Millennium Tigers at Betty Fairfax Stampede

By Jim Grieshaber

This season opener is a matchup between two teams that both improved tremendously a year ago, each one making the playoffs and losing in the first round. Now both are looking to take it one step further in their first year in the brand new Division-II and that journey begins tonight. It will also be a battle of wits between Millennium’s 2^nd year Coach George Martinez and Fairfax’s Kevin Belcher, in his 5^th year. Both are very good coaches who have been around a long time and known one another for years.   

Millennium returns 10 starters on offense but has a lot of inexperience on defense, while Fairfax- in just its 5^th year in existence- is loaded with 3-year players who have been there from the beginning of the varsity program.

Leading the way for their teams tonight will be two of the area’s best senior quarterbacks, Fairfax’s Kurtis Walls- one of the top returning QBs in the state- and Millennium’s Chad Hons, son of former ASU standout QB  Hons, who famously led the Devils to a win over Oklahoma in the 1983 Fiesta Bowl. Both Walls and Hons look poised to put up big numbers this season.

For Millennium, Alex Manana replaces DeAnthony Easley at tailback, but the key to this offense will be Hons’ ability to get the ball to his three dangerous receivers- Kieren Duncan, Jerell Green and Aaron Hart, all of whom run 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. On the defensive side of the football, junior defensive tackle Gabe Hughes, all-region a year ago, and linebacker AJ Diggs anchor the defense.  

Fairfax will run the ball by committee and Walls will spread his throws around to a talented receiving corps led by Taj Brewer. On D, the Stampede is led by top recruit Dwight Melvin at nose tackle, versatile athlete Anthony Arledge at end and middle linebacker Cody Mills.

The two teams played a great game last year, with Millennium winning 24-21 in OT after falling behind by a touchdown with under two minutes left in week one. Martinez and Belcher have known and coached against one another for years, and both say this will be a hard-hitting backyard brawl-style game. Join Dan Manucci and me at 7pm for the “live” webcast right here on aia365.com.