Greg Bryan / arizona daily star

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Griffin Ronstadt hears it all the time.

"Hey, are you related to Linda Ronstadt?" people ask.

Ronstadt sort of rolls his eyes at the question, one he often hears whenever someone mentions his famous last name.

But rather than being known simply as the second cousin of a Grammy-winning pop singer from the 1970s and '80s, Griffin Ronstadt is putting his family name back on the charts.

"It would be cool to say that I'm making a name for my family by doing something really special on the football field," he said.

Ronstadt, a junior, will be the starting running back for Canyon del Oro on Saturday in the Class 4A-I state championship game.

The game against Scottsdale Saguaro is at 1 p.m. at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

Ronstadt has flown under the radar for most of the year on a team that spreads the wealth offensively.

But when it is time to score, the Dorados know where to turn.

He has scored a team-high 17 touchdowns this season — 11 rushing, six receiving.

The Star asked Ronstadt five burning questions with the state title game one day away.

A: "I can see why people would (underestimate me) based on yards, but I'm not worried about that. They can think whatever they want. I just have to be productive for my team, and I think I've done a pretty good job of that."

A: "I'm definitely not scared. Our offensive line has great speed and quickness up front, so I know we'll be OK. We're accustomed to being the smaller team. It doesn't matter."

A: "I guess they have a reason to be confident — they are the defending state champions. They can say what they want, but it will just hit them that much harder when we come out and play our game."

A: "Because we have the best group of coaches around, with great schemes and a great game plan. … They always have us ready for anything."

A: "Yeah. It's going to happen. We definitely have everything we need to win this game. We're all looking forward to Saturday."