Division I football quarterfinals feature pair of rematches
November 9, 2011 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
There are no Cinderella stories among the remaining eight teams in the 2011 Division I football playoffs. Just steady play and for the most part routs aplenty from many of their regular-season victories.
The music stops for half the field Thursday night with a pair of rematches highlighting the quartet of 7 p.m. contests.
No. 1 seed Hamilton (11-0) tries to remain perfect all-time with rival and No. 9 seed Chandler (8-3) at Hamilton. Chandler gave Hamilton its toughest game of the year at the midpoint, but couldn't hold a touchdown lead in the second half and dropped a 28-21 decision.
Hamilton has played lights out since and as usual has hit the postseason running. Six of its 11 wins are against teams that qualified for postseason. Blowouts of at least 25 points have occurred in the Huskies last five victories following the win over Chandler.
Chandler's only three losses are to Hamilton, No. 3 seed Desert Vista and No. 7 Basha. The Wolves have been in back-to-back scuffles with Desert Vista and last week's overtime win over Westview.
The other rematch from the regular season pits No. 5 Red Mountain (9-2) at No. 4 Desert Ridge (9-2). Red Mountain knocked off Desert Ridge, 20-13, on Sept. 30, one of eight straight wins the Mountain Lions have pulled off. The breakaway threat of Marcus Brantley on the ground and the passing threat of quarterback Mason Thorman give Desert Ridge plenty to defend.
Desert Ridge has its running game in high gear with Joey Counts leading the way after a 234-yard, five touchdown outing vs. Boulder Creek. Dual-threat Jordan Becerra has had almost a couple weeks off on offense shrugging off an ankle sprain. He wasn't needed much last week and quarterback Parker Rasmussen passed only six times. Counts was just rounding into form the last time the teams met after being slowed the first month with a shoulder injury. Desert Ridge should have Counts, Becerra and Rasmussen in tow for this one.
Unbeaten and No. 2 seed Brophy Prep (11-0) entertains No. 7 Basha (8-3). Basha has posted back-to-back shutouts, but will have to play lights out on defense or engage in a shootout to beat the Broncos.
Brophy fended off a rematch with Mountain Pointe last week, breaking away in the second half for a 28-3 victory. Basha is a more complete offensive team than Mountain Pointe and is led by quarterback Kyle Duran. The Bears will provide a test the Broncos' defense. Brophy has marquee wins over Red Mountain, Westview and Mountain Pointe twice among its 11 triumphs.
No. 3 Desert Vista (10-1) hosts No. 6 Pinnacle (9-2) in the other quarterfinal matchup. Desert Vista was overmatched only its loss to Hamilton (35-10). The Thunder get it done offensively behind a trio of running backs and generally steady play from its defense.
Pinnacle lost its final two regular-season games and lacks a marquee win. Finding a way to upset Desert Vista would satisfy that void, especially after a fourth-quarter meltdown vs. Desert Mountain in Week 9 and being overmatched by Brophy (52-7) in Week 10. Pinnacle regained some confidence last week by eliminating Cibola in the opening round.
