Chandler vs. Mountain Pointe highlights huge Week 4 in Arizona high school football

When the 2014 football season is over, this week has the makings of being one of the more memorable collections of games.

It starts with the clash between two Top 25 nationally ranked teams. Chandler, which moved into the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 this week at No. 24 after handling Valor Christian (Colo.), heads to Mountain Pointe (Phoenix), which is No. 17, to see if the Wolves have indeed reached a new level in Shaun Aguano's fourth year.

Aguano took over a quality program that has been known to have tons of athletic ability, but it has never translated into a state title game appearance. The Wolves took some steps last year (they beat rival Hamilton for the first time and advanced to the semifinals), but questions still remain.

A win over the defending state champions will answer some of them.

"Playing a game of this caliber is good for the kids," he said. "It's too early to make any predictions about state champions based on this game, but it gives us a good idea of where we are at. Every team is going to be better by the end of the year."

The two teams come into the game with different resumes, as Chandler (3-0) has played two quality opponents and had to overcome two deficits in beating Centennial in Week 1, while Mountain Pointe (4-0) hasn't played a team with a winning record and has outscored opponents 161-0 in the first half and 251-19 overall.

The Pride are clearly a state title contender but the players haven't had to dig deep yet to convert an important third down or have a goal-line stand late in the game to test their mettle.

"We can win or we can lose it, but I have no worry about it unless it was the last game of the year," Pride coach Norris Vaughan said. "We look at the season as a marathon and a long journey and we haven't reached the halfway point. We feel like we are still getting better.

"I don't know if we are ready. I think by the end of the year we can beat anybody, but right now we have too many question marks."

Here is a look a few more storylines that could make Week 4 one of the more memorable weekends of the season:

Century game

Miami and Globe play the 100th edition of this storied rivalry at Globe with the Copper Kettle on the line.

This isn't just about history, as these two neighboring mining towns slip retro jerseys over their shoulder pads. People within each community interact on a daily basis while working at hospitals or mines, a good portion of the Globe faculty went to Miami and vice versa, and bloodlines often cross sidelines.

It's just a great rivalry that has the history, emotion and quality small-school play to make it one of the best in the state.
 
"We play for the Copper Kettle and that's a tradition that goes way back," Globe coach Al Ocampo told the AIA Radio Show. "Our kids in the community take a lot of pride in that award. It's huge and this is one of those years where there is a lot more at stake in this particular ballgame.

"It's probably the first and foremost rivalry I've been associated with in my 40 years of coaching. I've been through some good ones, but this one tops them all. The entire community looks forward to this ballgame. It's everything."

Chase for 300

Cesar Chavez (Laveen) coach Jim Rattay and St. Johns coach Mike Morgan will both give winning No. 300 another shot after coming up short last week.

Rattay, who has coached in Ohio and at three other programs (Mesa, Desert Vista and Phoenix Christian), will take his team to Marcos de Niza this week.

Morgan, who has coached St. Johns since 1989, will travel to Page.

Cactus (Glendale) coach Larry Fetkenhier picked up No. 300 on Sept. 5 to become the fifth Arizona coach to reach the milestone.

"Here's the thing, I didn't win 300 games. We have a lot of players who busted their tails for us," Fetkenhier said.

Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothill News staff writer, is a 19-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.