Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 97F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 76F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

It’s time to go back to school. The Amphitheater schools (Amphi, Canyon Del Oro and Ironwood Ridge) all start Thursday, Aug. 4, as do Flowing Wells High and Pusch Ridge Christian Academy. The Marana schools (Marana and Mountain View) kick off the year on Monday, Aug. 8.

Here are suggestions for a successful Northwest prep sports season:

•Fans should return to high school football games now that the pandemic is winding down. Two years ago, it was horrible. The pandemic-truncated season didn’t start until mid-October. Limited seating was available, and the season was later called off after another spike in the cases. Last season was “better,” relatively speaking. The pandemic still wreaked havoc, but at least the games weren’t played in a complete vacuum. One thing working in the schools’ favor is the more traditional dates, which call for season openers on Friday, Sept. 2. The only exception is Pusch Ridge, which plays in 3A, a class that includes a lot of Northern Arizona schools that have to get the first- and second-round state games before the winter arrives. (The semifinals and championship games are played in the Valley of the Sun.)

•Let’s send a bunch of teams to state this year. Last year was a strange mixed bag. Amphi started the season 4-1, but after a COVID-19 cancellation, it missed out on a winnable game with Vista Grande and then limped home with a 5-4 record. Likewise, Marana started off 7-1 and had a great chance of reaching the playoffs, but then got blasted in its final two regular-season games and missed out on going to state. One of those losses by Marana was to Ironwood Ridge, which started off 2-4, then won four straight games to sneak into the state tourney. Its last three wins were by a combined score of 203-27. Canyon Del Oro started its season off with three straight losses and then won six of its final seven to make it to state, where they actually reached the second round. Flowing Wells (4-7) and Mountain View (4-6) both had losing records. The real head-scratcher from last year was Pusch Ridge, which went into the state playoffs with a shiny 8-2 record and a full head of steam. In the penultimate week of the regular season, Pusch hammered visiting Thatcher, 41-14. Just two weeks later, Thatcher had to travel to Oro Valley again for the first round of state, but somehow the visiting Eagles walked away with a 35-26 win to end the Lions’ season.

•It’s cross-country season, so maybe somebody in the media should cover one of those meets. It’s absolutely insane! Dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of kids run through the desert in 275-degree heat and they do so voluntarily.

•Let’s see a return to state powerhouse form for Coach Bill Lang’s Ironwood Ridge volleyball team. Last year, the Nighthawks had to win their final four games of the season to climb about .500 on the year and sneak into the playoffs. Then they had a nail-biting five-set win at home in the first round before falling to Gilbert in the next round. The Nighthawks had a seemingly permanent spot in the final four at state. 

•Last year in volleyball, Canyon Del Oro and Amphi had a combined record of 36-4, with CDO reaching the state championship. Marana and Pusch Ridge also made it to post-season play. 

•Finally, can we please get some competition for Coach Doug Kautz’s two-time defending state champion Ironwood Ridge girls’ golf team? We are definitely looking at a threepeat. 

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