Round-robin play among Mountain Pointe, Chandler and Hamilton begins Friday (Sept. 19) with Chandler High at Mountain Pointe. It kicks off three weeks of games against one another. Chandler and Mountain Pointe have cracked MaxPreps composite national rankings. Mountain Pointe is No. 23 this week and Chandler has slipped in at No. 25 after bringing down Valor Christian Colo., last week on the road. Mountain Pointe visits Hamilton next week and the week after that Hamilton hosts Chandler. Last year that three-week period saw Mountain Pointe prevail in both its games on the way to the Division I title.

Here's a look a eight games of note for Week 4:

Chandler (3-0) at Mountain Pointe (4-0): Last year's game -- Mountain Pointe 38, Chandler 14. The contest was essentially over at halftime with Mountain Pointe buidling a 28-7 lead. The key to beating Mountain Pointe is to slow or neutralize its ground game, easier said than done. Chandler has played decent defense allowing just 41 points thus far. The teams have ample weapons. Mountain Pointe needs to keep Bryce Perkins in check as it did last year and Chandler can't afford the breakaway touches from Pride speedster Paul Lucas -- bend-don't-break defense if you please.

Salpointe (3-0) at Campo Verde (3-1): Salpointe was idle last week and substituted this game for one of two games not rescheduled with out-of-state opponents. It's a good measuring stick for both teams. Campo Verde suffered its first loss, bowing to Gilbert, 10-7. As expected Salpointe hasn't been the offensive juggernaut of last year's perfect D-II title season, but the defense is title-worthy. Campo's only points last week came from special teams (punt return TD) so the Coyotes have their work cut out with Salpointe's D looming.  

Basha (3-0) at Pinnacle (2-1): Last year's game --  Basha 35, Pinnacle 21. Figures to be an aerial extravaganza with Pinnacle veteran Brian Lewerke and first-year Basha starter Ryan Kelley at the controls. Kelley is averaging 275 yards passing per game and has spread the ball to a bunch of recievers. Three receivers have double-digits in catches and at least 200 yards with those receptions (Doc O'Connor, Hunter Dean-Gibson and Jared Schmidt). Lewerke nearly pulled off a spectacular rally tossing three second-half TD passes that would have beaten Hamilton had it not been for the Huskies knack of making a play in the clutch -- it's their history.

Tempe (3-0) at Thunderbird (0-3): Last year's game -- Tempe 45, Thunderbird 27. Emanuel Gant shouldn't be forgotten among the state's top passing quarterbacks. The Buffaloes senior is just shy of 1,000-yards passing (961) for the year after three games. Gant tossed three of of his 11 TD passes on the season in the Buffs' rivalry-win over McClintock last week. Gant also leads Tempe in rushing with 151 yards. Thunderbird has yet to win, but has played up a division in two of its games and dropped one to 3-0 D-III foe Cactus. The Chiefs aren't as talented as last year and have been one-dimensional with their running game keeping the offense afloat. Junior Dominique King has rushed for 433 yards and has 100 yards or more in each game.

River Valley (3-0) at Yuma Catholic (3-0): Last year's game -- Yuma Catholic 21, River Valley 17. River Valley lost just twice last year -- to YC and in the D-IV title game vs. Blue Ridge. Yuma Catholic rested some of its top players last week in easily disposing of Kingman Academy. Running back Carter Rodriguez was held out last week and quarterback Jagan Cleary played sparingly, but managed four TD passes in less than a half. Under co-head coaches Paul Duchaineau and Mark Ruckle, the Dust Devils are still formidable. River Valley thrives on defense (13 points allowed this season) and the ground game. Senior Brandon Long has three 100-yard games to his credit. Loong ran for 162 yards and two TDs in last year's meeting.

Mountain Ridge (1-2) at Highland (2-1): Last year's game -- Highland 15, Mountain Ridge 7. Highland coach Pete Wahlheim took a double-take two weeks ago when his team put up 44 points against Mesa High. Highland did it again last week with 40 points in a win over Mountain View. It's the first time in Wahlheim's tenure his team has scored 40 points or more in back-to-back games. The last time they scored that many or more more than once in a season was 2008. Highland has some capable playmakers led by running back Josh Chadwick, receiver Tyler Johnson and quarterback Weston Wallin, who took over the starting role vs. Mesa in Week 2. Mountain Ridge has dropped its last two games to two of the top teams in Division II -- Liberty and Chaparral.

Valley Vista (3-0) at Mesa High (1-2): Last year's game -- Mesa 30, Valley Vista 21. Valley Vista can duplicate its best start in school history with a win in this one. The Monsoon opended 2011 and 2012 with four consecutive wins. They've made the playoffs  two fo the last three years, but have yet to win a playoff game (0-2, losses in 2011 and 2012). Valley Vista quarterback Damian Alarcon passed for 329 yards and three TDs in the game last year, but was picked off four times. Alarcon tossed a clutch TD pass to Malik Moody in the season-opening win over rival Willow Creek in the final 30 seconds.The Monsoon have followed up with wins over Mesa Mountain View and North Canyon.

Miami (1-3) at Globe (0-3): Last year's game -- Globe 10, Miami 2. It's a rivalry much like Bears-Packers only towns that are five miles apart. This will be the 100th meeting between the schools, who play for the coveted Copper Kettle. It's not only the 100th meeting, but Globe has opted to make it its homecoming game. Globe, a Division IV school, has won the last three meetings. Miami, a member of Division V, has won one of the last 10 meetings, a 34-8 conquest  in 2010.