By: Jake Novy

The last month of the regular Arizona high school football season officially gets underway this week as the Marcos de Niza Padres take a break from conference play to host the Gilbert Tigers in a Thursday night battle in Tempe.  The Padres have won three of their last four games and rebounded from their first loss in nearly a month to Ironwood Ridge with a resounding 56-0 rout of Camelback last Friday night.  Marcos improved to 4-and-2 on the season with the win and upped its mark to an impressive 3-and-1 on the road.  Four of the Padres’ six games so far this year have been on the road, which bodes well for the rest of their schedule.  They have three of their final four games in Tempe.  At home, MDN has split a pair of games with an early loss to Division Two’s top-ranked Chaparral and a shutout victory over Maricopa.  Strong defensive play has keyed the Padres’ success in all of their wins.  Marcos has a pair of shutout victories and allowed just one score in its other two wins.  On the offensive side, quarterback Tommy Thornton is averaging around 175 yards through the air per game to lead an attack that has posted 48-plus points three times this year.

Meanwhile, Gilbert comes into the contest at 3-and-3 on the season.  The Tigers have dropped back-to-back games on the heels of a three-game winning streak.  They are coming off a 49-17 setback to Basha last weekend.  It was their first loss on the road in three games, compared to just a 1-and-2 mark at home this year.  Gilbert has also had mixed results in non-conference games this season.  They beat Mesa in early September, but were blanked by Red Mountain two weeks ago.  The Tigers are carried by their passing game and junior quarterback Mitchell Trail, who is averaging just under 200 yards via the air per game.

This is the first-ever modern matchup between the two teams.  With the regular season heading into its final stretch, both teams can’t afford to lose, which should translate into an exciting battle of a pair of desperate clubs looking to make a playoff push.  Log onto AIA365.com to watch the game being broadcast live.