Thanksgiving weekend means high school football state championships in Arizona, and FOX Sports Arizona and FOX Sports Arizona Plus have the season's biggest matchups.
The Division I title game between Chandler rivals Hamilton and Chandler High will air at 7 p.m. Friday on FOX Sports Arizona Plus, followed by the Division II and Division III championship games on Saturday.
Saguaro will take on Williams Field at 11:30 a.m. Saturday on FOX Sports Arizona and Centennial will face Liberty, both from Peoria, at 4:30 p.m.
FOX Sports Arizona will re-air the Division I game between the Division II and Division III games.
Here is a look at what to expect from each matchup:
Hamilton vs. Chandler
Hamilton football coach Steve Belles isn't expecting a lot of support for his Huskies in Friday's Division I state final against archrival Chandler.
"I think it will be more pro-Chandler than it will be Hamilton," he said.
It's to be expected after Chandler handed Hamilton its second consecutive defeat in the Battle of Arizona Avenue. Chandler throttled the Huskies on Hamilton's own field 56-24 on Oct. 2 and the Huskies haven't forgotten that.
Chandler quarterback Bryce Perkins gashed the Huskies with both his arm and his legs passing for 407 yards and six touchdowns while running for 83 more yards and another score.
Now, Hamilton is looking for redemption.
"They took it to us pretty good last time," Belles said. "I think it left a bad taste in our kids' mouth and we want to redeem ourselves not just as coaches but as players as well."
While Hamilton looks to rinse out that bad taste, Chandler wants to claim its first football championship since 1949.
On offense, the Wolves will lean on a heavy dose of Perkins as well as standout running back Chase Lucas, who has run for 1,025 yards and 13 touchdowns so far this year. Chandler will rely on a defense that doesn't have any stars but is still nonetheless stifling.
"We've been 65 years not getting to that game," Chandler coach Shaun Aguano said. "For us to get into that game is a huge accomplishment and I think our community is ready for us to win a state championship and we'll try our best."
Centennial vs. Liberty
Centennial earned its spot in Saturday's title game with a bruising running attack and a fast and physical defense. The key, however, to the Coyotes' championship hopes could be quarterback Isaac Steele.
Likewise for Liberty, who will need a big performance from its quarterback, Tyler Wyatt, who was 16 of 45 passing in the Lions' 17-14 loss to Centennial on Sept. 26.
Saguaro vs. Williams Field
When it comes to Saguaro's football team, there is one question everyone has that nobody has seemed to be able to solve: How in the world do you stop Christian Kirk.
A five-star prospect, Kirk has tallied 1,125 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns to go with his 1,481 rushing yards and 22 rushing scores.
For Williams Field, the goal will be to minimize the damage Kirk can do cause while implementing its own bludgeoning running game.
The Black Hawks will lean on a steady diet of running back Braedyn Bushman who has totaled 2,455 rushing yards on 213 carries along with 12 touchdowns.
Saguaro won the regular season matchup 42-7 on Oct. 9.
Eric Smith of the East Valley Tribune contributed to this report.
