By admin 
AHWATUKEE, Ariz. — For one night every year, Ahwatukee picks a side.
Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista will meet Friday night for the 30th Tukee Bowl, the latest chapter in one of Arizona’s biggest high school football rivalries.
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“Imagine the Super Bowl in a small town,” said Jake McSpadden, Desert Vista’s head coach.
The schools share the same community, meaning the rivalry extends well beyond the football field. Players compete against childhood friends, classmates debate the matchup in the hallways, and some households are split between the two teams.
“You’ve got some Desert Vista households, some Mountain Pointe households,” Mountain Pointe head coach Jon Roberts said. “Those Mountain Pointe households, they definitely want you to win this game.”
Mountain Pointe leads the all-time series 16–13 and enters Friday riding a four-game winning streak against Desert Vista.
For Pride senior quarterback Kristian Escebedo, the buildup has been impossible to avoid in the hallways.
“That’s the main topic everyone talks about, teachers, students,” Escebedo said. “All they’re talking about is the Tukee Bowl Friday night, what we’re expected to do. Everyone is looking forward to it for sure.”
The game will also serve as Mountain Pointe’s home opener. The Pride enter the matchup with confidence after shutting out Maricopa in week one.
“We’re bringing good momentum into the Tukee Bowl,” Mountain Pointe cornerback A.J. Anderson said. “We want to shut them out and just let our offense do their thing.”
Just a few miles away at Desert Vista, the Thunder are motivated to bring the rivalry trophy back to their campus.
“We haven’t brought it home, so I’m looking forward to bringing it home this year,” senior safety Eli Toms said.
Toms, one of Desert Vista’s defensive captains, said the Thunder are embracing the opportunity to enter the matchup as underdogs.
“We’re a dark horse in the game, and no one is expecting us to go out there and compete,” Toms said. “But we have a lot to prove, and I’m just excited.”
Desert Vista will have to establish its offense early while playing on the road. Tight end Hayden Allan said the Thunder want to play quickly and create momentum from the opening possession.
“We can change it up, go to the spread, go to a run block,” Allan said. “We just want to be fast, quick off the ball, get our rhythm and tempo up so we can get going.”
For both teams, however, the Tukee Bowl represents more than another game on the schedule.
“It’s a big tradition here and a big week for us,” Desert Vista head coach Jake McSpadden said.
“It was big when Mountain Pointe first played them, and it just has gotten bigger ever since,” Roberts said. “It’s great for the community.”
The 30th Tukee Bowl kicks off at Mountain Pointe High School on Friday at just after 7:00 p.m.
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