Bamboo’s Week 2 Football Showdown

We got a lot of action to cover in the coming weeks. Stock up and stock down on teams. The good, the bad, and the ugly. However, I titled this series the “Best of the Week” for a reason so we’ll focus on the best matchups that the week has to offer. There’s two matchups that are worth highlighting this week. Not only because there is a rematch of two newfound rivals, but also a clash between two of the biggest titans. One from Cali and one from AZ.

ALA Queen Creek vs Red Mountain

After 6 weeks, 12 wins combined, these two teams met for the second time ever, and one would come out perfect. ALA had the win secured with a Tillman Mullenaux interception. The end was nigh. The Patriots needed a first down and a 7-0 record was to be preserved. The Red Mountain defense proved to be dangerous, holding the Patriots to a 4th down and turning the ball over at Red Mountain 39 yard line. The last person you wanted to have the ball was Simon Lopez. With little resistance, he led the Mountain Lions down the field. With a dose of deja vu, Red Mountain had the opportunity to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired, the same way they lost the first meeting to ALA Queen Creek. Brandon Gallegos’ kick from 40 yards out was good and Red Mountain reigned supreme.

Red Mountain was at the top of the football landscape after this game. They were Open bound and were headed in the right direction before they played the final 3 games. The Lions did not fare well the next 4 matchups, losing out in disappointing fashion including a first round loss at home to Centennial 21-7. After losing many players to graduation, the standard of “next man up” will be on full display. The question of who will play quarterback after Simon Lopez has been solved. Dominic Carmagiano, the former quarterback from Chandler, arrived in the offseason and showed promise during seven-on-seven periods.

ALA Queen Creek arguably had the better season after their loss to Red Mountain last year, managing to reach the Open before getting knocked out by Basha in the second round. Making it to the Open is an incredible achievement in itself. ALA has made it as a 5A team before back in 2022. In fact, it was their only season in the 5A division. They were elevated to 6A shortly after.

This would be the 3rd ever meeting between these two teams and from prior games, they’ve put on some great showings. Both last second heroics coming from the kickers. Both with hard-hitting defenses and explosive offenses. Both teams are eyeing an Open playoff berth in the near future. This will be ALA’s first road game after their contest against Hamilton and Red Mountain’s first home game back from the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas. Jim Jones Field will be rocking for this one.

ALA Queen Creek by 2

Orange Lutheran vs Basha

It’s been a recent debate topic to decide which state has the best football programs overall. Texas is always presented as the center of high school football. Small towns look to football fields as cathedrals of war, a keystone for entertainment in an otherwise working class society. But we can talk about small town spirit for another day.

California, in recent years, has put out more pro players than anyone else in the country. The pro football factory is home to many of the country’s top programs. Mater Dei, St John Bosco, Long Beach Poly, just to name a few, are the big three that run the NFL pipeline from California. Centennial (Corona) and Sierra Canyon to name a few more. The Mission Viejo Diablos, whom Basha played previously in a losing effort 31-28, are also one of the best. It would actually be their closest game of the entire season. The Diablos were top 5 in the state of California and top 20 nationally, and blew out their opponents with a point differential 306. For reference, Liberty had a point differential of 304 last year. But there were 4 teams that were statistically better than Mission Viejo. There was Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, Centennial. And lastly, Orange Lutheran.

The 8-4 record last year shall not be overlooked. The Trinity division hosts California’s finest, that is Servite, JSerra Catholic, Santa Margarita, St. John Bosco, and Mater Dei. By comparison, it’s like having the top 5 teams from last year’s Open being in the same region. Yes, we had a “Premiere” region but that didn’t quite pan out and it was removed in the following region realignment. The Lancers traveled quite a bit last season, from going to Vegas to play Bishop Gorman and going on a 4 hour trek to Santa Margarita for a regional matchup. The Orange Lutheran Lancers are one of California’s best teams. Now enter, the Basha Bears.

We’ve already highlighted Bashas two-titled heroics during seven-on-sevens in the previous article. They also have new uniforms, courtesy of Jordan. We did not discuss Basha having 19 players with college offers. They have talent from all areas. They had 7 players receive all-conference 1st team honors last year. Jake Hildrebrand is an absolute monster, standing 6’7 285 lbs with 37 offers with scary mobility. Second with total number of offers is RB Noah Roberts with 32. The Basha Bears have the talent and the status to compete with California’s best, appearing in every Open bracket since 2022. It’s a fight of titans. AZ versus CA. Get your popcorn ready.

Orange by 7