Apache Junction, Combs prepare for the Battle of Ironwood

In those seven meetings, the Prospectors are undefeated. Last season’s meeting was a tight contest, as the Coyotes had the lead at halftime. Much of that was thanks to the athleticism of quarterback, Tanner Hale, who rushed for all three of their first half scores.

Prospectors’ head coach Bruce Binkley had nothing but praise for the Coyotes’ signal caller who gave his squad a run for their money last season. He noted that his dual-threat quarterback, Gavin Limongello, matches up well with him and practicing against him will prepare his defense for Hale.

“(Hale) does a great job,” Binkley said. “He likes to pull that ball and run outside and throw that ball and run around the field. And he’s got very good spatial awareness about it. He’s obviously a really good athlete. And he throws a good football. And so we, you know, we got a pretty good quarterback ourselves, so we’re gonna give our defense a pretty good look, with Gavin going against them.”

The Prospectors and Coyotes are both coming off of decisive victories. In a shutout of San Tan Foothills, the Prospectors’ offense was as advertised and Binkley felt like the defense and special teams made a stride.

For the Coyotes, head coach Levi Hoagland was proud of how his team responded after some first week mishaps.

Both of those wins were dominant, but came against 3A competition.

A playoff team the last two seasons, the Prospectors are no stranger to winning within their section, but Friday’s meeting represents a big opportunity for Hoagland, to pick up a signature win early on in his coaching tenure. Although stakes are higher than usual, Hoagland is taking it one week at a time.

For Binkley, the key to extending the Prospectors’ Battle of Ironwood win streak is his seniors; he hopes that they will lead his team as the speed of the game bolsters with the competition-level jump.

For Hoagland, winning comes down to being “all-in” — a mantra he preaches- and bringing a maximum effort to Davis Field. Luckily, Hale has led that charge in practice all week and understands, perhaps better than anyone, that they need to elevate their game this week.

“Tanner had a great game last year, but unfortunately, that was last year,” Hoagland said. “And Tanner knows that he needs to raise his game this weekend. And a big part of that is that he knows this and he’s actually the one that’s been preaching into practice is as a team, we collectively come together and be ready to go.”