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It had upheaval, changes, forfeits, suspensions, records, renewal. But in the end, the expected prevailed.

Let’s rewind the 2018 Arizona high school football season:

Biggest takeaway

It’s all everybody on social media wanted to chime in about during the three big-school championship routs over the weekend. A need for an Open Division. A need for 4A champion Scottsdale Saguaro and 5A champion Peoria Centennial to move up. For 6A champion Chandler to play those teams during the regular season. Not just in scrimmages when first-team players only play for a few series and the schemes are stripped down to vanilla. Everybody expected these three teams to be left standing on top of their respective conferences at the end of the season. And did anybody expect any drama in the finals? I thought the 6A final might be competitive with Gilbert Perry coming on strong and Chandler needing overtime to put away Gilbert Highland in the semifinals. But that OT win only refueled the Wolves, who decimated Perry’s front line all game. That 65-28 rout set a record for most points scored by a team in a state championship game in 6A and 5A. The previous record was set four hours earlier when Centennial blew out Scottsdale Notre Dame 60-7. Centennial’s only challenge came against Nevada champion Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, a 13-7 win early in the season. Saguaro’s only loss came against Henderson (Nev.) Liberty early in the year.  Chandler’s only loss came to begin the season at Corona (Calif.) Centennial. Both Chandler and Saguaro got much stronger throughout the second half of the season with added resources.

Best ride

It was the one coach Brock Farrell, in only his second season at Gilbert Highland, took the Hawks on in 6A, taking Chandler to overtime in the semifinals. That was Chandler’s only scare against Arizona opponents, and it showed just how far Farrell took a mediocre program in the past two years. Highland was void of blue-chip skill players and linemen recruits, but the Hawks showed grit and passion, were physical and had a strong senior nucleus that made younger players feel like they were a vital part of the process.

Best offense

Saguaro can make an argument, especially late in the season, but, overall, Chandler showed how it could adjust throughout the season, alternating from pass- to run-heavy and feeding senior running back DeCarlos Brooks when needed behind a line that decimated Perry’s defensive front in the state final. Brooks got loose for more than 330 yards and six touchdowns rushing.

Best defense

Coach Richard Taylor has had a lot of talented defenses among his seven state championship teams dating to 2005, but no Centennial team until this year allowed fewer points (85) in a 14-game season. The first team allowed just 35 points all season. The Coyotes had to move defensive back A.J. Jackson to outside linebacker for the last three games to help fill the void of injured players, and Centennial never skipped a beat.

Best team

Even though Chandler looked impressive on both sides of the ball in its 6A title win, intercepting QB Chubba Purdy three times and carving up the defense, Centennial didn’t lose ground to the Wolves in my book. Because there is no Open Division and because Centennial had only a preseason scrimmage with Chandler, nobody will know for sure. But the Coyotes made up for a lack of size on the defensive front with speed and strength. They had guys going both ways, led by Jaydin Young and Jackson. Other than being shut out by Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei in the opener, the seven points Bishop Gorman scored in its 13-7 loss at Centennial were the fewest the Gaels scored as they rolled to another Nevada title. A lot of people were saying this was a down year for Bishop Gorman. But the Gaels’ only other loss was to California powerhouse Concord De La Salle, 27-21. As it turns out, De La Salle and Mater Dei are playing each other on Saturday for the CIF Open Division championship.

Best game

The triple-overtime 3A championship between Phoenix Northwest Christian and Yuma Catholic. Northwest made up for a 36-30 loss in August to Yuma Catholic with a 40-37, 3OT win in the final. And head coach Dave Inness watched his son, Dusty, make the game-winning catch in the third overtime for the perfect ending. It was the only close game among the six conference championships. And it made up for all of the blowouts.

Best late addition

When dynamo Marqui Johnson obtained a court order to beat the Arizona Interscholastic Association to get on the field, Saguaro’s offense took on a whole new dimension. It also opened things up for QB Tyler Beverett and RB Israel Benjamin. And when Saguaro needed to get back momentum in the 4A championship game after Tucson Salpointe Catholic tied the score at 7, Johnson returned the kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Saguaro never lost the lead the rest of the way en route to a 42-16 win for a sixth state championship in a row.

Best records

Who knows if Phoenix Pinnacle senior Spencer Rattler could have surpassed 12,000 career yards, but his season ended in October because of a school code of conduct violation a week after he had passed the 11,000-yard mark. That was the first time an Arizona high school quarterback broke 11,000 yards. In the playoffs, Yuma Catholic QB Gage Reese and WR J.R. Henderson both broke season state records. Reese’s 64 TD passes broke the previous state record of 61, and Henderson’s 29 TD catches broke the previous mark of 27.

Best moment

The best moment of the season was when Phoenix Brophy Prep running back Adonis Watt, who is blind, ran for two touchdowns against Mesa Mountain View in a freshman game in September.

READ MORE

  • Arizona high school football state championship results
  • DeCarlos Brooks leads Chandler to blow out of Perry, 3rd straight 6A title
  • Centennial routs Notre Dame Prep to repeat as 5A champions
  • Saguaro’s season of adversity comes together for 6th straight state title

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.

 

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