Late last November when Desert Vista squared off against Hamilton for the state Division I football crown it was under no pressure as a decided underdog to the then three-time defending champs.

This Saturday (August 18), however, will be somewhat different.

"We don't see it as pressure," Desert Vista coach Dan Hinds said of the Thunder's 7 p.m. matchup with Las Vegas Palo Verde High (Nev.) in the 7th annual Sollenberger Classis at University of Phoenix Stadium. "I think a good word is incentive. We  want to represent Arizona well and do it a positive manner. Playing a team from another state, you want to make your state look good. We will approach it like any other game. Our focus is on preparation. There were some politics for awhile as to who we would be playing. We didn't concern ourselves with it. We're glad to be representing the state. We plan on being as ready as possible."

Desert Vista closed last season with a dominating 45-19 title-game win over Hamilton, giving it a seven-game winning streak headed into 2012. Hinds has a decent chunk of returning players, including four of five starting interior lineman on offense. Zack Tamburo, Sam Hartman, Cole Preston and Mitch Wehrli are the returnees. The leader of that line,  J.J. Dielman,  is now enrolled at the University of Utah. Desert Vista rolled up nearly 200 yards rushing vs. Hamilton in the title clash. That doesn't happen often against the Huskies.

"We're happy to have a bunch of that group back," Hinds said. "They played well, did a great job in the championship game."

One key position switch for Desert Vista in its inaugural game of 2012 involves senior Matt Young leaving the secondary and taking over at quarterback. Young came up with an early interception for a touchdown against Hamilton in the title game and was one of the top tacklers.

"Matt backed up Hunter (Rodriguez) last year so people don't know much about him as a quarterback," Hinds said. " He has a great arm, runs well and has a great football background. He won't play defense this year."

Young actually returned four punts for touchdowns last year, but three were called back due to penalties -- an indication he can make things happen if need be in the backfield.

Young will have help in the backfield from Jarek Hilgers and Kaleb Germinaro, two of the Thunder's many good backs last year. The pair combined for nearly 1,200 yards rushing and 15  touchdowns. Hinds will also have a couple defensive lineman back  in Lorenzo Melvin and Dylan Fischer.  Anchoring the secondary is Nick Farina, who had an outstanding championship game last year, including a late pick to help finish off Hamilton.

"Preparation was huge for us last year," Hinds said. "As good as we've had week to week since I've been coaching. We want to keep that going. We have a lot of juniors who played a lot last year. and they take pride in that.."