The profile of the Sollenberger Classic presented by Station Casinos and one of this year’s participants continues to grow nationally.  

Last year, the Sollenberger Classic, the 9th annual two-day football event that honors the late high school sports historian Barry Sollenberger, was televised nationally for the first time. What better way to celebrate the growth of the Classic than by watching the No. 1 team in the nation play one of Phoenix’s storied programs, Brophy.    

It’s the first time that a preseason No. 1, the ranking USA TODAY gave Bishop Gorman, will play in the Classic. The No. 1 ranking also is a first for Bishop Gorman.

The Las Vegas school will host the Classic for the second consecutive year at its college-like stadium. Bishop Gorman will play Brophy Friday, and Mountain Pointe and Reed square off Saturday.

Arizona’s record against Nevada’s teams is 7-2. Last year, Bishop Gorman was also highly touted heading into the Classic, but Mountain Pointe won 28-21, helping propel the team to a memorable national top-10 undefeated season. Some off-the field issues hampered Bishop Gorman before last year’s game, but so far this year the team is just focused is on its next Classic opponent.

“Football is a funny game,” said Bishop Gorman coach Tony Sanchez, who’s won a state title every year since taking over Bishop Gorman in 2009. “I know it’s a cliché, but it is really a one game at a time deal.”

Sanchez’s team is explosive on each side of the ball and carries a couple of high-profile athletes with big-time ties.

Alize Jones is the top-rated tight end in the nation. Four star recruit receiver Cordell Broadus’ father is Snoop Dogg.

Notre Dame-bound safety Nicco Fertitta’s dad is the UFC CEO. Muhammad Ali is the grandfather of the fastest player on the team, running back Biaggio Ali Walsh.

But as Bishop Gorman found out last year, Arizona teams can also float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Like Mountain Pointe, the odds of pulling off a Las Vegas knockout also are against Brophy.

The Phoenix school is coming off a season in which it suffered a handful of injuries.

“Last year we had more injuries than any team I’ve been around at any level,” said Brophy coach Scooter Moolander, a former pro quarterback. “We had the worst luck.”

Despite the injuries and a losing regular season record, Brophy’s strength of schedule helped it reach the playoffs, as its young players matured while playing unexpected minutes.

One of those players who stepped in was junior quarterback/athlete Cade Knox, a junior with a better grasp of the team’s west coast offense. Defensive end Connor Murphy (6-7, 240), a Stanford and Arizona State recruit, also was injured but is ready to go and so is Ryan Velez, who rushed for 1,189 yards last year.

Mountain Pointe will dress 14 new starters, but the team is reloading this season. A couple of the well-known commodities, Division I recruits Nick Carman and defensive tackle Bruce Hester, are in the trenches.

Another D-I recruit, speedster Paul Lucas, will line up in various spots, including running back, where there’s depth. Coach Ernie Howren turned Reed into the dominant program in northern Nevada.

The program made its third ever trip to a state final last year and has had only two losing seasons since Howren was named head coach in 2001.    

Reed High’s linemen match up well against Mountain Pointe’s big boys.

“It (Reed) will be one of the biggest teams we face this year,” Mountain Pointe coach Norris Vaughan said. 

This story was originally published in the Sollenberger AZ Preps Football Report.