By: Jake Novy

A pair of East Valley rivals square off this Friday night as the undefeated Desert Vista Thunder travel to Tempe to take on the Corona del Sol Aztecs.  Desert Vista, one of the top-ranked teams in Division One, has gotten off to a dominant start in the 2011 season.  The Thunder have outscored their opponents 188-13 en route to a perfect 4-and-0 mark.  DV started off the season with a 63-0 win over Maryvale and wrapped up an impressive month of August with a 38-6 rout of Mesa.  The Thunder man-handled Mountain Pointe, 24-0, in a rain-shortened affair two weeks ago to claim the Ahwatukee Bowl and are coming off a 63-7 whooping of Westwood.  The Desert Vista defense, led by senior linebacker Mike Arredondo, has allowed just two scores all season, both of which came in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Aztecs come into the contest on a three-game winning streak.  After a season-opening loss to unbeaten Basha, Corona has reeled off wins against Westwood, Dobson and Highland.  In those wins, like Desert Vista, the Aztecs have been outscoring their opponents by a large margin.  In Corona del Sol’s three victories, they have beaten up on opponents to a mark of 105-30.  Dominic Mercurio has paced the Aztec offense, averaging 164 yards via the ground per game.  First-year head coach Tom Joseph has also guided Corona to a perfect 2-and-0 record at home this season.

The two teams have a very rich rivalry with Desert Vista holding a slight 4-3 advantage in the last seven matchups dating back to 2004.  However, The Thunder and Aztecs have alternated wins in the last five games against each other.  Also, the road team has won every contest.  If the stats in this rivalry hold true it should be a close game.  Only three of the last seven contests have been won by more than a touchdown.