Thrust into a starring role in the first round of the playoffs, sophomore Rajhan Meriwether more than performed.

Turning the ball over five times and accumulating 80 yards in penalties is typically not the recipe for a victory.

D.J. Foster, Saguaro:  292 yards rushing, 3 TD, TD rec., INT

The setup to this week’s Perry vs. Basha clash looks eerily similar to last year.

PASSING

J.J. Husar had a visiting jersey on this time, but he was still right at home.

Nobody wants to look at the bright side after a loss; that’s especially true after one that keeps a relatively-young program from reaching its first state championship game.

Saguaro running back D.J. Foster and Chaparral wide receiver Davonte Neal ran wild on opposing defenses last year, putting up eye-popping numbers and leading their teams to state championships. It’s doubtful that any skill player will accumulate statistics approaching those marks this year, but Friday nights certainly won’t lack in star power. A host of offensive standouts return to their teams for another year of high school football. Here are five players who will be worth the price of admission this season:

PASSING

Maybe it really doesn’t matter if Basha and Perry are in two different divisions.

If Desert Vista’s traditional Senior Walk on Friday would have replicated the Thunder’s first-round win over Basha, it would have been a little herky-jerky instead of the take-it-all-in process it is meant to be.

The Basha football team is no stranger to early-round playoff upsets — good and bad — under Bernie Busken.

Basha at Hamilton

One of these days...

Only one football team within the Chandler Unified School District will still be undefeated Saturday morning, and, for once, it won’t be Hamilton.

Key games

Basha Bears

Desert Vista has been here before. A few times. Ultimately, however, it hasn't yielded the ideal result.

Let’s review what’s happened, shall we?

The wild, wacky, unpredictable start to the 2012 football season continued on Friday night, as two more of the preseason favorites in Division I went down. Fifth-ranked Red Mountain knocked off No. 1 Brophy behind a late, fourth-down touchdown pass, while No. 3 Mountain Pointe knocked off second-ranked and defending champion Desert Vista by holding the Thunder scoreless in the second half.

Two teams from Chandler Youth Football will be spending the first week of December in Orlando, Fla., trying to take care of a little business.

Hard to believe, but the East Valley’s first football game of the season takes place this weekend, as Desert Vista and Palo Verde (Las Vegas) will tussle in the Barry Sollenberger Classic on Saturday night at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Saguaro running back D.J. Foster and Chaparral wide receiver Davonte Neal ran wild on opposing defenses last year, putting up eye-popping numbers and leading their teams to state championships.