Vote for the FNF Game of the Week 1 here!

PHOENIX — We’re back! It’s been nine long months, but Friday Night Fever, Arizona’s No. 1 and longest-running high school football show, returns this week for Week 1!

And the return of Friday Night Fever also means the return of our Game of the Week poll, where you, the fans, play a big role in the show by choosing the first highlight of the evening!

Now let’s take a look at the games nominated in Week 1!

Game #1 takes us to the west side where the Liberty Lions, defending Open Division champions, open the season against a team that narrowly missed out in the 5A state championship game, the Desert Edge Scorpions.

In 2024, these are two very different teams, as both have lost a lot of talent to graduation.

Liberty will once again be led by head coach Colin Thomas, while Desert Edge welcomes new head coach Henri MacArthur, who succeeds the Carter twins, who are now at Georgia.

The two schools have met six times since 2009 and have tied 3-3. Liberty won the last meeting in 2014 by a score of 31-7.

In the second game, one of Phoenix’s top teams, Brophy Prep, travels to Gilbert to face Williams Field in an important 6A duel.

Brophy is one of the state’s top junior programs and has a real chance to make the Open Division playoffs this season. The Broncos are motivated this season after losing to Red Mountain in the 6A semifinals last year and are the favorites in the 6A Central Region.

Williams Field will look to be the spoiler on opening night against Brophy. The Black Hawks are coming off a trip to the 2023 6A quarterfinals where they were defeated by Salpointe Catholic of Tucson.

This is the third meeting between the schools. Williams Field won the first two games, 21-17 in 2021 and 35-34 in Week 1 last year.

Game #3 is a city rivalry game in Mesa where the Mesa Jackrabbits host the Red Mountain Mountain Lions.

Red Mountain was one of the top stories of the 2023 playoffs. The Mountain Lions lost their final five games of the 2023 regular season, but then ran all the way to the 6A state championship game, where they lost to Saguaro. Head coach Kyle Enders’ squad will look to close the deal this season.

Mesa has made two straight playoff appearances for the first time in nearly 20 years. Head coach Chad DeGrenier and the Jackrabbits will look to make three straight playoff appearances this season and improve on their finish from last year, when they lost to Brophy in the first round of the 6A playoffs.

The two schools have played each other 34 times (including playoffs) since 1991. Red Mountain leads the series 21-13 and won the last meeting last year 41-7.

Now it’s time for you to make your choice as to which game will be the Game of the Week for Week 1 of Friday Night Fever!

Make your choice in the poll below (and remember, you can vote as many times as you like, so be sure to refresh the page and vote again). If you don’t see the poll, click here.

The survey runs until Thursday, 10:00 a.m. Stay tuned and get Friday Night Fever this Friday at 11:35 p.m.!

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