Previewing 4A Southwest, 4A Skyline regions
It’s time for two-a-days, a continuing series, examining each region in Arizona for the 2019 high school football season.
4A Southwest Region
The teams: Buckeye, Goodyear Estrella Foothills, Yuma Gila Ridge, Buckeye Youngker, Yuma. The favorite: Estrella Foothills. Defending region champs return seven allregion players.
The contender: Gila Ridge. Fired up after seeing its playoff hopes vanish in the last two weeks, losing to Estrella Foothills (29-22) and Yuma Cibola (2221).
The sleeper: Buckeye. Jaheem Rosetta was a bright spot on a 3-7 team with two interceptions and four TD catches as a sophomore.
The star: Estrella Foothills WR Jacob Marsh. He had 40 catches for 575 yards and four TDs last year.
The date: Sept. 13, Estrella Foothills plays at Glendale Cactus in a game that should show both teams how much of a chance they have to win the 4A title.
4A Skyline Region
The teams: Phoenix Greenway, Phoenix Moon Valley, Phoenix Shadow Mountain, Phoenix St. Mary’s, Tempe, Phoenix Thunderbird. The favorite: Greenway. The biggest question mark is at quarterback where it’s replacing dual-threat QB Tyler Duncan from region title team.
The contender: Tempe. Only region loss was 6-0 to Greenway.
The sleeper: St. Mary’s. The Knights return depth, a strong offensive line but will need to find defensive consistency.
The star: Tempe senior nose guard Sione Tonga’uiha. He can also play fullback. The 280-pounder is a destructive force in the middle of the line.
The date: Aug. 30, Greenway will get a great gauge on where this rebuilt offense is at Estrella Foothills.
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.