Division I prep football begins for keeps in Thursday August 20 and Friday August 21 so may as well take a gander at some of the action in the Valley and Tucson.

Most eyes will be fixed on Chandler at Pinnacle on Thursday Aug. 20. Chandler is the defending D-I champ with a 10-game-winning streak in tow. Both  introduce new quarterbacks with Pinnacle under the gun to emulate to some degree graduated Brian Lewerke. Mason Moran joins forces behind center for his initial varsity start with Chase Lucas, N'Keal Harry and Micah Reed-Campos to name a few in the Wolves' potent attack.

There are nine other games involving D-I teams the next day -- Friday Aug. 21.  Each one should be competitive, at least reasonably so, as the hope is with realignment an excess of blowouts is in the rearview mirror. In all there are 55 games Division I through Division VI this weekend.

Here's a peek at each of the D-I contests, all on Aug. 21:

Long Beach Poly (Calif.) at Centennial: Centennial's first game in its rise to D-I is a test vs. a strong out-of-state foe in the Jackrabbits. The Coyotes have plenty of firepower returning and figure to at least hold their own against  Long Beach Poly. Long Beach Poly was 11-2 last season with a tough, season-ending playoff loss to St. John Bosco. Long Beach Poly led St. John Bosco heading to the final period. St. John Bosco bested Chandler High in 2013 by three TDs.

Desert Vista at Highland: Both schools aspire to stepping up their game this year and the Thunder may be a step ahead with so many, experienced yet young players back. Highland might have been able to drop to D-II, but has vowed to stay in D-I where other former D-I schools gladly took the step down. Highland had a better record last year. This year their marks could be reversed.

Hamilton at Ironwood Ridge: The schools wanted to play one another in the previous two-year block, but were forced to revamp their slates. Ironwood Ridge has remained in D-II and fields one of the top programs in the division led by coach Matt Johnson. Hamilton unleashes several new starters and a renewed thirst for a title. After all, their last title was way back in 2012.

Basha at Liberty: Nice opening matchup for both. Basha will have an edge at quarterback with Ryan Kelley ready to do his best impression of Machine Gun Kelly. Liberty will test a new quarterback and play its first ever D-I vs. D-I game.

Mountain Pointe at Marcos de Niza: A D-I power against one of the best in D-II in recent seasons. Could be a shootout, but bank on the Pride being rather stout on defense. It should mark the debut of highly-regarded Indiana transfer quarterback Jack Smith against Marcos de Niza's junior standout QB Nazareth Greer.

Horizon at Mesa Mtn. View: Neither school has set the world on fire defensively the last few years. This year is a good time to make some headway. Horizon may not be as explosive on offense losing much of its arsenal from a year ago to graduation and transfer. Mountain View is optimistic its defense is on the way up with some assistant-level coaching changes.

Dobson at Perry: D-II is a welcome refuge for Dobson, which struggled in D-I of late with no playoff berth since 2007. Dobson coach George De La Torre matches strategy with Perry mentor Preston Jones. Perry could start a couple freshman and a half dozen sophomores in playing among its Chandler brethren in section play.

Mesa at Red Mountain: Mesa High didn't want to move down to D-II. Lot of pride in this history-rich program. But staying with four of its sister schools was deemed more important and they are lumped in a D-II East Valley section as a result. The Jackrabbits stay in D-I at least the first time out vs. sister-school Red Mountain. Red Mountain continued to be a playoff team last year despite a 3-7 regular-season mark. The Lions seek winning more close games and more consistency.

Brophy at Sandra Day O'Connor: Brophy is a D-I title contender with a senior-dominated group. The Broncos return an experienced offensive skill set and its defense figures to be strong with its share of returnees. SDO has dipped to D-II after reaching the D-I playoffs last year in a turn-around campaign (2-9 to 7-5). The Eagles feature third-year starting QB Bailin Markridge, who has two of his top three receivers back.