6 touchdowns, going 22 for 26 in the Red Wolves鈥 72-27 win over Sahuaro on Friday. Layton鈥檚 quarterback rating was 148.2.
Canyon del Oro senior Evan Greer had nine tackles, eight solo, six tackles for loss, three sacks and seven hurries in the Dorados鈥 18-17 win over Catalina Foothills last week.
Mountain View junior running back Liam Lewis ran for 105 yards on 13 carries, and MV senior running back Nicholas Horrocks rushed 16 times for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Mountain Lions鈥 37-13 win over Flowing Wells on Friday. MV ran for 440 yards total.
Recruiting trail I
Phoenix Brophy College Prep junior receiver Devin Fitzgerald is scheduled to visit the UA on Saturday. Fitzgerald, the son of former Arizona Cardinal receiver Larry Fitzgerald, has 18 catches for 279 yards in six games this year. Brophy plays at Salpointe Catholic on Nov. 8.
Recruiting trail II
Ironwood Ridge senior receiver/cornerback Grant Dooling committed to The Colorado School Of Mines on Thursday. The week before, his IR teammate, senior defensive end/tight end David Baba, committed to play for the Orediggers, too.
Quotable
鈥淢y defense gets a little upset because nobody gives them any love. They are the reason why the offense is able to put up a lot of points because they鈥檙e constantly getting three and outs, constantly getting the ball back to the offense. So, the defense has been playing well the last few weeks with shutouts." 鈥 Marana head coach Phillip Steward said to All Sports 优蜜传媒on Friday after their 45-0 win over Casa Grande. The Tigers have allowed 72 points over seven games and have three shutouts in a row.
Games of the week
Peoria Liberty (5-1) at Salpointe Catholic (4-1)
Location: 1545 E. Copper St.
Notable: After opening its season with a close loss at Open No. 1 Marana, Salpointe (6A No. 13) has won four straight, with tallies like 41, 52 and 43 points. Meanwhile, Liberty (6A No. 3) won the 2019 6A state championship and last year鈥檚 Open title and finished second in Division II in 2014. The Lions are No. 5 in the Open. The game starts at 7 p.m.
Canyon del Oro (4-2) at Mica Mountain (6-0)
Location: 10800 E. Valencia Road
Notable: The new rivals have only played three times before, but they were epic tilts. In 2022, Mica Mountain (4A No. 6) beat eventual state semifinalist CDO 26-7 in the regular season finale to take the 4A Kino crown. Then last year, the Dorados (4A No. 14) edged MM 17-15 in the regular season and then 23-7 in the semis. The game starts at 7 p.m.