As the second half of the 2012 season gets underway, two of the top six teams in the state will square off in Mesa Friday night. Red Mountain, which is ranked third in this week's MaxPreps Division I poll, will hit the road to battle sixth-ranked Desert Ridge. The Mountain Lions, who are still undefeated on the year, are looking to avenge last year's second-round playoff loss to the Jaguars. Desert Ridge will look to improve to 5-1 and stop Red Mountain's prolific air assault.

That passing attack is led by senior quarterback Mason Thorman, who has thrown for 19 touchdowns and 1,477 yards while completing almost 72% of his attempts. Red Mountain's leading rusher is Adarian Limbs, who is averaging over 7.25 yards per carry and has topped the century mark in each of the last two games.

Desert Ridge bounced back from a tough 34-14 loss at Hamilton to trounce Skyline at home 56-13 last week. The Jaguars also have recorded victories over current Top 20 teams in Mountain View and Highland. Desert Ridge's productive ground game is netting an average of 296.8 yards per game, led by the two-headed monster of sophomore Tarek Morrison and senior J.J. Husar. Morrison has also thrown for 455 yards and four TDs.

Both teams are scoring around 40 points per contest while surrendering less than 17 points per game. Kickoff is set for 7pm at Desert Ridge High School.