Varsity Xtra rankings as of Oct. 22, 2012
DIVISION I
1. Hamilton 7-2
2. Brophy 8-2
3. Mountain Pointe 8-1
4. Desert Ridge 8-1
5. Desert Vista 7-2
6. Chandler 7-2
7. Red Mountain 7-2
8. Basha 6-3
9. Westview 7-2
10. Pinnacle 8-1
Hamilton just barely hangs onto the top spot by rallying to defeat Basha. Brophy, Mountain Pointe, Desert Ridge, Desert Vista and Chandler stay the same after easy wins this week. Mountain View was pummeled by the Pride and drops out of the rankings, allowing Red Mountain to move up a spot. Basha does as well for playing Hamilton wire-to-wire, and Westview moves up to No. 9 after a win over Mountain Ridge. Pinnacle is back in the rankings by defeating Desert Mountain.
DIVISION II
1. Ironwood Ridge 9-0
2. Centennial 8-1
3. Salpointe 9-1
4. Marcos de Niza 8-1
5. Cesar Chavez 9-0
6. Chaparral 6-3
7. Apollo 8-1
8. Notre Dame 5-4
9. Perry 6-3
10. Cienega 7-2
Not much movement up top. Chaparral threatened to crack the top 5 again after an impressive performance against Horizon, but there is nowhere to go. Horizon was No. 7 but drops out of the rankings by getting dominated by the Firebirds. Apollo, Notre Dame and Perry move up a spot, while Cienega rejoins the rankings at No. 10.
DIVISION III
1. Saguaro 7-2
2. Sabino 9-0
3. Queen Creek 9-0
4. Desert Edge 9-0
5. Cactus 7-2
6. Thunderbird 6-3
7. Williams Field 9-0
8. Liberty 8-1
9. Paradise Valley 6-3
10. Sunrise Mountain 7-2
The top 5 remains unchanged after each of those teams won. Williams Field is still undefeated but drops a spot to No. 7 after needing a late comeback to defeat unranked Poston Butte. Thunderbird moves up to No. 6 with a win over Sunnyslope, while Liberty holds steady at No. 8. Paradise Valley and Sunrise Mountain switch spots as the Trojans defeated Cactus Shadows, while Sunrise Mountain lost to Cactus.
DIVISION IV
1. Blue Ridge 10-0
2. Show Low 9-1
3. Seton Catholic 8-1
4. Snowflake 7-2
5. Coolidge 7-2
No changes among the top three, even though Show Low lost by 10 points at Lakeside Blue Ridge on Friday night. The best rivalry in the state is up in those White Mountain, and the two teams could easily meet yet again in late November. Seton stays at No. 3 with a solid win over Tempe, and a solid argument can be made the Sentinels are worthy of being No. 2. Coolidge lost to Maricopa, while Snowflake won its fifth consecutive game, so those two schools switched spots.
DIVISION V
1. Northwest Christian 9-0
2. Yuma Catholic 8-1
3. Scottsdale Christian 7-2
4. Tempe Prep 8-1
5. Morenci 9-0
No changes here as everyone won out. The big game in Week 10 is NW Christian against Tempe Prep (at Arizona Lutheran Academy) on Friday night, while Yuma Catholic hosts San Tan Foothills.
LOOKING AHEAD
Week 10 starts off in style as rivals Saguaro and Chaparral face off on Thursday at Saguaro. Last year, former Saguaro coach John Sanders rested his starters to avoid injuries heading into the playoffs, but both teams should be full-go in this one.
Chandler hosts Desert Vista in the biggest Division I game on the schedule. Even though both teams are considered among the elite, the loser may have to go on the road in the first round of the playoffs. Elsewhere, Pinnacle plays at Brophy, Red Mountain is at Highland and Valley Vista plays at Westview.
Division II features two key showdowns: No. 3 Salpointe hosts No. 1 Ironwood Ridge in Tucson, while No. 4 Marcos de Niza takes on undefeated No. 5 Cesar Chavez. The Champions are undefeated but have not seen a team close to Marcos de Niza’s caliber.
No. 7 Williams Field and No. 3 Queen Creek are both 9-0 and will meet in a key Division III contest, while No. 5 Cactus plays at No. 8 Liberty. In Tucson, second-ranked Sabino plays at Eastside rival Sahuaro.
