A look at the highlights of the upcoming week in varsity sports:
BOYS BASKETBALL
On Tuesday, first place is on the line in the 5A Central as No. 4 Mountain View travels to play Basha. Both teams are 4-1 in a cluttered region race. Mesquite and Dobson, two teams one game out, also play.
Marcos de Niza and Mountain Pointe face off in a game neither can afford to lose, as each is a game back of Perry in the 5A East Valley.
In the 5A Desert Valley, St. Mary’s and Chaparral face off. The 4A East Sky seems to be a three-team race, and Seton can strengthen its spot atop the region with a win over Williams Field on Tuesday.
On Friday, Corona del Sol at Mesquite and Dobson at Mountain View are the marquee games in the Central region. Desert Vista and Brophy play in the Fiesta. St. Mary’s and Pinnacle face off, as do Horizon and Desert Mountain.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The top four teams in the 5A Fiesta Region matchup on Tuesday with Hamilton visiting No. 5 Xavier and Desert Vista on the road at Chandler. Chandler and Xavier are each 2-0 after the first two nights of region play.
The top two teams in the 4A East Sky battle Tuesday as well with No. 1 Seton Catholic (4A-II) visiting No. 5 Williams Field.
Neither team has lost yet (7-0) in region play. Seton has a date Thursday at home with No. 3 Glendale Cactus so it’s the toughest week Seton has seen since holiday tournaments before the turn of the calender.
Top-ranked Mountain View (5A-I) finishes the first round of Central Region play Tuesday visiting Basha and travels to Dobson on Friday trying to avenge its only region loss of the season to date.
BOYS SOCCER
With two weeks left in the regular season it’s time for the power points and playoff positioning to take center stage. The match of the week could be Brophy at Hamilton on Wednesday in a matchup of serious state title contenders in 5A Division I. The Broncos are better than their No. 11 spot in the power points and have the talent to give the Huskies their first power point loss of the season.
Speaking of Fiesta Region showdowns, Phoenix Desert Vista has a rough slate this week with matches against Mesa, Chandler and Brophy, while Gilbert travels to Mesquite for a Tuesday matchup which could give the Wildcats their first power-point victory against someone with a winning record.
No. 2 Chaparral and host-No. 4 Pinnacle will collide a second time after the Pioneers won 2-1 earlier this month in 5A-II. Cactus Shadows and Queen Creek meet in a top-5 matchup of 4A-I teams.
Williams Field, Paradise Valley, Higley and Seton Catholic play one another to try and break up a logjam in 4A-II and No. 2 Valley Christian travels to top-seed and undefeated Pusch Ridge on Tuesday.
GIRLS SOCCER
The Fiesta Region gets real interesting this week, beginning with Hamilton’s schedule of Chandler, at Xavier and home against Red Mountain on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
Poor Mountain View has Gilbert, Highland and 5A-II studs Avondale Westview this week, three schools who are a combined 21-2 in power point matches thus far.
Desert Ridge faces 5A-II standout Millennium on Friday. Desert Mountain and Pinnacle do battle again after the Wolves slipped away with a 3-2 victory against their Desert Valley Region foes two weeks ago.
No. 16 Queen Creek both needs and will receive a big test from undefeated Cactus Shadows in 4A-I on Tuesday, and Paradise Valley hosts Seton Catholic on Tuesday in a top 5 matchup of 4A-II schools.
