There are a lot of interesting numbers heading into what many consider the 4A Game of the Year and a possible state title game preview.

Arcadia travels to Snowflake for Friday’s game. Both teams are 9-0 overall and 4-0 in Desert Sky Region action.

The Lobos are No. 1 in the power rankings, and the Titans are No. 2.

Here are some other interesting numbers: It is 170.1 miles from Arcadia to Snowflake high schools. It is scheduled to be a 3 hour and 1 minute drive via car, so add at least a half hour for a bus ride. It scheduled to be a mild 57 degrees at kickoff and 49 around 10 p.m.

And lastly, Snowflake sits at an elevation of 5,686 feet compared to just over 1,000 feet in the East Valley.

“We’re embracing it,” Arcadia coach BJ Pasquel said. “We’ve been practicing the morning to try and get used to the colder temperature and it’s somewhat close. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

The Titans are relying on a strong senior class, including about 12 players who have been in the program all four years, many of whom played on varsity as sophomores when Arcadia made it to the semifinals after an undefeated regular season.

When you add in strong football IQs, wanting an epic final season and leadership, it is clear to see why the Titans have surfaced as one of the top title contenders.

“They’ve played a lot of football, in big games and made some big plays,” Pasquel said. “They have a lot of experience, they are good football players who like to compete in practice and hold each other accountable.”

The accountability trait is becoming rarer these days, but it isn’t lacking for the Titans.

“Accountability can’t always come from the coaches,” Pasquel said. “The seniors do a great job of taking care of a lot of it. They’ve led the way, and that’s what teams need to be successful.”

Basha coach Chris McDonald watches an offensive play unfold in the Bears loss to Hamilton last week. (Jason P. Skoda, AZPreps365)

Clear the mechanism

Chris McDonald surveyed the scene after Basha lost 28-12 to Hamilton last week, and you could see some frustration in his face and demeanor.

It was understandable.

The Bears were nationally ranked, were undefeated on the season and had a 15-game win streak against Chandler district.

Oh, and his tough-minded senior quarterback Brodie Vehrs had his arm in a sling and likely out an extended time if not the season.

“Bottom line is this, I think there were some things that happened in the game we didn’t recover from,” the Basha head coach said. "Don't take anything away from Hamilton, they played well. We were unable get any momentum and regain some of the things we felt like we could do against them,"

It was hard in the moment to realize all the good when the opposition is celebrating, laughing and hanging out in the other end of the field long after the game, but Coach Mac was able to reflect a little bit, knowing the season is far from over.

“We used to be the dumpster fire of CUSD,” McDonald said. “And now we are hosting the biggest game in the state. That’s thanks to our admin, that’s on our staff, and our kids who have been here. It’s disappointing right now, but overall we are in a good place.”

It was a non-region game so the Bears are still 7-1 overall, 2-0 in Southern Region play and ranked No. 2 in 6A.

And now they have a week to prepare a game plan with junior Jake Rogers at quarterback instead of doing it on the fly against a very good front seven of Hamilton.

“When you bring in a new quarterback it is hard to find a rhythm,” McDonald said. “You don’t have a game plan for just that (back up). It’s what we have to do (last) weekend.”  

The loss was just one game, and the expectations haven’t changed at the corner of Riggs Rd. and Val Vista Dr.

“This doesn’t stop us from our goals,” McDonald said. “We have two region games left, and we haven’t lost region game in five years so let’s win a region championship and then let’s set our sights on the state championship. We are still the team that can do it.”

Exposure for flag football

The flag football scene in Arizona is getting better by the year, and the exposure is coming with it.

Another sign of it is the fact that a double header is being broadcast on Cox YurView Channel 4 and streamed on watch.yurview.com on Wednesday.

The first game is Perry (3-7) vs. Chandler (4-5) at 4 p.m. and followed up by Casteel (7-7) vs. Hamilton (15-0).

It will be simulcast across 16 states and 26 Cox markets.

The Hamilton duo of quarterback Jax Sculley (left) and Roye Oliver III (right) have wreaked havoc against every opponent this season. (Jason P. Skoda, AZPreps365)

Deadly combo

The connection between Hamilton quarterback Jax Sculley and wide receiver Roye Oliver III is undeniable at this point, and it is hard (scary for the opposition) to comprehend that they are only sophomores.

They have been playing together for a few years and hang out when they are not on the football field.

The stats are seemingly fake, or a typo. Maybe a video game simulation or something. Anything but real.

Here it is anyway:

Sculley is completing 70 percent of his passes (139 for 199), while averaging 333.8 yards a game (2,670) with 38 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Oliver has 59 catches for 1,316 yards (22.3 yards per catch) with a state-record 25 touchdowns. He also is averaging 21.6 yards on punt returns with two scores on seven attempts.

“He’s an alien,” Hamilton offensive line back Mark Tucker said. “I have not seen anything like it. He’s not from this planet. And he’s just getting started.”

Rebound year

The Williams Field football program had instant success when Steve Campbell helped open the school after coming over from McClintock. The Black Hawks went 8-3 in their inaugural season in 2008.

It was a sign of things to come as they had 14 consecutive winning seasons with a win percentage of .820 at 150-33, including two 5A state championships in 2016 and 2019.

It came to a halt in the 2022 season as the Black Hawks have gone 4-7, 6-6 and 4-7 for a winning percentage of .411 over the last three season.

This year Williams Field is back to its winning ways as the Black Hawks are 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the 6A Central Region as they travel to district rival Higley (6-2, 2-0) with the region title on the line.

State badminton

The badminton championships are wrapping up this week.

The teams championships are held Saturday at Desert Vista with Division I plays at 10 a.m. and Division II plays at 11:30 a.m.

Division I quarterfinals are played Wednesday night with a heavy East Valley feel to it.

Top-seeded Hamilton hosts No. 8 Mountain Ridge, No. 3 Perry hosts No. 6 Desert Vista, No. 4 Red Mountain hosts No. 5 Basha and No. 7 Skyline travels to No. 2 Sunnyslope.

The winners advance to Friday’s semifinals at the higher seed with the championship on Saturday.

In Division II, fifth-seeded AZ College Prep travels to No. 4 Verrado and No. 9 Marcos de Niza plays at No. 1 Sunrise Mountain in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

The individual tournaments were held last weekend with Hamilton’s Nihira Sane winning the Division I singles title over Desert Vista’s Lian Pan. In DI doubles action, Hamilton’s Hayley Koh and Katheryn Yi won the championship over Perry’s Kiley O’Neil and Masie Stoten.

Basha’s Makenzi Ellsworth and Maggie Chow finished third after defeating Desert Vista’s Thailee Jones and Jaynie Larney.

In the Division II individual tournaments, AZ College Prep’s Suri Bai finished fourth. In doubles, the unseeded combo of Addie and Anna Belle Scott of Chaparral won the state title by beating the third, seventh and first seeded opponents.

Winter sports

Believe it or not, the winter sports season starts on Monday, Nov. 3 as wrestling, basketball and soccer have tryouts, scrimmages and events all before Thanksgiving.