If you love parity (I warned you that word was coming) then September is becoming a month to remember.
The status quo has held true through most of the Class 1A through 5A-II schools to date. Of those schools in this week’s rankings, only Chandler Valley Christian suffered a defeat on Friday night, and that was a close game against a good Phoenix Christian team.
In 5A-I, however, things get dicey.
Chandler Hamilton looked like the leader, until it got beat pretty good by Peoria Centennial. Phoenix Brophy rebounded well enough from losing to Hamilton, but Horizon is in 5A-II and struggling. Previously-undefeated Gilbert has already meandered through a truckload of tribulations and was stopped by Tucson Salpointe.
Tempe Corona del Sol and Mesa Mountain View are rolling early, but the competition won’t be worldly for another couple weeks. Phoenix Desert Vista was awful in Week 1, awesome in Week 2.
Chandler Basha almost lost the farm against Glendale Deer Valley but held on late, prompting Bears coach Tim McBurney’s line of the weekend: “It’s a good thing I already had my heart attack because this was a tough one.”
(Careful Tim, major cardiac episodes aren’t like removing your appendix. They can come back.)
Chandler and Scottsdale Desert Mountain are off to the races early, which should make next Friday’s Chandler-Desert Vista matchup a sight to see.
All of this means that in a world of premature, lock-of-the-week prognosticating - I was hoping our preseason football preview videos were taken off our Varsity Xtra website, but am told they’re still prominently displayed - these first three weeks have left more questions and precious few answers.
The 5A-I rankings will change again next week (Sorry, you’ll have to bite your nails until Monday or Tuesday). The way it’s gone thus far, this shuffle is going to continue.
Hope you like parity.
