(Perry's Brock Purdy. Photo by Darin Sicurello/maxpreps.com)

By Tyler Carlson

The Perry Pumas are on the road for the second consecutive week, as they travel to Millennium High School to take on the Tigers in an important early-season, non-region matchup.

In Zero Week, Perry wasted no time picking up where it left off last season, pummeling the Thunder of Desert Vista 49-17. After a 9-1 regular season campaign last season, Perry made a deep run into the 2016 state playoffs before falling in the semifinals the eventual 6A champion, Chandler.

Conversely, Millennium struggled through a 4-6 season, which ultimately culminated with the resignation of head coach James Carter. While it is just the beginning of the 2017 season, Millennium is looking to make an early season statement.

Last week, the Pumas rode an impressive performance from senior quarterback Brock Purdy, who was 22-of-33 in the contest, passing for 383 yards and six touchdowns. Purdy’s performance landed him atop the 6A leader board in both passing and total yards for the week.

“He (Purdy) means a whole bunch to our team," Perry head coach Preston Jones said. “Without him we’re not the same team, not just on Friday nights, but as a whole program."

Complemented by a strong receiving core, led by juniors D’Shayne James and Colby Dickie, who combined for 251 receiving yards last week, and a defense that held Desert Vista under 300 total yards last week, Purdy and the Pumas appear poised for another deep playoff run.

Friday's contest is Millennium’s season opener. Projected Millennium starting quarterback Ernie Pina, a senior, took the majority of snaps behind center last year.

He figures to carry the load once again this season. Pina carried a 56.3 percent completion percentage last season while throwing for 1,718 yards and 14 touchdowns to just four interceptions.

The Tigers will also look for strong contributions from senior Aiden Diggs, who last year finished with 668 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Diggs also tallied 670 kick return yards and 52 tackles. 

Friday's game also represents the beginning of the Lamar Early era at Millennium. The first-year head coach wants to turn around the fortunes of a Tigers program that has a 26-27 record over the past five seasons, including three consecutive losing seasons.

“I’m excited," Early said. “It’s football season. We put the work in and we have 10 games we’re guaranteed to play in. My goal is to get the best out of each kid every game.”

And despite the Tigers sub-.500 record last season and recent coaching change, Jones knows that Millennium is a dangerous and capable team that can't be overlooked.

“They have good athletes," Jones said. “So that always scares a coach and a team. I’ve heard good things about (Early) and what he’s doing with that program.”

This will be the second time in as many years that these two programs have matched up in early-season play, with Perry taking last year’s contest handily, 52-28.

Friday's game kicks off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live at https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/azpreps365/1a55ef3bf4.

Carlson is a student at Arizona Christian University.