GILBERT – Undefeated Gilbert Perry will try to continue its perfect start when it hosts Tempe Corona del Sol on Friday night.

 

The Pumas (4-0) are looking in the mirror leading up to their homecoming game, trying to stay focused on themselves as they prepare for another inferior opponent.

 

“We need to eliminate the mental errors,” coach Preston Jones said in spite of his team’s perfect record abd plus-142 point differential.

 

That scoring margin is likely to swell even more against the Aztecs (1-3), leading Corona to look for a little divine intervention as they ready themselves for one of the state's hottest teams.

 

“We are going to do a lot of praying before the game,” Corona coach Jon Becktold facetiously said. “I don’t know if you can neutralize all [their talent]. We are just going to try and take a few things away.”

 

No one encapsulates Perry’s elite talent more than senior quarterback Brock Purdy. The 2016 All-Arizona selection has 1,200 passing yards and 17 touchdowns so far this season. He's also collected three rushing scores and one touchdown reception as well.

 

This week, the starting quarterback is less worried about adding to those numbers and is more concerned with eliminating his team’s occasional mishaps.

 

“We are going to try and play a clean game,” Purdy said. “We want to get out safe.”

 

Jones views Corona’s offense as one of the tougher threats his defense has faced this season.

 

“Corona has a really good offense that puts up a lot of yards and scores points,” he said. “They throw the ball around a lot. We’ve got to make sure our defense stays calm. We are going to give up a play here or there, but we have got to understand that they are coached, and they have good players as well.”

 

Leading the Aztec aerial attack will be junior Ryan Helt. Having completed 65 percent of his passes and racking up more than 1,200 yards of his own this year, Helt will give Perry’s secondary its first real test of 2017.

 

“Ryan has done a good job accepting his role,” Becktold said. “He does a very good job running our offense and I think he has a good understanding.”

 

Despite Helt’s success, Corona has struggled as a team in Becktold’s first year in charge. Losers of three of its first four games, the Aztecs' defense has surrendered more than 30 points in its last two contests and yields nearly four touchdowns per game.

 

“We are struggling right now,” Becktold said. “We’ve been competitive in some of the games, and we were doing well for a while. I think we are getting a little bit better each week.”

 

When the two schools met last year, Perry won by five touchdowns. Becktold knows a similar result is possible this time around.

 

“They are the best team in Arizona in my opinion,” Becktold said of the Pumas. “I haven’t seen Chandler or Mountain Pointe on tape, but I’ve seen Perry; they’re good.”

 

Perry has gotten used to 2016 rematches; they face the same 10 teams this year in the exact same order. Jones doesn't want that to become a trend.

 

“(It’s) maybe a negative,” Jones said of the replica schedule. “I feel like we are having to stay on the kids quite a bit. It’s a little harder to keep them focused. Last year, they seemed a little more hungry each week. This (year), it’s a little more business-like and we have to try to make them stay focused Monday through Thursday to get ready for the game on Friday.”

 

While an annoyance, the unique scheduling situation hasn’t slowed the Pumas’ success. Dating back to the start of last season, the school is 15-2, and both losses came at the hands of Chandler.

 

If planning for Corona isn’t stimulating enough, the team still has those setbacks to the Wolves in the back of their minds, defeats driving them through their current blowout-win doldrums.

 

“We weren’t our best last week,” Purdy said, despite his team winning by 41 points. “We are going to clean things up and get better for Highland [next week] and Chandler coming up.”

 

The Pumas seem poised to take another victorious step closer to their October rematch with the Wolves.