The top three teams in the 4A-I Desert Sky region all won on Friday. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Scottsdale Saguaro, Scottsdale Chaparral and Paradise Valley have been ranked in the Tribune’s top-5 since the season started and are a combined 13-0.
But each team’s region opener sure wasn’t easy.
Phoenix Shadow Mountain was within 10 at the half before Saguaro pulled away for a 24-0 win. Chaparral trailed in the second quarter against Apache Junction, and a fortuitous bounce on a punt helped greatly in grabbing a halftime lead. The Firebirds also pulled away in the second half, winning 31-12. The closest call was Paradise Valley, which never trailed but had to hold on for a 21-16 over Cave Creek Cactus Shadows.
As chronicled in Friday’s VarsityXtra section, the Desert Sky is stacked with talent from top to bottom. Cactus Shadows and Shadow Mountain tied for last place in region play last season, finishing 1-5, and they’re already giving the top teams a run for their money.
The next month and a half should be a lot of fun as everything gets sorted out.
