There were no shocking upsets in the opening round of the 6A playoffs. High seeds were victorious save two - (13) Red Mountain and (10) Desert Vista. Red Mountain reversed a three-point loss to #4 Skyline by the same margin in their second defensive struggle in three weeks. Desert Vista dropped #7 Mountain View. 

Here's a glimpse at the quarterfinal matchups. Games are Thursday (Nov. 10) this week due to Veteran's Day falling on Friday:

#8 Desert Ridge (8-3) at #1 Mountain Pointe (11-0): Mountain Pointe remains the conference favorite and the reason is simple -- the Pride play the best defense of any team in the conference. Mountain Pointe was dinged by some major injuries to its offensive skill positions at midseason (quarterback and lead running back). Those haven't dulled the output. Mountain Pointe eats away at the opposition with its rushing attack. Senior Rashie Hodge has picked up where junior Gary Bragg left off  before Bragg went down after five games. Hodge rushed for 200 yards in the first meeting with Desert Ridge. Hodge tallied three times last week vs. Cesar Chavez nad has ample help from a couple more backfield teammates. Desert Ridge survived a tough first-round matchup with Westview. It has its work cut out to reverse a 27-13 loss a month ago  that wasn't that close. It would help if Desert Ridge can refrain from spotting Mountain Pointe a 20-0 lead this time. The Jaguars are beat up and played last week without defensive end/receiver Jalen Harris and added freshmen reinforcements. Running back Donjae Logan stepped up for hobbled Tyrese Allen last week for Desert Ridge in its conquest of Westview with a 200-yard game of his own. First-round results: Mountain Pointe 52, Cesar Chavez 14; Desert Ridge 34, Westview 28. 

#13 Red Mountain (7-4) at #5 Brophy Prep (8-3): These teams haven't played this year, but have done so frequently in the recent past. Brophy has won four of six meetings this decade. Five of the six have been decided by a touchdown or less. Red Mountain relies on versatile back-receiver-quarterback Lance Lawson. Depending on the status of quarterback Austin Duffy, who left the Skyline game late with an injury, Lawson could be back at quarterback more often for this one. The Mountain Lions have played pretty good defense most games. Brophy found the tonic to halt a three-game losing streak -- avoid Premier Region foes. The Broncos put up a season-high 52 points vs. Pinnacle in their opening-round win -- their second of the year against the Pioneers. The second meeting featured Pinnacle standout QB Spencer Rattler unlike the first when Rattler was out with a hand injury. Brophy's offense goes as running back Noah Pittenger goes. Pittenger rushed for a season-career high 279 yards last week. First-round results: Red Mountain 16, Skyline 13; Brophy 52, Pinnacle 42. 

#6 Hamilton (7-4) at #3 Perry (10-1): The other rematch among quarterfinal games. Perry won three weeks ago in a second-half rout, 55-21. The game was 17-7 at the half. It marked the first win ever for Perry over Hamilton. Perry quarterback Brock Purdy has been on fire since returning from injury the third game of the season. He broke the school record for TD passes in a season last week (35) and hasn't thrown for fewer than 300 yards in any game. He passed for 482 yards and five TDs vs. Hamilton on Oct. 21. Perry amassed more than 600 yards of offense that night.Purdy passed for 324 yards and five TDs in beating Valley Vista.  Hamilton survived the opening round in a game it controlled pretty much from the start over Tucson. The Huskies' defense, however,  has been under assault to the tune of  221 points over the last five games (44 points a game). The 30 points last week was the low total allowed in that span. They are 2-3 in those games. First-round results: Hamilton 47, Tucson 30; Perry 56, Valley Vista 33. 

#10 Desert Vista  (7-4) at #2 Chandler (9-2):  Desert Vista gave top-seed Mountain Pointe arguably its toughest game of the year more than a month ago. Surprising at the time as it seemed noone could touch Mountain Pointe. Can the Thunder entertain an upset against No. 2? It will be tough. Chandler is in a zone with its offense clicking on all cylinders. The Wolves have won seven games in a row and noone has come close to beating them in that stretch. The closest was a 44-35 victory over Perry. Desert Vista plays to the level of the competition more often than not. Trying to match Chandler's offense will be a challenge, which is led by the likes of running back TJ Green, receiver Johnny Johnson III and quarterback Jacob Conover. Conover has 16 TD passes and 1 interception during the seven-game win streak. Desert Vista and Chandler met in the quarterfinals last year, a 34-14 Chandler victory. First round results: Desert Vista 28, Mesa Mtn. View 14; Chandler 48, Basha 6.