By Don Ketchum

The Class 4A Division II football race figures to be one of the most exciting in 2010.

At one end of the bracket, there is No. 1-seeded, defending state champion Glendale Cactus. At the other end, there is unbeaten No. 2 seed Gilbert Williams Field. In between are a handful of credible challengers – No. 4 Peoria Liberty, No. 3 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep and No. 6 Cottonwood Mingus.

Here’s a quick look at the first-round games on Friday (Nov. 12).

No. 16 Page (7-2) at No. 1 Glendale Cactus (9-1). Quarterback Deke Cisco is a running threat for Cactus, supplementing the ground success of Lashunn Norris.

No. 9 Chandler Seton Catholic (5-6) at No. 8 Goodyear Desert Edge (8-2). Desert Edge dumped a highly regarded Liberty team from the unbeaten ranks while winning the Skyline Region title. The Scorpions aren’t big, but they are a scrappy bunch.

No. 12 Gilbert Higley (5-5) at No. 5 Phoenix Washington (9-1). Washington’s only loss was to Cactus, and has played consistent football otherwise. Higley’s defense should make this close.

No. 13 Phoenix Thunderbird (6-4) at No. 4 Peoria Liberty (9-1). Liberty’s loss to Desert Edge last week might not be so bad. The Lions still earned a first-round home game and it should enable them to refocus, which can’t be good for a Thunderbird team that has been up and down this fall.

No. 14 Douglas (7-3) vs. No. 3 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep (9-1) at Scottsdale Community College. Douglas is somewhat of an unknown commodity, which can be dangerous. Phoenix Arcadia found that out in the playoffs last year, and Notre Dame wants to avoid the same fate.

No. 11 Phoenix Greenway (6-4) at No. 6 Cottonwood Mingus (8-2). Greenway is capable of putting a lot of points on the board, but could find it more difficult against Mingus’ salty defense.

No. 10 Scottsdale Coronado (5-6) at No. 7 Tucson Amphitheater (10-1).  Except for a one-point loss to Seton early in the season, Amphi would be unbeaten. Expect Amphi coach Vern Friedli to add to his state career-best 327 victories.

No. 15 Arcadia (6-4) at No. 2 Gilbert Williams Field (10-0). It could be a déjà vu nightmare all over again for Arcadia, which fell 49-21 on this same field in the regular-season finale a week ago.