Sunrise Mountain High School will be playing in higher conference for the 2018-19 season. The Arizona Interscholastic Association's newest realignments has Sunrise Mountain, currently playing 4A West Valley Conference, playing in the 5A Northwest conference next year.

According to the AIA official website, the following is considered when changing a school’s conference:

“Although geographical considerations are used to determine placement in a region within a Conference, regardless of geographic location, a school is assigned to a Conference based upon the size of its student population. Realignment of schools occurs every two years, at which time a school may appeal its Conference designation and, if permission is granted, move to a Conference that includes schools of larger enrollment.”

The 4A conference consists of the lowest 33% of schools with student enrollment of 1,000 or more, compared to the 5A conference, which consists of the middle portion of enrollment of 33% of schools with student enrollment of 1,000 or more.

The Mustangs finished the season with a 9-1 record and earned the No. 1 seed for the 4A playoffs. The Mustangs are known for their blowout wins and have scored 50-plus points in eight of their 10 games.

“This year our defense has really stepped it up and set the tone. In the past we’ve been more offensive driven but, our defense is stepping up,” said head coach of the Mustangs Steve Deker. “It allows us to get the ball and get good field possession. This allows us to score more but, they definitely had a big impact on our season.

“We’re excited for the challenge and there are a lot of good football teams,” said Deker. “It’s going to be fun to ball week in and week out with some of the big boys like Centennial, Williams Field and more teams just like [them].”

The 5A Northwest region already boasts two successful football programs in Liberty and five-time state champion Centennial. Sunrise Mountain played Liberty in a non-conference matchup this season and won 28-25. It was Liberty’s only loss of the campaign.

“We fall right in the middle of 5A size-wise ... we’re right there, relatively speaking. We’re really similar to a lot of the programs in that division,” said Sunrise Mountain Athletic Director Mark Ernster. “We understand that we are going to play teams likes Centennial and some of those high-level programs, however, I know our coaches will do a great job preparing our kids.”

“We have great athletes at this campus that are very well disciplined and I think we will put up a good fight and compete with anyone out there,” said Ernster.

Ernster credits the entire coaching staff for Sunrise Mountain successful season. “We have an incredible coaching staff that prepares our kids at a very high level,” said Ernster. “I think our coaches hold our students to a very high standard and have high expectations, not just on the field but, in and out of the classroom.”