Arizona high school football 2-a-days: 4A Southwest, Copper Sky regions
This is part of the countdown to the opening week of the Arizona Interscholastic Association high school football season with two region previews a day.
The schools in 1A, 2A and 3A opened their seasons on Aug. 17-19. The 6A, 5A and 4A schools open on Aug. 25.
We call these 2-a-days.
More 2-a-days: 1A South, East regions | 2A San Pedro, Agua Fria regions | 2A Verde, Salt regions | 2A Gila Region, 3A South Region | 3A East, North regions | 3A West, Metro West regions | 4A Desert Sky, East Sky regions
4A Southwest Region
The teams: Gila Ridge, Independence, La Joya, Seton Catholic and Sierra Linda.
The favorite: Sierra Linda. QB Camar Lee should be even better as a sophomore after throwing for nearly 2,000 yards on varsity as a freshman. He’s one of eight starters back on offense.
The challenger: Seton Catholic. The Sentinels return practically everybody from a 2-8 team with a sense of urgency.
The dark horse: Independence: The Patriots figure to have a winning record after going 5-5 last year.
Predicted order of finish: 1. Sierra Linda; 2. Seton Catholic; 3. Independence; 4. Gila Ridge 5. La Joya.
Key players: Lenoxx Hicks, Sierra Linda, DL, Sr.; Jackson Baird, Sierra Linda, WR, Jr.; Akhir Harris, Sierra Linda, LB, Jr.; Jaeden Love, Sierra Linda, OL, Jr.; Camar Lee, Sierra Linda, So.; Fransisco Alvarado, La Joya, RB, Sr.; Luc Aguilar, Seton, RB, Jr.; Nico Pastore, Seton, TE/LB, Jr.; Aiden Mendoza, Seton, DL, Sr.; Jimmie Canidate, Independence, OLB/WR, Sr.
Key date: Oct. 27: Sierra Linda travels to play Seton Catholic for what could be a playoff spot.
4A Copper Sky Region
The teams: Alhambra, Copper Canyon, Deer Valley, Estrella Foothills, Maryvale and Washington.
The favorite: Estrella Foothills. Coach Michael Spencer saw an uptick in participation this summer and should boast a big, strong line with capable backs.
The challenger: Washington. Should find a winning season playing in a region it can win.
The dark horse: Copper Canyon. Dropping down from 5A may help these take a positive step.
Predicted order of finish: 1. Estrella Foothills; 2. Washington 3. Copper Canyon; 4. Alhambra; 5. Deer Valley; 6. Maryvale.
Key players: Julien Alokpovi, Alhambra, RB/CB; Xavier Villareal, Alhambra, QB/FS; Damian Quinonez, Copper Canyon, RB, Jr.; Nolan Huizar, Copper Canyon, WR, DB, Jr.; Luis Rojas, Copper Canyon, WR, Jr.; Cemarion Banks, Copper Canyon, WR/DB, Sr.; Simeone Koroush, Estrella Foothills, RB; Hone Wray, Estrella Foothills, QB; P.J. Bailey, Estrella Foothills, LB; Elijah Alvarado, Estrella Foothills, LB; Jacob Kreuziger, Deer Valley, WR, Sr.; Marcos Hernandez Lopez, Washington, LB, Sr.
Key date: Sept. 8 – Estrella Foothills will find out more about itself in this game than perhaps any other when it plays host to Chandler Arizona College Prep.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona high school football 2-a-days: 4A Southwest, 4A Copper Sky
