Mogollon vs. Bagdad. The sequel.

The headliners on the Division VI football championship marquee will take center stage for the second consecutive year. Their appearance in the 2014 title game doesn’t come as a surprise, as Bagdad and Mogollon were ranked in the top-3 when the Sollenbeger AZ Prep Football preseason online rankings were released.

Each team is undefeated (9-0), but Bagdad is the favorite again, and Mogollon is shooting for a different championship ending this season. Last year, Mogollon kept the game close for a while before Bagdad broke away for a 44-20 win at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix.

Last year's title marked the first time that Bagdad, which opened in 1948, won a sanctioned state championship football game. 

"The difference this year for us is the confidence," Bagdad coach Dalton Mills said. "We were more talented last year, but we know what to expect this year." 

This year, the championship game rematch will start at 6 p.m. on Saturday at North Canyon High, where Bagdad will bring a similar look on offense, but Mogollon will arrive with a different game plan. 

Mogollon was primarily a run team last year, but its attack is more balanced this year thanks to the emergence of quarterback Brock Slade. Slade’s production (24 touchdowns, four interceptions this year) kept opponents from focusing on senior running back Jaden Willis (1,249 rushing yards, 19 touchdowns) this season. 

Slade’s father, Tim, is Mogollon’s head coach.

“I also call the offense,” Tim said. “So I know there is a lot of pressure on him (Brock), and I know he feels it.”

But Tim said he is also proud of the way his son responded in his first season as the team’s signal caller.

Because of an injury to another player, Slade was a tight end last year, but he is showing off his strong throwing arm this year. Slade stepped up in the state semifinals, when the other state title favorite, Pima, attempted to stop Mogollon’s run game.

But Slade threw for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the 28-12 semifinal victory. 

(Mogollon quarterback Brock Slade. Photo by Andy Morales/aia365.com)

“We told the guys after the semifinal game that we deserve to be here (championship game),” Tim said. “We expected to be here. We need to feel good about what we accomplished.”

Bagdad can say the same thing.

Like Mogollon, Bagdad, which hasn't lost since Nov. 3, 2012, can beat opponents in multiple ways with the veteran weapons it possesses. Bagdad’s primary weapon is running back Casey Jean, who has rushed for more than 3,200 yards and 50 touchdowns in his three-year career.

(Bagdad's Casey Jean. Photo by Andy Morales/aia365.com) 

The senior has been averaging 10 yards per carry since he started playing varsity. Fullback Justin Pacheco, Bagdad’s strongest player, can also do damage as a blocker and rusher.

Mogollon also will have to deal with another Bagdad veteran, quarterback Tony Juaregui, who has thrown only three interceptions during his three-year career. Mogollon linebacker Baylend Stephens, the state’s third leading tackler (120 total) in D-VI according to Maxpreps, and his defensive crew will certainly have their hands full.

On defense for Bagdad, it starts one of the state’s better defensive lineman, Lakin Yargus (6-4, 225), who totaled 17 sacks in his team’s first seven games. Bagdad hasn’t really been tested since its Week 1 38-32 victory over Pima.

Besides Pima, the other common opponents Bagdad and Mogollon have played this season are Gilbert Christian (lost 64-53 to Mogollon and 60-25 Bagdad) and Mayer (lost 70-20 to Mogollon and 58-6 to Bagdad). Bagdad isn't just playing for another championship this year.

It is also playing for teammate Brendan Garza, a senior who will watch Saturday's D-VI final from a hospital bed. Two brain tumors were recently discovered in Garza's brain. 

"Brendan is a fun loving kid who loves life and treats people right," Mills said. "He loves to have a good time, but when it's time to get work done he gets it done."