Can Sunrise Mountain meet the challenge in Peoria rivalry game against No. 1 Liberty?
Separated by only 2⅟₂ miles, geography made Peoria Liberty and Sunrise Mountain high schools natural rivals. Six minutes is all it takes to drive the distance between the schools.
The two schools have formed a good local rivalry over the years because of this, coming together to play some memorable games. Recently though, Liberty's football program has morphed into a nationally recognized team, while Sunrise Mountain has faded into the shadow of their cross-town rival.
The Lions are ranked No. 18 in the nation by MaxPreps and coming off a season in which they made the semifinals of the Open Division playoffs. They are ranked No. 1 in The Arizona Republic's Super 10.
They may be close to each other on the map, but Liberty (3-0) feels miles away from Sunrise Mountain (1-2) in terms of competitiveness — especially after last year’s matchup in which Liberty won 50-0. They meet again on Friday at 7 p.m., at Sunrise Mountain. The Lions (3-0) are in 6A, the state's highest big-school conference, while the Mustangs (1-2) are in 5A.
Sunrise Mountain coach Steve Decker is trying to get things back on track.
“Last year was a little out of hand,” Decker said. “The year before that, we lost in triple overtime, missed a 27-yard field goal at the end of the game to win. The year before that, we won the game. But yeah, they’re loaded up this year. They’re well-coached, like always.
“The goal here is, it’s a rivalry game. If we can just keep it close and keep it a manageable game, and then possibly have a chance late in the game, we’d be thrilled with that. They’re obviously ranked 18th in the country and No. 1 in the state, it’s going to be a tough, uphill battle. We’re talking all week with our kids about grinding it out, playing tough.”
The Mustangs played a hard nonconfernce, out-of-state game against Palo Verdes in California to open the season, which they lost 50-8. The following week was another loss, a 31-7 defeat at home against Scottsdale Desert Mountain, which is ranked No. 6 in The Republic's Super 10. Last week was a big step in the right direction as they defeated Marana Mountain View 53-14 at home.
There’s some momentum building for the Mustangs heading into the big local rival game despite the 1-2 start to the season. While Sunrise Mountain did lose in a blowout last year to Liberty (3-0), this is a game that has featured some close results in the recent past.
2018: 49-43, Liberty
2021: 41-38, Liberty
2020: 37-33, Sunrise Mountain
2022: 50-0, Liberty
2019: 41-14, Liberty
“Well, it’s rivalry,” Decker said. “A lot of these kids have grown up [watching this game], they show up and play hard for it. I think we’ve become familiar with them over the years, so our game plans are pretty tight. At the end of the day, the kids show up and play their tail off and that allows us to be in these games.”
After a 3-7 season record last year, Decker made some changes to the coaching staff, hiring a new offensive coordinator, Taylor Mazzone, and defensive coordinator, Mike Robbins, as well as some position coaches. Decker credits those new hires and the fact that there are 17 sophomores on this year’s team as reasons why he’s optimistic about the program moving forward.
Sunrise Mountain is led by junior quarterback Vanden Dugger, who has thrown for 646 yards and six passing touchdowns this season. Dugger will have to focus on playing a clean game though as he has six interceptions so far in 2023. Junior wide receiver Elijah Mendez has emerged as a key player on offense.
On defense, middle linebacker Brandon Robbins, is a pillar for Sunrise Mountain as he quarterbacks the other side of the ball for his coach and father, Mike. On the defensive line, senior Kaden Spencer has been a force with his 6-foot-2 inch frame.
Liberty is led by star senior quarterback Navi Bruzon, the reigning Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year.
Bruzon started off this season where he left off last year – as one of the most dynamic athletes in Arizona. He has thrown for 641 yards on 36 of 52 passing with six touchdowns through the air. On the ground, Bruzon has added 149 carries and six more touchdowns.
At running back, senior Jon Wilson is putting together a huge season as he has recorded 400 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. Seniors Chris McKivitiz and Braylon Gardner are sharing the load at wide receiver – each has over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns this season.
Liberty soundly defeated Queen Creek 56-0 last week. They’re winning games by a margin of 42.3 points. They looked prime for another deep run in the Open Division.
But coach Colin Thomas isn’t letting his team’s hot start go to their heads.
“I know Coach Decker will have his team prepared,” Thomas said. “They’ve obviously beaten us and even in the games they lost, they’ve been really good. They have a great game plan every time. It’s a very challenging game. It’s been a tremendous rivalry since we picked it back up in 2016.
“I think we’ve played seven games and currently we’re up 4 to 3. In that time span, it’s been some great, great games. Even some games we won, we really had to fight and claw late in the game to win it. So it’s a tremendous rivalry. The crowd will be jampacked by 5:45. It’s a great atmosphere. We’re excited to play.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sunrise Mountain faces tough rivalry game test vs. No. 1 Liberty
