Many schools reside in exceedingly competitive sections. For those who do the second half of the season ramps up the stakes as teams head to the downhilll half of their slates. And with automatic playoff berth going to section champs that's something to be hyped up about.

This is a divided week with a bunch of games Thursday (Oct. 2) and a bunch more on Friday (Oct. 3). Here's a gander at eight games that should have the competitive juices flowing:

THURSDAY OCT. 2

Chandler (4-1) at Hamilton (5-0): Last year's meeting (regular season) -- Chandler 26, Hamilton 16. Hamilton has a decisive victory over Mountain Pointe under its belt last week so it may be interesting to see if the Huskies can refuel their emotional tank for their neighbors to the north. Hamilton got some paybackfrom its first regular-season loss ever with Chandler in its win over the Wolves in last year's semifinals. Chandler features an offense that is two-dimensional with a veteran quarterback and skill set plus a good return game. It's quite likely the winner of this one wins the section. That's how it went for Chandler last year. The rest of the section would need a stronger than strong performance to upend either Chandler or Hamilton down the road. 

Saguaro (5-0) at Queen Creek (5-0): Last year's meeting (regular season) -- Saguaro 35, Queen Creek 28. Two prolific players make for intrigue here -- Saguaro's versatile receiver Christian Kirk (15 TDs) and Queen Creek running back Weston Barlow (13 TDs). They're sure to put up good numbers no matter how much each tries to slow the other. Both were more effective in last year's  title game -- Kirk 231 yards of offense and 4 TDs and Barlow 183 yards rushing. Saguaro averaged 41 points a game in its two wins over Queen Creek last year (one in the D-III final). Saguaro's main rushing threat is Kamron Johnson, who has prior stops at Marcos de Niza and Tempe before landing at Saguaro this summer. Johnson's rushed for 572 yards, 10 TDs. Queen Creek is looking for a breakthrough against its top nemesis of late in D-III.  

Mesa Mtn. View (1-4) at Skyline (5-0): Last year's meeting -- Mountain View 42, Skyline 14. Skyline has matched its start of 2013 and has designs of winning six games in a row for the first time in school history. To accomplish that the Coyotes will have to beat Mountain View in a varsity matchup for the first time. Mountain View is 9-0 in the all-time series. Skyline has been more impressive in winning its first five games than it was winning the initial five last year. Mountain View has struggled, but played better in the last two weeks with a win (Perry) and a competitive loss (Pinnacle). Mountain View's schedule has been much tougher to date.

Mesquite (3-1) at Westwood (5-0): Last year's meeting -- Mesquite 49, Westwood 0. This isn't the same Mesquite team Westwood faced last year -- the one with experience and advanced to the D-II semifinals. In fact the roles are reversed as Westwood has the exerienced squad while Mesquite has grown week by week (three straight wins) with plenty of new faces. It's Westwood's chance to make a statement and show it can compete against top teams in the section.

Boulder Creek (5-0) at Sandra Day O'Connor (4-2): Last year's meeting -- Boulder Creek 21, Sandra Day O'Connor 14. The best start in school history has the Anthem community brimming with excitement as section play opens for both teams. SDO is giddy, too, with four wins in its last five games. Boulder Creek's wins have come against teams in the not-so-distant past that are perennial playoff teams. But Mesa Mountain View, Westview, Desert Vista, Corona del Sol and Millennium are a combined 7-18 so not helping much in the power-rankings. Still, winning three of four tight games shows Boulder Creek has some moxy. SDO is capable of hanging a first loss on the Jaguars with home-field advantage in this one.

 FRIDAY OCT. 3

Northwest Christiain (4-1) at Arizona Lutheran (5-0): Arizona Lutheran 29, Northwest Christian 22. Arizona Lutheran ended a four-game losing streak to Northwest Christian last year. NWC prides itself on defense and will need a top-flight effort from that unit to pull off a road win. ALA has weapons galore in quarterback Cameron Haag (1,182 yards, 18 TDs), running back Jesse Zwick (825 yards, 13 TDs) and receivers Gabe Galvan and Brady Cook, a combined 31 catches for 894 yards and 15 TDs. ALA is averaging 56 points a game; NWC allows 7 points per game. NWC is led by steady QB Drew Inness and a strong running game anchored by Travis Pollay. NWC has five backs who have rushed for 150 yards or more this season.

Pusch Ridge (4-1) at San Tan Foothills (5-0): Pusch Ridge 42, San Tan Foothills 12. Neither team has played a top-notch schedule, but tfigure to give each other some competition. Pusch Ridge's toughest game was its loss to Joy Christian while San Tan got a decent game from Florence. A 28-point third quarter sunk San Tan Foothills in last year's game with Pusch Ridge. The Sabercats were without one of their 1,000-yard rushers, Ricky Wilson, in last year's contest. Wilson and Saige Waxler return and are on pace for 1,000 yards each again. San Tan Foohills gets another look at Pusch Ridge's Taylor. Fitzgerald, Tyler Overstreet and Ben Walker. Fitzgerald and Overstreet lead a ground game by committee. Walker is the receiving threat with 14 catches for 305 yards.

Pima (4-1) at Valley Union (4-1): Last year's meeting -- Pima 48, Valley Union 20. Pima senior quarterback Devon Kartchner totaled only 140 yards of offense last year in Pima's win over Valley Union, but he found the end zone four times. Kartchner is having a big year thus far passing for 815 yards and 13 TDs to lead the Roughriders. The running game features Curtis Hancock (350 yards) and Marley Grant (298 yards). Valley Union, in the midst of a bounce-back season, has lost its last three games with Pima by large margins. The last time Valley Union defeated Pima was in 2007 in the small-school championship game, 28-12.