TJ Hayes is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chaparral High School for AZPreps365.com.

It’s not often in sports where two highly competitive teams share the same town or city. Scottsdale is an affluent town, known for the glitz and glamour. Two of its high school football teams, Chaparral and Saguaro, display much of the same. Both embody a championship-caliber history, which has fueled a heated rivalry that dates back to 1973. Since then, the pendulum of success against one another has swung back and forth. Despite the teams no longer being in the same conference for championship play, the winning pedigree that comes with both programs tends to make this game one of the best and most anticipated high school football matchups every year.  

Friday is Chaparral’s home opener, and the atmosphere in “Chap-Town” should be electric. The reigning class 6A state champions should come out guns blazing against their hated rival Saguaro. “We are expecting a standing-room-only type crowd, and our team has been excited about this for quite some time. Our campus is buzzing with energy for this game,” said Dan Bode, the athletic director at Chaparral. 

Saguaro enters with a 2-0 record, currently ranked No. 4 in the state by MaxPreps. Chaparral has a 2-1 record, with a two-game win streak, ranked No. 7 in the state by MaxPreps. Both offenses are averaging above 37 points per game, so expect a shootout with lots of touchdowns and back-and-forth lead changes.

Despite no recent success against their rival, Chaparral is focused on the now. “We don’t worry about the past, only what’s right in front of us. All I know is the last two games against each other were great battles and I would expect more of the same on Friday,” said head coach Brent Barnes. Chaparral hasn’t beaten Saguaro since 2013 (only played three times in that span), and Barnes has been 0-2 in the last three years against the crosstown rival. Barnes added, “A win would mean we passed a good test of where we are for now, but either way, we will have plenty to improve on and look to get better each week of the season.” 

In fact, both the losses Barnes mentioned were down-to-the-wire, high-scoring affairs. As a first-year head coach in the 2018 at Chaparral, Barnes's team took Saguaro to the ropes on the road in a game where both teams posted about 600 yards of total offense. The final score was 45-37, as turnovers seemed to be the difference. Then in 2019 Chaparral tried again, this time at home. The game was 17-17 going into the fourth quarter, and that’s when Saguaro took the game over. The final score was 38-24, and the Sabercats ran for over 300 yards to victory. It really does differ year to year, but for Chaparral to win this game, they will have to outscore Saguaro and get timely stops from their defense, led by senior Anthony Lucas, the No. 1 ranked prospect by 247Sports in the 2022 class. 

The history behind this long and hostile rivalry intensified once both teams started winning state championships. Since 1994, Saguaro has had 12 state championships competing in class 4A, including nine championships in 11 years. Chaparral won three state championships in class 4A before they moved up to 5A in 2009. They had their own three-peat (2009-2011) and then moved up again to class 6A, holding the title of reigning 2020 state champions.  

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of several winning traditions, but the excitement that comes with Chaparral football is something that is very special,” Bode said.

Both schools also have a plethora of NFL alumni including current NFL players like starting left tackle for the Tennessee Titans, Taylor Lewan, who attended Chaparral, and Byron Murphy, starting cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals who attended Saguaro. In total, 14 players combined from both schools have made it to the NFL. 

Fans can tune in using the Twitter live stream linked below. With the action set to start at 7 p.m., the lights should shine a little brighter this Friday.

Saguaro currently owns the overall rivalry record at 22-17.  

Live Stream - https://twitter.com/i/events/1439528380135731200