Oliver Fell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Student assigned to cover Sierra Linda High School for azpreps365.com

Plenty has changed since the Sierra Linda Bulldogs last played the Betty H. Fairfax Stampede in football.

For better and for worse.

The last time these two teams met was Nov. 1, 2019. The Bulldogs went on to finish the 5A Metro region 0-10 in 2019-20. The Stampede were regional rivals on their way to a second-place Metro region finish and a 6-4 season overall, narrowly missing their fourth consecutive region championship.

The Betty H. Fairfax Stampede football team celebrates its third consecutive region championship after winning 62-0 at Sierra Linda in October 2018. (@coach_joelee/X.com)Then the COVID-19 pandemic stalled football for the 2020 season and both of these teams experienced a change of fate. Sierra Linda football moved down to the 4A classification and went 8-2 in its first full season of play. It also gained a new head coach in Ty Preyer, something mirrored by Betty H. Fairfax with its new head coach, Keith Mannie.

However, it seems the pendulum swung low for the Stampede as they have accrued just a 6-18 record since 2021 and have failed to place in the top half of their region in any of their post-pandemic seasons.

It would be selling things short to say these players have not seen one another since their last game as the two schools’ territories border one another. This made putting this matchup, though now across classifications, on this year’s football schedule important for both parties.

“It was very important to make sure that we were able to have Fairfax on our schedule," Sierra Linda head coach Ty Preyer said. "Our school boundaries border each other and a lot of kids from these teams are neighbors. Kids pass Sierra Linda to get to Fairfax every day. I wouldn't say this is a rivalry more than a claim for territory.”

Over the last 15 years, Betty H. Fairfax has dominated the series between these two schools, compiling a 4-0 record and winning by an average of 48.3 points across those four victories. Though the trends suggest that this year could be the year Sierra Linda takes home its first win over the Stampede in recent memory

Sierra Linda enters the game 1-3 on a 3-game losing streak looking to gain its first 5A win of the Preyer era on the road. Meanwhile, Betty H. Fairfax enters having lost each of its opening four games to start 0-4 with its closest loss being a 41-13 loss at home versus the Agua Fria Owls just last week.

While both teams are nursing losing streaks, this game does provide an opportunity for Sierra Linda to finish freedom play with a win and improve to 2-3 before entering its regional schedule. Also for Betty H. Fairfax to gain some much-needed momentum and its first win of the season.

This Salt River showdown is scheduled to kick off at 7 local time tonight, Sept. 22, at Betty H. Fairfax’s football field.