Arizona HS football Game of the Week: Breaking down Saguaro, Bergen Catholic (N.J.) showdown

There is so much to break down in an epic clash of high school football titans in Scottsdale on Friday night at 7, when defending Arizona Open champion Saguaro plays host to New Jersey champion Bergen Catholic.

Biggest game in the state. One of the biggest high school games in the country. So much at stake, even as an opener for Saguaro and the second game of the season for Bergen (1-0), located in Oradell, New Jersey.

Start with the trenches, then move on to the playmakers, then look at the traditions.

This Arizona Republic high school football Game of the Week is one of the most anticipated showdowns this season with national rankings on the line.

Let's break it down:

Saguaro's offense vs. Bergen's defense

If Bergen wants to go undefeated again, it will have to own it on defense, play to its strengths, which is getting pressure on the quarterback.

The Crusaders have two of the best pass rushers in Maryland-bound defensive end D.J. Samuels (the school's all-time leader in sacks with 23) and Texas-bound defensive tackle Sydir Mitchell (6-foot-6, 330 pounds), who grabbed a fumble and rambled 25 yards for a touchdown in last week's 49-14 rout of North Carolina's Cardinal Gibbons.

Those two guys are the heart and soul of their team and will be ready to pounce, going up against Saguaro's inexperienced offensive line. If there is a weakness on Saguaro, it's the O-line. But that's more of a question mark. It's not too weak when the Sabercats have junior Amare Taase (6-3, 315) anchoring it. He started as a sophomore last season. He was the only full-time starter in the line last year, but Saguaro had three guys who started multiple games on the line.

"We do have some starting experience," coach Jason Mohns said. "But, shoot, I don't care, you could have your entire offensive line unit back from a year ago, this is going to be a huge challenge.

"There is not one offensive line in the country that wouldn't be challenged by those guys."

If those guys up front find penetration, Saguaro has the ultimate equalizer in senior quarterback Devon Dampier, who carved up the best defenses in Arizona on the way to the Open title last year. With his arm. But mostly with his legs.

Dampier is so good at making something out of nothing. And he's complemented in the backfield by junior Jaedon Matthews.

"I tell you what, they've got some athletes," Bergen coach Vito Campanile said. "They got some guys. If you're trying to get me to feel bad for them, you've got the wrong guy."

Bergen doesn't have to blitz to get pressure on the quarterback with a talented secondary that makes it tough for receivers to get open. This will be a huge opening act for sophomore two-way phenom Dajon Hinton to see what he can do against Bergen's defensive backs. The same goes for 6-4 wide receiver Deric English, who returns after a midseason injury that required knee surgery.

"They got big dawgs up front, which allows them to play a bend-but-don't-break secondary," Mohns said. "You've got to really work and earn it.

"Devon's ability to make plays with his legs, that's the X factor for us. They're going to get some run through. They're going to get some penetration. So Devon can extend plays and make something happen himself. I tell you, I wouldn't be sleeping at all if I didn't have Devon back there.

"And we've got some great weapons around him."

Saguaro's defense vs. Bergen's offense

Bergen played two quarterbacks in last Saturday's opener with both sophomore Dominic Campanile (head coach's son) and senior Jack Duffy doing a fine job. Campanile was nine of 11 for 178 yards passing, and Duffy was six of nine for 105 yards and a touchdown. Both threw an interception.  They're being asked to replace Steve Angeli, who led the Crusaders to perfection last year and now is starting his college football career at Notre Dame.

"It worked out pretty well the first week," Vito Campanile said of the two-QBs system. "We had almost 500 yards of offense. Hopefully, we can keep it rolling."

MORE: Bergen Catholic scores from variety of places to dominate season opener

Saguaro has a talented defense, led by defensive backs Cole Shivers, Hinton, Carlos Griffin and Levi Robins. It's one of the best secondaries in Arizona. Add John Butler and Mikey Preston and JoJo Clark at linebackers, and Magnus West, Dionte LaMaide and C.J. Ballard up front, the Sabercats don't have a weak link. LaMaide, 6-6, 230, is the brother of former Saguaro linebacker Damian Sellers, who is now playing at UCLA.

Bergen will play power football and at times use Samuels at running back, especially in short-yardage and goal-line situations. He's a tank who is tough to tackle, a great athlete who likely will play outside linebacker at Maryland.

Finding early identity

Saguaro will find out right away its identity if it has what it takes to be a top team in the nation. One publication has Saguaro ranked No. 8 in the nation. Another has it at No. 12.

Bergen Catholic finished last season rated No. 3 nationally by MaxPreps, getting through one of the toughest leagues in the nation unbeaten. That league includes Don Bosco Prep, which went 8-5 last year, losing to Bergen 28-7 in the championship game.

It was Bergen's 18th New Jersey championship and first since 2017, when Campanile's brother Nunzio was the head coach. He is now an assistant coach at Rutgers.

It's very hard to go undefeated in the Super Football Conference, which was formed in 2016. Bergen became the first non-public school team to finish undefeated in that conference.

Saguaro has a lot of tough games after this. It plays Open runner-up Chandler and Open semifinalist Peoria Liberty in back-to-back weeks in September and also has 5A No.1 Goodyear Desert Edge, defending 6A champion Gilbert Highland and 6A runner-up Scottsdale Chaparral.

MaxPreps ranks Saguaro as having the 10th-toughest schedule in the nation.

"We've been doing this for a long time," Mohns said. "It's game one. We've had some game ones in the past that you didn't find out anything about ourselves. Sometimes you did yourself a disservice thinking you're better than you are.

"We're going to find out really early where this team is at. And we're going to go from there. I love these kind of games."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona HS football Game of the Week: Breaking down Saguaro, Bergen