High School Football Top 10: Ranked teams will square off against each other this week

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 | 2:05 a.m.

There will likely be a shake-up next week in the Sun’s top-10 high school football rankings.

That’s because Thursday night’s slate of games features three contests pitting ranked teams against each other — No. 3 Arbor View at No 5 Palo Verde, No. 2 Liberty at No. 9 Basic and No. 6 Canyon Springs at No. 7 Green Valley.

The three games can literally be won be either team, serving as a perfect preview to next month’s playoffs. This is the last week of games in the Sunset Region before the postseason begins; the Sunrise Region playoffs start in two weeks.

Here is the rest of the rankings, which is complied weekly by the Sun’s Ray Brewer.

1. Bishop Gorman (7-1): Bishop Gorman is six victories away from winning a fourth straight state championship. They’ll face Desert Oasis Thursday in the regular season finale.

2. Liberty (6-1): Liberty’s 19-game winning streak in the Southeast League will be on the line Thursday when the Patriots play host Basic for sole possession of first place.

3. Arbor View (8-0): The Aggies, which are the lone undefeated team in the Division I, look to complete a perfect regular season Thursday against rival Palo Verde. Coach Dan Barnson’s team knows history isn’t on their side — Arbor View, which opened is 2005, has never beat Palo Verde.

4. Centennial (6-2): Centennial might have lost its game last week, but by scoring 20 points against three-time defending state champion Bishop Gorman, the Bulldogs proved they belong among the city’s elite programs. Despite the loss, they remain at No. 4 in the rankings.

5. Palo Verde (6-3): This Northwest League title might be the most satisfying for the players at Palo Verde High. Despite losing three of their first four games, the Panthers can win yet another league crown Thursday if they beat Arbor View.

6. Canyon Springs (5-2): After beating up on Rancho and Valley in the past two weeks, Canyon Springs will have its hands full Thursday against Green Valley in a game that will likely determine the Northeast League champion.

7. Green Valley (6-1): Raise your hand if you had Green Valley winning the Northeast League title at the beginning of the season? Outside of the school’s 89014 zip code, there weren’t too many on the Gators’ bandwagon. That’s not the case anymore. Green Valley is primed for a lengthy playoff run.

8. Moapa Valley (9-1): The Pirates have won nine straight games and won’t have to leave the their home stadium in Overton until the Division-IA state title game. They open playoffs Thursday by host Pahrump Valley.

9. Basic (6-1): When Basic hosts Liberty Thursday night, it will be playing on Thursday for the third straight week. They’ve beat Foothill and Del Sol the past two weeks.

10. Coronado (5-2): With its win last week against Foothill, Coronado official clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2005. Yes, this is not an error, Coronado will play in the postseason.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.