PHOENIX — Well, high school football fans, we have made it to the final week of regular season football!
That means this week on Friday Night Fever, Arizona's No. 1 and longest-running high school football show, we'll have playoff action from schools in 3A and 2A, but we'll also have a bunch of games with major playoff implications from 4A, 5A and 6A.
To get prepared, we have breakdowns of the playoff brackets for the small schools. Click here to see the 2A bracket and click here to see the 3A bracket. You can also see the latest on the 1A playoffs by clicking here.
Now, it's time to start our weekly tradition on FNF, which is where we ask you, the fans, to help us choose our top matchup, the Game of the Week.
Last week's Game of the Week took us out to the West Valley, where ALA-West Foothills wrapped up a perfect regular season by beating Dysart (by the way, the teams will meet again this week in the playoffs). You can see the highlights from last week's Game of the Week by clicking here.
Without further ado, here are the nominees for this week's Game of the Week, which come from 6A, 5A and 4A.
Queen Creek at ALA-Queen Creek
Game No. 1 comes to us from the East Valley, where Queen Creek and ALA-Queen Creek will face off in a game that will play a large role in determining the 6A East Valley region champion.
Queen Creek was ranked No. 9 in the Open Division rankings last week and could move up into the top eight this week. The Bulldogs are 8-1 this season and 3-0 in region play. They have beaten Sunrise Mountain (42-7), Casteel (39-38), Canyon View (22-0), Mountain Ridge (49-7), Williams Field (28-0), Centennial (31-21), Red Mountain (28-23) and Highland (23-20) this season. Their lone loss came to Perry (21-12) in Week 3.
ALA-QC was ranked No. 5 in the Open Division rankings last week. The Patriots are also 8-1, but are 2-1 in region play. ALA-QC has beaten Saguaro (38-10), Boulder Creek (56-7), ALA-Gilbert North (21-0), Sandra Day O'Connor (41-13), Pinnacle (34-19), Mountain Pointe (17-0), Highland (26-7) and Williams Field (22-10) this season. Their lone loss came to Red Mountain (16-14) in Week 8.
Queen Creek will wrap up the East Valley region title with a win. If ALA-QC loses, the winner of the region will be the highest-ranked team between Queen Creek, Red Mountain and ALA-QC, as all three teams will be 3-1 in region play.
This will be the third meeting between these two schools, according to MaxPreps. They have split the previous two games with Queen Creek winning 27-17 in 2022 and ALA-QC winning 42-15 last year.
Desert Edge at Verrado
Game No. 2 takes us out to the West Valley where Desert Edge will travel to Verrado for a game that will play a huge role in determining the 5A Desert West region champion.
Desert Edge was ranked as the No. 14 team in 5A last week, but will likely move up this week. The Scorpions are 6-3 this season and 4-0 in region play. Desert Edge has beaten Camelback (24-6), Sunnyslope (38-14), Millennium (40-13), Sunrise Mountain (42-17), Canyon View (28-5) and Cactus (21-6). They have lost to Liberty (22-0), Notre Dame Prep (20-14) and Higley (39-14).
Verrado was ranked as the No. 12 team in 5A last week and will likely move up this week. The Vipers are 7-2 this season and 3-1 in region play. Verrado has beaten Betty H. Fairfax (55-12), Barry Goldwater (53-14), Ironwood (55-7), Sunrise Mountain (49-13), Marcos de Niza (62-7), Millennium (49-20) and Canyon View (42-7). They have lost to Desert Mountain (41-14) and Cactus (50-41).
Desert Edge will win the Desert West region if they beat Verrado. If Verrado wins and Cactus wins, then the winner of the region will be the highest-ranked team between Desert Edge, Cactus and Verrado as all three teams will be 4-1 win region play. If Verrado wins and Cactus loses, Verrado will win the region.
This will be the 16th meeting between these two schools, according to MaxPreps. Desert Edge won the most recent game, 62-7 in 2023.
Estrella Foothills at Deer Valley
Game No. 3 will also be in the West Valley as Estrella Foothills will travel to Glendale to take on Deer Valley in the 4A Copper Sky region championship.
Deer Valley, which was ranked as the No. 14 team in 4A last week, is 9-0 this season and 4-0 in region play. The Skyhawks have beaten North Canyon (62-6), Sahuarita (21-0), Greenway (28-25), La Joya Community (40-12), Mingus Union (24-8), Alhambra (42-8), Washington (42-3), Copper Canyon (50-0) and Maryvale (51-8).
Estrella Foothills, which was ranked as the No. 16 team in 4A last week, is 7-2 this season and 4-0 in region play. The Wolves have beaten Youngker (40-13), Mingus Union (42-23), Buckeye Union (32-14), Maryvale (41-6), Alhambra (61-8), Washington (33-11) and Copper Canyon (36-14). They have lost to AZ College Prep (62-28) and Seton Catholic Prep (37-21).
This will be the fourth meeting between these two schools, according to MaxPreps. Estrella Foothills won the most recent game, 28-20 in 2023.
VOTE
Now that you are fully informed about these matchups, it is time for you to vote for your favorite game to be the Game of the Week! Vote in the poll below, and if you can't see the poll, click here to vote.
You have until Thursday at 10 a.m. to vote. The winning matchup will be revealed in the Friday Night Fever Game of the Week Reveal Show, which you can stream on 12+ at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. You can find 12+ on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.
Be a believer and catch the Fever Friday night at 11:35!
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