PHOENIX — The 35th season of Friday Night Fever, Arizona's No. 1 and longest-running high school football show, keeps churning along and we are getting closer and closer to the playoffs!
This week, we will see even more games that could have a huge impact on who makes the playoffs in every conference and the Open Division and what seed they could get.
And as we do each and every week on FNF, we are making you, the fans, a huge part of the show by letting you choose the Game of the Week, which will be the first highlight on the show!
Last week, the matchup between Santa Cruz Valley and San Tan Charter, one of the biggest games of the season in 2A, became the Game of the Week after getting 57.4 percent of the 14,053 votes that were cast by fans. San Tan Charter kept their undefeated season alive by defeating Santa Cruz Valley, 24-15! You can watch the highlights here.
Now, let's reveal the matchups nominated to become the Game of the Week for Week 8!
Winner: ALA-Queen Creek at Red Mountain
Game No. 1 is a huge matchup in 6A that could play a role in determining the Open Division bracket in a few weeks, as this game will see the No. 6 and No. 7 teams in the initial Open Division rankings face off.
ALA-Queen Creek, which was ranked No. 7 in the Open Division rankings last week, is 6-0 this season. The Patriots have beaten Saguaro (38-10), Boulder Creek (56-7), ALA-Gilbert North (21-0), Sandra Day O'Connor (41-13), Pinnacle (34-19) and Mountain Pointe (17-0).
Red Mountain, which was ranked No. 4 in the Open Division rankings last week, is also 6-0 this season and has beaten Mesa (42-10), Valley Vista (53-6), Desert Ridge (54-7), Downey from California (35-32), Williams Field (52-28) and Highland (28-11).
Both of these teams play in the 6A East Valley region. This will be the first region game of the season for ALA-Queen Creek while Red Mountain is 2-0 in region play.
Red Mountain was ranked No. 3 in 6A last week while ALA-Queen Creek was ranked No. 4.
This will be the second meeting ever between these two schools, according to MaxPreps. They also played last year and ALA-Queen Creek won 17-14.
2nd place: Desert Mountain at Horizon
Game No. 2 will take us up to Scottsdale for a battle between two of the top teams in 5A in a crosstown rivalry.
Desert Mountain, which was ranked No. 2 in both 5A and the Open Division rankings last week, is 6-0 this season. The Wolves have beaten Verrado (41-14), Sunrise Mountain (36-0), Chaparral (18-7), Cactus (44-0), Campo Verde (45-0) and Cactus Shadows (35-28 in double overtime).
Horizon, which was ranked No. 4 in the 5A rankings and No. 11 in the Open Division rankings last week, is 5-1 this season. The Huskies opened the season by beating Canyon View (48-8), Mountain View Marana (52-0) and Raymond S. Kellis (44-21) before their lone loss of the season so far, which came to rival Pinnacle, 54-51. The Huskies have responded to that loss with wins over Millennium (38-8) and Notre Dame Prep (20-7).
Both of these teams play in the 5A Northeast Valley region and both teams are 1-0 in region play.
This will be the 14th meeting between the Wolves and Huskies and Horizon has dominated the series historically, winning 10 of the past 13 games, according to MaxPreps. The most recent game was last season and Desert Mountain won 24-22.
3rd place: Benjamin Franklin at Florence
Game No. 3 will take us just southeast of the Valley, where the No. 2 and No. 5 teams in 3A will square off.
Benjamin Franklin, which is ranked No. 5 in 3A, is 6-1 this season. The Chargers started the season with wins over Crismon (34-7), Coolidge (59-0) and Pusch Ridge (31-7) before their lone loss of the season so far, which came to Arcadia (27-26). Benjamin Franklin responded by defeating Bourgade Catholic (69-0), ALA-Ironwood (35-14) and Tempe (56-6).
Florence, which is ranked No. 2 in 3A, is 7-0 this season. The Gophers have beaten Gilbert Christian (38-28), Valley Christian (27-20), Safford (34-13), San Tan Foothills (42-13), Rio Rico (43-0), and Coolidge (68-0). Florence got their seventh win over Bourgade Catholic last week, which game after the Golden Eagles forfeited.
This will be an out-of-region matchup for these schools as Benjamin Franklin plays in the 3A Metro East region and Florence plays in the 3A Central region.
This will be the seventh meeting all-time between these two schools, according to MaxPreps. The series has been dominated by Benjamin Franklin as the Chargers have won five of the past six games, including last year's game (10-7).
Be a believer and catch the Fever on Friday night at 11:35!
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