By Don Ketchum

Wednesday is the one-month mark away from the start of the 2012 high school football season.

On Saturday, Aug. 18, the annual Sollenberger Classic will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

The event honors the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s late historian, Barry Sollenberger, and features two games between Arizona and Nevada teams.

This year’s games feature Lakeside Blue Ridge and Moapa Valley at 3 p.m. and Phoenix Desert Vista and Palo Verde at 7.

Blue Ridge is the defending Division IV champion with 11 championships and four runners-up under coach Paul Moro since 1987. The program has won 13 titles overall and has nine runners-up finishes.

Moapa Valley defeated Show Low in last year’s Sollenberger Classic.

Desert Vista, coached by Dan Hinds, defeated Chandler Hamilton for last year’s Division I crown.

The schedule will open up full-throttle the following week, on Wednesday, Aug. 22 and Friday, Aug. 24.

Among the most noteworthy games in August involving schools from Scottsdale, Phoenix, the northwest and southwest Valley and northern Arizona . . .

Wednesday, Aug. 22 – Division I: Phoenix Brophy Prep at Glendale Mountain Ridge.

Friday, Aug. 24 – Division I: Phoenix Pinnacle at Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor. Division II: Tempe Marcos de Niza vs. Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep at Scottsdale Community College; Anthem Boulder Creek at Cave Creek Cactus Shadows; Peoria at Glendale Apollo; Phoenix South Mountain at Phoenix Camelback; Phoenix North Canyon at Phoenix Horizon; Laveen Betty H. Fairfax at Goodyear Millennium; Tucson Salpointe Catholic at Scottsdale Chaparral; Prescott at Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain; Phoenix Washington at Glendale Deer Valley. Division III: Scottsdale Saguaro at Phoenix Paradise Valley; Phoenix Thunderbird at Goodyear Desert Edge; Lakeside Blue Ridge at Cottonwood Mingus. Division IV: River Valley vs. Dixie at St. George, Utah; Snowflake at Holbrook. Division V: Yuma Catholic vs. Phoenix Northwest Christian at Northern Arizona University; Show Low at St. Johns; Phoenix Christian at Phoenix Arizona Lutheran. Division VI (eight-man): Bagdad vs. Fredonia at Northern Arizona University.

Saturday, Aug. 25 – Division I: Santa Margarita, Calif. vs. Phoenix Brophy Prep at Phoenix College. Division III: Phoenix Greenway vs. Peoria Sunrise Mountain at Northern Arizona University. Division V: Needles, Calif. vs. Williams at Northern Arizona University; Globe vs. Tonopah Valley at Northern Arizona University.

Friday, Aug. 31 – Division I: Phoenix Brophy Prep at Anthem Boulder Creek. Division II: Goodyear Millennium at Peoria Centennial; Tempe Marcos de Niza at Scottsdale Chaparral; Lake Havasu at Kingman; Phoenix Pinnacle at Cave Creek Cactus Shadows; Father Judge (Philadelphia) vs. Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep in Ireland; Surprise Valley Vista at Surprise Willow Canyon. Division III: Scottsdale Saguaro at Phoenix Thunderbird; Phoenix Arcadia at Phoenix Washington; Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain at Cotonwood Mingus. Division IV: Winslow at Holbrook; Chinle at Ganado. Division V: Payson at Camp Verde; Tuba City at Tuba City Greyhills; St. Johns at Round Valley.

2011 STATE CHAMPIONS

Division I – Phoenix Desert Vista

Division II – Scottsdale Chaparral

Division III – Scottsdale Saguaro

Division IV – Lakeside Blue Ridge

Division V – Yuma Catholic

Division VI (eight-man) – Joseph City