PHOENIX — With Week 1 now behind us, it's time to turn the page to Week 2 of the 35th season for Friday Night Fever, Arizona's No. 1 and longest-running high school football show!
As we have for the past three seasons, we are continuing to make you, the fans, a huge part of the show by allowing you to choose the first highlight of the night, our Game of the Week!
Last week, we had 11,924 votes, with Liberty at Desert Edge, a battle between two teams that played in state championship games in 2023 (Liberty won the Open Division, Desert Edge came up just short in 5A), coming out as the victors with 52% of the votes (6,201). Liberty went on to defeat Desert Edge, 22-0. You can watch the highlights by clicking here.
And now, let's reveal the winning game you chose for Week 2. It's Casteel at Queen Creek!
Casteel at Queen Creek
The winner takes us down to the southeast Valley for a battle between the Casteel Colts and Queen Creek Bulldogs.
Casteel, which plays in the 6A Premier region, started their season 1-0 with a 31-21 win over Boulder Creek last week.
Queen Creek, which plays in the 6A East Valley region, started their season 1-0 with a 42-7 win over Sunrise Mountain last week. You can watch the highlight of that game from last week's Friday Night Fever by clicking here.
These crosstown rivals have played three times. In 2020, Casteel beat Queen Creek, 12-7. In 2021, Queen Creek won 21-0. Last year, Casteel won 35-28.
Here are the other nominated schools for this week:
Saguaro at Mountain View
Game No. 2 keeps us in the East Valley, but takes us up to Mesa, where the Mountain View Toros will host the Saguaro Sabercats in a battle between schools with new head coaches this season.
Mountain View, now led by head coach Andy Litten, is 1-0 after traveling to Oceanside, California, and taking down El Camino, 42-20, last week.
Saguaro, now led by Darius Kelly, started their season with a tough matchup against ALA-Queen Creek and lost 38-10.
These two schools have played eight times, with their first meeting coming in the AAA state championship game in 1978 (won by Mountain View 41-23) and the most recent meeting coming in Week 2 last season (won by Saguaro 44-20). Mountain View leads the series 6-2.
McClintock at Marcos de Niza
Game No. 3 takes us over to Tempe where a classic rivalry will be renewed once again as McClintock will travel three miles south to Lakeshore Drive and play the Marcos de Niza Padres.
McClintock, which plays in the 5A San Tan region, is 1-0 after starting the 2024 season with a 54-33 win over Maricopa.
Marcos de Niza, which plays in the 4A East Sky region, is 0-1 after starting their season against one of the top 4A schools, Yuma Catholic, and losing 26-0.
McClintock and Marcos de Niza have played 37 times in a rivalry dates back to 1974. Overall, McClintock leads the series 26-11, but Marcos de Niza has had the upper hand over the past 25 years, as they have won four of the seven games played between the schools since 2000.
VOTE
Now it is time for you to make your choice and vote for one of those three games to become the Game of the Week for Week 2 of Friday Night Fever!
Make your choice in the poll below (and remember, you can vote as many times as you want, so be sure to refresh the page and vote again), and if you don't see the poll, click here.
The poll will be open until Thursday at 10 a.m.!
Be a believer and catch Friday Night Fever this Friday at 11:35 p.m.!
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