A football season can involve highs and lows. So far, this football season for Red Mountain and Basha High have endured the lows.

Both schools enter Friday night’s contest with losing records, with Red Mountain 0-2 and Basha 1-2.

Basha is coming off back to back losses to Pinnacle and Desert Ridge, despite that first year head coach Rich Wellbrock emphasizes the process it takes to get through a season and even has some bright spots he is focusing on.

“I guess I look at it in a little different manner, they were 0-3 last year at this point, this is going to be a process and you know our staff is new this year and we know everything is new to them,” Wellbrock said.

“We always have little hurdles we have to jump over and continue to get better. This is the first team that I have had in quite a while that I can totally tell gets better every day just from a mental or physical stand point.”

Red Mountain is coming off two blowout losses to Chandler and Hamilton High, but head coach Mike Peterson is focusing on the trust he has with the players and coaches inside the building.

“We've got good kids who are trying their best, who are getting the crap coached out of them, and now they understand some of our most basic concepts to the nth degree and that's what we're going to go into the game with,” Peterson said.

Peterson made sure to emphasize how good the teams attitude has been and even mentioned how Monday and Tuesday practices were the best he has seen out of his team this year.

Some of Red Mountains recent struggles could be due to injuries. Star player Lance Lawson, who is coming off a strong 2016 campaign with 1,539 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, has been fighting an ankle injury, which kept him out of the team’s first game against Chandler High.

Sitting out watching his team struggle has not been the easiest task for Lawson.

“It definitely [stinks] just being out here and knowing that I can’t go every play 100%, but I'm just still working as hard as I can to get back,” Lawson said.

Lawson returned to the starting lineup last Friday versus Hamilton but his role was limited due to the outcome of the game.

“He could have played all game I suppose,” Peterson said. “No reason to put him in there in the second half with a running clock and the game's out of reach and get him hurt more,” Peterson said.

Lawson is expected to be back to his normal role of playing running back and wide receiver on offense and safety on defense this Friday.

“He's practiced every practice every day,” Peterson said. “He's gotten every rep we've wanted him to get. And he's ready to go.”

Both teams will try to turn their seasons around Friday night at Bash High School in Chandler at 7 p.m.