Football Preview: 3rd ranked Rams face toughest test yet

The Maricopa High School Rams football team has moved up to No. 3 in the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division III Football Power Rankings, but face their toughest test of the season against the 13th-ranked Titans of Arcadia High School.

Last week, the Rams were ranked fifth in the initial installment of the AIA Power Rankings, and the Titans ranked fourth. However, Maricopa gutted out a comeback win on the road against the McClintock Chargers while Arcadia didn’t have enough gas to overcome Tempe on the road. Both still sit in playoff position as they enter their seventh game of the season, but this matchup has serious implications for section play.

Maricopa is the only unbeaten team left in Section I. However, there are four teams (Apache Junction, Vista Grande, Tempe and Arcadia) nipping at their heels with just one section loss. Maricopa has already beaten Apache Junction and Tempe, but Arcadia and Vista Grande are currently projected to be playoff teams. Both teams still pose a threat to take the section crown.

Despite the Titans’ loss last week, getting through Arcadia is no easy task. Their size on the offensive and defensive lines provides a tough matchup for the speedy front line of the Rams. Arcadia’s powerful running game has the potential to expose Maricopa’s early season weakness of stopping skilled running backs.

“They’re a run first team, and [Ryan Alexandre] is a really good running back,” MHS football head coach Chris McDonald said. “They have a sophomore quarterback who they believe in and they have some big guys on both sides of the line. I think [their size] is their strength. They have a really good linebacker and they’re a hard-nose team that likes to hit. They’re very physical and we’ll have to match that.”

Alexandre, Arcadia’s junior running back, has rushed for 634 yards and eight touchdowns so far this season. The last time the Rams’ young defense faced a running back of this caliber was in their first game against Agua Fria High School. Senior Chris Cofield ran for 273 yards that night, and Agua Fria scored 46 points.

Since that game, however, the Rams have tightened up on defense and given up only 65 points over their last five games.

“Knock on wood, our team has been able to respond so far with physicality,” McDonald said. “I feel that every week we’ve gotten a little more physical, so hopefully we’ll keep that going against Arcadia because that’s what we’ll need.”

Coming off a close win against McClintock, senior quarterback Aaron Owens will be looking to find the spark he had when he threw for 537 yards and six touchdowns in the team’s first game. Last week, he was pulled from the game in the third quarter for senior all-purpose player Isaiah Pedro. Pedro led the team to two late touchdowns and sealed the victory.

“We got out of there with a [win] and that’s what matters most,” McDonald said. “I think they understand there’s times when the ball won’t go your way, and we had three first-half fumbles that were drive killers. So we went from first-and-10 on [McClintock’s] 40 to them having first and goal on our 3, but our defense responded and held them to 10 points when we gave them great field position on three different opportunities. It says a lot.”

Balance will remain the key for Maricopa’s offense Friday night. Much like previous weeks, Coach McDonald stated he plans to use both Owens and Pedro in various packages throughout the game.

Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. Friday night at Maricopa High School’s Rams Field. The field is on the northwest corner of the campus at 45012 W. Honeycutt Ave.