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Arizona high school football previews: 1A North, 1A West regions

richard obert, arizona republic
·3 min read

Time again for the The Arizona Republic's annual high school football region previews. Each day we'll preview two regions heading to the start of the season, which begins Aug. 17 for small schools.

The big schools — 6A, 5A and 4A — open the season on Aug. 24. The AIA is sprinkling out games to be played Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday each week.

This is the countdown to opening week in the Arizona Interscholastic Association.

They're the 2-a-days:

Nov 12, 2022; Scottsdale, az, usa; The Mogollon Mustangs celebrate their 1A state championship after defeating the Williams Vikings at Coronado High School football field.
Nov 12, 2022; Scottsdale, az, usa; The Mogollon Mustangs celebrate their 1A state championship after defeating the Williams Vikings at Coronado High School football field.

1A North Region

The teams: El Capitan/Centennial Academy, Fredonia, Joseph City, Mayer, Heber Mogollon, Williams.

The favorite: Mogollon. This is a powerhouse in 1A every year. And after capuring the 8-man title again last year, it is loaded again with their quarterback and top scoring receiver returning.

The challenger: Williams. The Vikings, 10-2 a season ago, will be ground and pound again after rushing for 2,731 yards and 52 TDs on their way to the 8-man state final, before losing to rival Mogollon 51-22. Expect a state final rematch.

The dark horse: El Capitan/Centennial Academy. This team has a shot at reaching the semifinals after going 6-4. The top weapons return.

Predicted order of finish: 1. Mogollon, 2. Williams, 3. El Capitan, 4. Joseph City, 5. Mayer, 6. Fredonia.

The key players: Monte Hammon, El Capitan, WR, Sr.; Zedakye White, El Capitan, QB, Sr.; Kyson Owens, Mogollon, QB, Sr.; Luke Crandell, Mogollon, RB, Sr.; Adrian Suarez, Mogollon, WR, Sr.; Martin Aguilar, Williams, RB, Sr.; Cody Payne, Williams, DB, Sr.; Kolh Hearn, Joseph City, LB/RB, Jr.

The biggest date: Oct. 6 — Williams travels to Mogollon in Week 8 in what could be a preview of the state final. They could be 1 and 2 in the rankings by then.

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1A West Region

The teams: Anthem Prep, Bagdad, Desert Heights, Mohave Accelerated, North Phoenix Prep, Salome.

The favorite: Bagdad. The Sultans have championship aspirations with the return of seven starters on offense and eight starters on defense.

The challenger: Salome. The Frogs' only two losses came against Williams, both blowouts in which they didn't score. But they figure to be much more competitive against the elite teams with 1,000-yard rusher Jibran Castillo back.

The dark horse: Mohave Accelerated. Expect the Patriots to turn around a 3-6 season with top players returning.

Predicted order of finish: 1. Bagad, 2. Salome, 3. Mohave Accelerated, 4. Desert Heights, 5. Anthem Prep, 6. North Phoenix Prep.

Key players: Shane Hooper, Bagdad, Athlete, Sr.; Masiu Aholelei, Bagdad, RB, So.; Nick Martinez, Bagdad, OL/DL, Jr.; Brandon Nelson, Bagdad, WB/LB, Sr.; Elisha Alfred, Bagdad, OL/DL, Sr.; Jibran Castillo, Salome, RB, Sr.; Gerald Keltner, Mohave Accelerated, QB/FS, Sr.; Owen Honegger, Mohave Accelerated, WR, So.; K.J. Bohn, Anthem Prep, TE/OLB, Sr.

Key date: Sept. 8 — Bagdad will find out how serious a state title contender it is with a trip to perennial power Williams.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona high school football previews begin: 1A North, West regions