Anything can happen in Arizona high school football.
Almost no upset is ever off the table.
And you never know when you’ll see back and forth affairs that go down to the wire. Or when dominant performances will happen against great opponents.
Thursday Rewind
Thursday night saw a little bit of both.
On the Fiesta Bowl High School Football Showdown, Desert Edge dominated Notre Dame Prep, 46-7.
Washington commit quarterback Blake Roskopf threw for five touchdowns and the defense flew all over the field.
TDs and a title belt to take home. Not a bad night for @DEdgeFootball QB Blake Roskopf! pic.twitter.com/eE8lhCqyix
— Fiesta Sports Foundation (@Fiesta_Bowl) September 11, 2026
Coach Henri MacArthur’s squad wants to go 14-0 and win the win the 5A title this year. It’s a tall task but the talent is there and the coaching and discipline seems to match it three weeks in. That Scorpions defense has only given up seven points…
Thursday also showcased two wildly entertaining and close games.
Down south, Tucson beat Walden Grove 35-31. It was back and forth with seven lead changes throughout.
Wide receiver Ezra Spivey had two touchdown catches, including an incredible one over a defender.
Ezra Spivey with a 20-yard touchdown reception. Spivey extended the drive by running a fake punt for a first down. Tucson High leads Walden Grove 14-7 pic.twitter.com/c9oc1OvMRb
— James Kelley (@jameskelley520) September 11, 2026
In Chandler, Arizona College Prep outlasted Chaparral, 28-27.
J’Cory Horne Jr. led the charge, rushung for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
Goodbye, @JCoryHorneJr34
The 2027 RB dashes 37 yards to the
to give @ACPFootball17 the lead. His second of the day. 21-17 Knights | 9:18 3Q@AZHSFB @12SportsAZ pic.twitter.com/7Q3bP4kiFq
— Adam Beadle (@therealbeadle) September 11, 2026
Friday night madness
The shocking score of the night: Pinnacle over Basha, 40-7.
Yes I did a double take too.
After beating Chandler in a nationally ranked game week one, the Bears have falled to 1-2 with a loss to Orange Lutheran last week.
You have to give your flowers to Pinnacle. The Pioneers defense shut down one of the most physical and dominat offenses on paper. Turnovers helped the offense get rolling and not look back.
While this game puts Pinnacle in the top 6 of the Open rankings, I don’t think it means that Basha is no longer an Open title contender. It’d be foolish to count them out…
Other open contenders continue to make their mark.
Hamilton star wide receiver Roye Oliver III made his season debut against Perry. The Huskies won 30-22.
Quarterback Jax Sculley scored four total touchdowns in the win.
Set up by this nasty Jax Sculley throw (via @YurView_AZ) https://t.co/y8tps6hAmq pic.twitter.com/1zX0D4uC0b
— ArizonaVarsity.com
PREPS (@AZHSFB) September 12, 2026
Centennial pounded Mesa Mountain View, 27-3, behind eight forced turnovers. Each week that defense continues to make the case that the Coyotes are ready for a deep Open division run. Pair that with a really solid offense and it’s possible they are the best team in the state…
Higley continues to show that a high powered offense can win a lot of 6A games, beating Casteel 43-42 Friday night.
Eddy Zubey’s team has flown under the radar since moving up to 6A but they seem to enjoy playing with a chip on their shoulder. Might be an early favorite to win the 6A title, if they don’t play their way past the first round of the Open Division.
Notable scores
Mountain Ridge 30 – Mountain Pointe 29
Red Mountain 35 – Sandra Day O’Connor 45
Queen Creek 7 – Brophy 49
Chandler 42 – Salpointe Catholic 7
Full manual scoreboard from Gridiron below.
Score of the Night: Pinnacle 40 Basha 7. Shocker in the North Valley against a team ranked nationally just 2 weeks ago. Here’s the rest of the Manual Scoreboard for 6A & 5A for Week 3. . . . pic.twitter.com/l7wXlcCEhu
— Gridiron Arizona (@gridironarizona) September 12, 2026
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