No. 4 Pusch Ridge (12-1) vs. No. 2 Waddell ALA-West Foothills (13-0)
Date: Saturday
Site: Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale
Kickoff: 6 p.m.
Pusch Ridge coach: Kent Middleton (46-12, fifth year at Pusch Ridge and overall). He has coached the Lions to their first state championship appearance since 2017. Only third Pusch Ridge team to reach 12 wins in the 28-year history of the program. The 2015 team coached by Troy Kupp won the state title with a 13-1 record and the 2017 team with Jerry Harris as coach finished 13-1 with its lone loss a 35-28 decision against Queen Creek Casteel in the state championship.
ALA-West Foothills coach: Chad Mitton (21-3, second year at ALA-West Foothills and overall). Mitton is the son of former Phoenix Trevor Browne coach Bill Mitton, who coached 29 years at Trevor Browne and won a state title in 1981 with a win over Salpointe.
When Pusch Ridge has the ball:
Run percentage: 61.8 percent (375 rushes)
Pass percentage: 38.2 percent (232 passes)
Pusch Ridge avenged its lone loss of the season with last week’s 24-13 win over Queen Creek Franklin in the 3A quarterfinals. In the 31-7 loss at Franklin on Sept. 6, the Lions had only 106 yards of total offense, by far its worst performance of the season and worst of the Middleton era. The Lions gained 280 yards last week, 154 on the ground. … Senior QB Jacob Newborn is one of the top dual-threat players at his position in the state, passing for 1,913 yards (138 of 222 with 26 touchdowns and six interceptions) and leading the Lions in rushing with 661 yards (107 carries, 14 touchdowns). … Super senior RB Blake Reed, a physical back at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, has rushed for 623 yards on 109 carries and has 12 touchdown runs. Reed was granted an extra year of eligibility by the AIA after suffering a dislocated hip and fracture of his acetabulum, the socket of the hip joint, in a preseason scrimmage last year. “Blake’s injury last year affected a lot of kids on our team,” Middleton told KVOA Channel 4. “Having him back has been a huge inspiration for us.” … Newborn spreads the ball around — Nata Campa (41 receptions, 543 yards, seven touchdowns), Elliot Lovett (29 catches, 521 yards, eight touchdowns) and Dominic Painter (31 receptions, 520 yards, eight touchdowns) are all viable options. … ALA-West Foothills senior De JJ Brutus, who has 33.5 tackles for loss among his 68 tackles, will not play after breaking his fibula in the fourth quarter of last week’s semifinal win over Thatcher at Mesa High School. Brutus, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound prospect who has taken recruiting visits to Arizona and Arizona State, finished this season with 17.5 sacks and 45 quarterback hurries. … Junior LB Hunter Cotten leads ALA-West Foothills with 92 tackles, including 25 for loss (five sacks), followed by sophomore LB Zion Aguebor’s 74 tackles, 12 for loss (4.5 sacks). … Twin brothers Iziic Morales and Izaiah Morales, both juniors, have combined for 11 interceptions. Iziic, a linebacker, has six of them. Izaiah is a cornerback. ALA-West Foothills has an amazing 26 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries. … Eleven different players have at least one interception.
When ALA-West Foothills has the ball:
Run percentage: 67.2 percent (326 rushes)
Pass percentage: 32.8 percent (163 passes)
ALA-West Foothills is primarily a running team that can intermittently pass the ball with junior QB Hudson Mitten, the coach’s son who has a propensity to throw interceptions with 12. That’s a concern with Pusch Ridge’s pass defense one of the best in the state recording 22 interceptions after having three picks in the second quarter of last week’s win over Franklin … Brutus, with a team-best 701 rushing yards on 74 carries with 12 touchdowns, will be missed but the Guardians have a viable backyup. The second-leading rusher is sophomore Kenyon Rosenthal, who has rushed for 653 yards on 77 carries with eight touchdowns. … Mitten’s top receiving target is junior Carson Callister, who has 27 catches for 537 yards with four touchdowns. Rosenthal is also a threat out of the backfield with 15 receptions for 330 yards. … Pusch Ridge’s defense is stout allowing only 47 points in the Lions’ 11-game winning streak since the loss to Franklin. The Lions have six shutouts this season and could have earned another in the 38-6 first-round win over Surprise Paradise Honors but the Panthers scored a touchdown as time expired. … The defensive front has three players with at least 20 tackles for loss, led by 27 by senior DE Charles Palmer (63 tackles overall). Fellow senior DE Aaron Kenworthy has 26 tackles for loss among his 86 tackles. Kenworthy has seven sacks and Palmer 6.5. … Senior LB Tyler Shoaff, who leads the team with 130 tackles, has 22 tackles for loss (4.5 sacks). … Senior LB Noah Miller has five interceptions Lovett, a cornerback, has four. Ten different players have at least one pick.
Middleton said of playing in Pusch Ridge’s first championship game since 2017: “It’s a reflection of our players, their attitudes and how hard they’ve worked. It’s a reflection of our coaches. They pour so much into these players. It’s a great feeling to see them celebrate like they’re celebrating right now. They deserve it. It’s the ultimate. This is going to be a successful season no matter what. We’ve got great kids and coaches. I’m really happy to see everybody get this feeling that we have right now.”
PUSCH RIDGE-ALA WEST FOOTHILLS LEADERS
| Pusch Ridge | Avg. | Category | ALA – West Foothills | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blake Reed | 62.3 | Rushing Yards Per Game | Kenyon Rosenthal | 65.3 |
| Jacob Newborn | 147.2 | Passing Yards Per Game | Hudson Mitton | 135.9 |
| Elliott Lovett | 43.4 | Receiving Yards Per Game | Carson Callister | 44.8 |
| Jacob Newborn | 198.0 | Total Yards Per Game | Hudson Mitton | 138.0 |
| Tyler Shoaff | 10.0 | Tackles Per Game | Hunter Cotten | 8.4 |
| Sam Wolters | 1.0 | Sacks Per Game | JJ Brutus | 1.5 |
| Blake Reed | 8.4 | Points Per Game | Kenyon Rosenthal | 6.0 |
Series record
Pusch Ridge leads 2-0. ALA-West Foothills played its first varsity game at Pusch Ridge in 2022 and lost 37-7 under previous coach Tim Liufau. The Guardians visited Pusch Ridge again that season for their first playoff game and lost 35-0.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District
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