The Pinnacle High School Pioneers (1-0) are headed back to the valley as they face off against the Liberty High School Lions (1-0) Friday. 

Last week, Pinnacle took the trip to the Pacific coast when they took on El Camino High School in Oceanside, Calif. The Pioneers came out on top in cruising fashion, 43-6.

With that win, Pinnacle grabbed one-third of its win total from 2021, when the Pioneers went 3-7.

PHS managed to make the playoffs due to a challenging schedule and took an opening round victory against Sandra Day O’Connor before losing in the 6A quarterfinals in close fashion to Chaparral.

Returning from last year’s team is a trio of seniors who will lead Pinnacle on the offensive side of the ball: senior tight end Duce Robinson, senior wide receiver Myles Libman and senior offensive lineman Elijah Page.

Page, committed to Notre Dame, is the anchor of the offensive line.

He’ll lead a unit that needs to have a near-perfect night against a stout Liberty defensive group.

They’ll be tasked with protecting sophomore quarterback Wyatt Horton, who delivered three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in his first varsity start against El Camino. 

Horton is next in the assembly line at the PHS quarterback factory. 

Any quality signal caller needs targets, though, and Horton is no different.

Lucky for him, he has a fair share of weapons to go and dish the ball out to.

It all starts with Robinson, who’s as gifted of an athlete as one might ever find in Arizona. Holding a resumé that reads better than maybe any other 17-year-old athlete in the country.

A unanimous five-star recruit.

A unanimous number one tight end in the country.

An MLB Draft prospect.

At 6-foot-6, Robinson is a matchup nightmare when coupling size and speed as a big play target. He should operate more as a wideout alongside Libman in the Pioneers' offense.

The 6-foot-1 Libman is a welcomed complement to Robinson’s deep threat. The senior is the primary target on short and intermediate routes, but still possesses big-play potential after the catch.

Those two had monster nights in that quarterfinal loss to Chaparral last November.

Libman had seven catches for 159 yards. Robinson had eight catches for 141 yards. They’ll each need a big night if Pinnacle wants to pull the upset and move to 2-0.

The game on Friday will mark the first in-state game for the Pioneers since that 41-36 defeat to the Firebirds. It’s also the second year in a row that Pinnacle will face Liberty on the road after the Lions won this matchup, 33-27, last fall. 

Liberty has won each of the last two meetings with Pinnacle.

The Lions come into this week’s 6A clash having also taken an opening game victory dominantly, beating Peoria rival Sunrise Mountain, 50-0. 

Liberty went 8-2 in 2021 and 4-0 in the 6A West Valley region setting them up to go to the AIA Open 8 where they upset a 10-0 Basha High School squad that was uber-talented in every position.

The season came to an end in the semifinals when they fell, 27-21, in overtime to the perennial power that is Chandler High School. 

The Lions were up, 21-7, with five minutes to go.

Back from that team is junior quarterback Navi Bruzon, who was good enough to win last year’s quarterback competition against Dom Ochoa.

Ochoa is now a starting defensive back in his senior year.

Partnering Ochoa in coverage will be junior Keaton Stam.

One might remember his brother Jax, the hard-hitting safety who is now at the University of Arizona.

The younger Stam hits just as hard and had 10 tackles, a fumble recovery and a sack against Sunrise Mountain.

Those names make the defense good.

My’Keil Gardner, a senior defensive lineman, makes the defense great. 

The Oregon commit is as disruptive as anyone in this year’s graduating class. At 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds of non-stop motor, Gardner will be a nightmare up front. 

Liberty will expect to own the trenches on both sides with Gardner on the defensive side. On the offensive side of the ball, junior Ryan Wolfer and senior Layton Vining will block for senior running back Zach Wallace, now a three-year starter at the position who rushed for 100 yards last week.

Led by Collin Thomas, the Lions are looking like a top-5 team in Arizona again this year.

So one would figure another Open 8 berth beckons for Liberty. 

In Arizona, Pinnacle-Liberty will be up there in the upper echelon of contests during week two.

A Pinnacle win could put 6A on notice as a team that might be better than expected.

A Liberty win would be business as usual for the Lions, who will certainly be revving to go as they look to get back to the Open 8 semifinals, perhaps even further, in 2022.