PHOENIX — The calendar has turned to September and that means we are now firmly entrenched in the best season of them all: football season.
The first Friday in September was Week 2 for the 35th season of Arizona's No. 1 and longest-running high school football show, Friday Night Fever.
This week featured many Arizona teams heading out of their regions and around the Valley and state to see just how good they are. One game on Friday night even saw a team travel down to Phoenix from Colorado.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the highlights from Week 2 of Friday Night Fever, starting with our Game of the Week!
Game of the Week: Casteel at Queen Creek
Casteel at Queen Creek absolutely dominated in our Game of the Week poll, earning almost 96% of the 4,253 votes cast by you, the fans. This was a back-and-forth game until the very end, with Queen Creek (2-0) getting the win over Casteel (1-1) 39-38! Watch the highlights below.
Be sure to tune in to 12Sports Tonight at 10:35 p.m. on Sunday to see which games will be nominated to become the Week 3 Game of the Week.
Raymond S. Kellis at Peoria
Peoria and Raymond S. Kellis are only about four miles apart, but Friday night marked just the sixth matchup ever between the schools with all of those games coming since 2009. And for just the second time ever, Kellis (2-0) came out with the victory, beating Peoria (1-1) 28-7. Watch the highlights below.
Prescott at Thunderbird
The Prescott Badgers came down to the Valley on Friday to take on the Thunderbird Titans and it was the Titans that reigned victorious, moving to 2-0 and defeating the Badgers (1-1) 36-14. Watch the highlights below.
Sandra Day O'Connor at Liberty
The defending Open Division champion Liberty Lions welcomed the Sandra Day O'Connor Eagles to Speckled Gecko Drive on Friday night and moved to 2-0 with a dominant 46-0 victory. The Eagles are now 1-1. Watch the highlights below.
Desert Ridge at Hamilton
One week after opening up the Travis Dixon era with a win, the Hamilton Huskies played the Desert Ridge Jaguars in some Thursday night Fever action. The Huskies moved to 2-0 with a 35-21 win, while the Jaguars fell to 0-2. Watch the highlights below.
Fever Spotlight: Devin Fitzgerald and Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colorado) at Brophy
Last week, Brophy's Devin Fitzgerald had one of the top plays in the nation, as he caught a touchdown with seven seconds left to lift the Broncos to a win over Williams Field. This week, 12Sports journalist turned the Fever Spotlight on Fitzgerald, who is the son of Arizona Cardinals' legend Larry Fitzgerald.
Brophy also welcomed the Regis Jesuit Raiders from Colorado to the Valley and showed them what Arizona high school football is all about as Brophy ran away with a 44-0 victory to move to 2-0. Watch Luke's story and the highlights below.
McClintock at Marcos de Niza and Saguaro at Mountain View
12Sports journalist Jake Garcia was out in the East Valley, checking out a classic Tempe rivalry between McClintock and Marcos de Niza and a battle between two of 6A's top teams, Saguaro and Mountain View in Mesa.
McClintock (2-0) got their 27th win all-time over Marcos de Niza (0-2), 54-20, and Mountain View (2-0) scored 50 points in the first half en route to a 57-27 victory over Saguaro (0-2). Watch highlights from both games below.
Boulder Creek at ALA-Queen Creek
The Boulder Creek Jaguars took a trip down from Anthem to Queen Creek to take on the ALA-Queen Creek Patriots, but went home with their second loss of the season, as the Patriots moved to 2-0 with a 56-7 victory. Watch the highlights below.
Round Valley renames iconic domed stadium after legendary coach Tot Workman
Round Valley has one of the most iconic high school football stadiums in the nation. In fact, it is the only domed high school football stadium in the entire United States. On Friday night, Round Valley renamed the dome after Tot Workman, a coach who led the school to two undefeated seasons and back-to-back state championships in 1979 and 1980.
Friday Night Fever On the Road: Skyline at Westwood
Now, it's time to head On the Road! This week, 12Sports journalist Lina Washington took a trip out to Mesa, where the Westwood Warriors faced their crosstown rival, the Skyline Coyotes. In an awesome game, Westwood (2-0) got the victory over Skyline (1-1), 28-27! Watch the highlights below.
Friday Night Fever On the Road: Checking in with the Westwood Warriors
After the exciting victory over Skyline, Lina caught up with the Warriors. Watch her full interview below.
Friday Night Fever On the Road: Full interview with Westwood head coach Brandon Large
Lina also spoke with Westwood head coach Brandon Large after the Warriors' win over Skyline. Watch the full interview below.
Friday Night Fever Sweet Plays
And finally, we revealed the nominees for the Week 2 Sweet Play of the Week!
As a reminder, each week three plays will be nominated to become the Sweet Play of the Week and will be voted on by you, the fans.
Each weekly winner will be eligible to become the Sweet Play of the Year, with the player in the winning play at the end of the season taking home a $5,000 scholarship, courtesy of Sweet James Accident Attorneys.
To see which play won the Week 1 poll, which received more than 100,000 votes, click here.
Watch the video below to see this week's Sweet Plays and then click here to vote for your favorite!
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
Friday Night Fever on YouTube
Catch up on the latest Arizona high school football news and action on the 12News YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe!
