What we learned in Arizona HS football. Liberty, Centennial shine

There were blowouts and surprises, thrillers and statements in Week 2 of the Arizona high school football season, the first full week, which is concluding with No. 3 Chandlerat No. 1 Chandler Basha on Saturday night, Aug. 29, on ESPN.

The Arizona Republic takes a look at what transpired on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 27 and 28.

Basha, Chandler and Hamilton -- Chandler's Big 3 -- might have the top-25 national rankings to start this season. But, by no means, is it a three-team race to the Open Division crown. There are a couple of Peoria schools -- Liberty and Centennial -- that are going to have something to say in the end.

Liberty throttled a fast, athletic Mesa team that figured to challenge this year, 58-18. And say hello to sophomore quarterback Jason Haines, who showed star quality from the get go with six straight completions and two touchdowns in the Lions' first two series.

Liberty might have the best quarterback room in the state. Even though Haines won the QB1 job during a tough summer battle, senior Kenny Raymond is still going to be a big part of the offense. He will still play quarterback at times with coach Colin Thomas' multiple looks, adding a different wrinkle with is ability to run. He broke loose for a 35-yard scoring run with 9:50 left that started a running clock in Friday's game. Haines, meanwhile, was 18 of 27 for 403 yards and 4 TDs and no interceptions.

Liberty lost several key defensive players from last year's team that gave Basha a tough battle in the Open semifinals. But the guys who have stepped up this year are going to make names for themselves. Get familiar with linebacker Brecken Garday, safety/linebacker Brayden Howland and defensive tackle Christian Garcia. They were making plays all over the field. And look out for sophomore tight end Jayden Sellers. He's big, can run deep routes and he's got great hands.

For Centennial, in its 44-10 rout at ALA Queen Creek Thursday, the Hill brothers stood out. Quarterback Titus Hill and his twin brother, tight end Torrin Hill, showed they've made greater strides since helping the Coyotes to the 6A final last year. Torrin Hill scored three touchdowns, one of those rushing. Left tackle Ben Lowther was a beast, leading the blocks. Linebacker Tyler Overstreet jumped a pass and returned the interception for a touchdown. Defensive end Eli Taylor had a sack, caused a fumble and a safety. It was 28-3 after a half and 44-3 after three quarters.

The school has won eight state titles, but this could be as good, if not better, than any of those teams. Circle Nov. 6 on the calendar. That's the last regular-season game, the date when Centennial and Liberty face each other.

Chandler Hamilton, particularly junior defensive back Kacey Allen Jr., was flying around on defense in a 25-6 win on Thursday night against Phoenix Brophy Prep at Central. Allen's night was spectacular: five solo tackles, five assisted tackles, a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown, three tackles for losses, a sack and a forced fumble.

It was the best stat line at Hamilton that defensive coordinator Parker Barrett said he has seen in a long time.

This Hamilton team was without star receiver Roye Oliver III, who was in street clothes on the sideline. It's uncertain how long he'll be out. Quarterback Jax Sculley, coming back from a second torn ACL in the last two years, will need time to get back into the groove that saw him pass for 2,947 yards and 41 touchdowns in a 10-0 regular season in 2025.

Brophy's defense is stellar. The Broncos held the Huskies to under 200 yards offense. But Hamilton's defense is going to win a lot of games this year with pressure up front, mainly from Derrick LeBlanc Jr., and Dylan Linder. Mitchell Raner is a tremendous linebacker. And Keaton Fields is one of the best defensive backs in the state. They both had interceptions. Hamilton had five takeaways, including four interceptions.

Before Peoria and Glendale Deer Valley played each other, the two teams got together to remember Baxter Floyd, the Deer Valley football player who died on Aug. 10. Deer Valley received the kickoff and took a knee on the 33-yard line, a symbolic gesture with 33 being the jersey number that Floyd wore. Peoria won the game 63-19, but that small gesture was the highlight of the night at Peoria.

Mesa Red Mountain survived defending 6A champion Queen Creek Casteel, 35-34, in a Thursday thrill ride to remember. The Lions won, thanks to a blocked extra-point kick after a Tee Smith quarterback sneak with a little less than five minutes to play. Red Mountain ran out the clock the rest of the way. It was a back-and-forth game filled with big plays, including a 79-yard touchdown pass from junior wide receiver Kaeden Weaver, a Washington state transplant. Weaver also caught an 80-yard scoring pass from quarterback Caleb Joe, who was sensational in his debut, passing for 249 yards and two TDs, completing 12 of 17 passes.

Red Mountain's Airreon Windom had two catches for 128 yards and two TDs, including a 79-yard score. He also ran for 33 yards on two carries.

Great job by new Queen Creek coach Steve Huber, who won his debut game in the Bulldogs' 35-31 victory over Gilbert Higley, another back-and-forth game that saw Sawyer Hales complete 14 of 21 passes for 351 yards and five TDs. He was not intercepted and had a QB rating of 149.3. That was a career night for Hales, a junior, who is out to show how far he's come since last season when the threw 18 interceptions with 17 TD passes. This performance came against a defense that was supposed to be the best that Higley coach Eddy Zubey has had in 6A.

More: Arizona high school football. Scores, schedule Aug. 27-29

Maybe not an upset in the eyes of Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain, but for the Bears to come to Phoenix Arcadia and beat the defending 4A runner-up, 24-7, was quite impressive. Arcadia graduated key pieces to its offense from last year's team that lost to Tucson Mica Mountain in the state final. But the Titans are supposed to be loaded on defense. Arcadia was ranked No. 2 by The Republic in preseason. Bradshaw Mountain was ranked No. 5. The Bears dominanted the trenches with running back Jonte Jones running for 160 yards and a TD on 26 carries. Owen Wasielewski and Kyle Silva each had two sacks.

Williams' 74-0 1A win over Bagdad was not a misprint. Bagdad coach Dalton Mills said his quarterback went down with an injury and the usually potent Sultans couldn't move the ball against a team that Mills believes might be the best in 8-man football right now. Williams was ranked No. 3 by The Republic in preseason with Bagdad at No. 6. It didn't seem like there would be that big of a gap between the teams on the field, however. That's how good Williams is.

That wasn't the only blowout. There were blowouts galore all across Arizona on Thursday and Friday. Kingman Lee Williams's 73-0 rout of ALA Vistancia, ALA Mesa North's 68-0 win over Arete Prep, Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin's 51-6 win over River Valley, ALA Gilbert North's 73-0 win over Casa Grande, Tempe Corona del Sol's 58-0 rout of Surprise Valley Vista, Phoenix Mountain Pointe's 47-0 win over Maricopa, Mesa Mountain View's 63-0 win over Las Vegas (Nevada), Gilbert Perry's 64-0 rout of Laveen Cactus Canyon, Scottsdale Chaparral's 61-0 blowout of Avondale West Point and Scottsdale Desert Mountain's 62-0 rout of Scottsdale Saguaro all jumped out.

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What we learned in Arizona HS football. Liberty, Centennial shine