PHOENIX — Temperatures are finally looking like they will begin to cool down here in Arizona and giving us all a taste of fall, which means we are firmly entrenched in football season!
Week 3 of the 35th season of Friday Night Fever, Arizona's No. 1 and longest-running high school football show, took place on gridirons all over Arizona on Thursday and Friday night.
This week saw a battle between one of the top teams in 4A and one of the top teams in 3A in our Game of the Week, some huge cross-region battles in 6A, a record-setting performance by one wide receiver and much, much more.
Now, let's jump right in and take a look at all of the highlights from Week 3 of FNF, starting with out Game of the Week!
Game of the Week: Arcadia (3-0) travels to Queen Creek, gets 27-26 win over Benjamin Franklin (3-1)
We got more than 9,000 votes in this week's Game of the Week poll with the matchup between Arcadia and Benjamin Franklin getting almost 73% of the votes! The teams delivered a great matchup as for the second straight week, the Game of the Week was decided by just a point! Watch the highlights from Arcadia's victory below.
Be sure to watch 12Sports Tonight at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday to see what three games will be nominated to become the Game of the Week for Week 4!
Liberty (3-0) continues to show they are the favorites for the Open Division, beat Mountain View (2-1), 49-20
Head coach Colin Thomas and the Liberty Lions are showing they are just as strong as last year's Open Division champions. Watch the highlights from their win over Mountain View below.
Brophy Prep (3-0) stays undefeated with 28-14 win over Centennial (0-3)
Brophy is beginning to build a strong resume for the Open Division, the latest addition being a win over last year's Open Division runner-up, Centennial. Watch the highlights below.
Perry moves to 3-0 with 21-12 win over Queen Creek (2-1)
The Perry Pumas set up a huge matchup with the Brophy Broncos next week after defeating Queen Creek on Friday night. Watch the highlights from Perry's win below.
Desert Mountain (3-0) wins third straight 'Battle of Shea Boulevard,' beats Chaparral (1-2), 18-7
The battle between the Wolves and Firebirds is always a highly anticipated game in Scottsdale. 12Sports journalist Jake Garcia takes us to Chaparral to show us the highlights and a special pregame ceremony.
Notre Dame Prep (3-0) beats Millennium (1-2) 44-24, Cooper Perry sets school record
Thursday night was a big night for the Notre Dame Prep Saints. Not only did they beat Millennium, but wide receiver Cooper Perry broke the school's all-time record for receiving yards. Watch the highlights below.
Fever Flyover: ALA-Ironwood (4-0) gets 35-12 win over Sierra Linda (0-3) and Cesar Chavez (2-1) beats Betty H. Fairfax (0-3), 52-7
Sky 12 took a trip to the West Valley on Friday to catch highlights from ALA-Ironwood's win over Sierra Linda and Cesar Chavez's win over Betty H. Fairfax. Watch the highlights below.
Fever Spotlight: Gila Ridge High School's trailblazing head coach
12Sports journalist Cameron Cox turns the Fever Spotlight on Jessica Slaughter, who is just the third woman ever to be a high school football head coach in Arizona. Watch the story below.
Marana (3-0) stages comeback to beat Higley (2-1), 36-28
Higley, the two-time defending 5A state champions, took a trip down to southern Arizona on Friday night, but it didn't go as they hoped as Marana came back to win, 36-28. Watch the highlights below.
Deer Valley (3-0) stays undefeated with 28-25 win over Greenway (1-1)
The Deer Valley Skyhawks continued the strong start to their 2024 season on Thursday night by defeating the Greenway Demons, 28-25. Watch the highlights below.
FNF On the Road: Combs (3-0) shuts out Coolidge (0-4), 57-0
12Sports took a trip south of the Valley to check in with the Coolidge Bears, who lost their home opener to Combs, 57-0. Watch the highlights below.
FNF On the Road: Catching up with the Coolidge Bears after loss to Combs
After Friday night's game, 12Sports journalist Lina Washington spoke with a couple of members of the Coolidge Bears. Watch her interview below.
FNF On the Road: Coolidge head coach Carlo Hernandez on loss to Combs
After the loss to Combs, Lina also spoke with Coolidge head coach Carlo Hernandez. Watch the interview below.
Sweet Plays of the Week
And finally, we revealed the nominees for the Week 3 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 2 poll, 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!