As we go deeper into October, the postseason fates of Southern Arizona's smaller tackle football schools become clear, and the bigger schoolsβ rankings are set to come out.
At 1A, the schools are near the end of their eight-game seasons. Rankings for Class 2A and 3A came out Tuesday, while 4A and bigger will learn where they stand next week, so teams can try to cram in more for their rΓ©sumΓ© before time runs out.
Only two undefeated teams remain in Tucson, Desert View and Flowing Wells, both from the 5A Southern Region.
All games are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
FRIDAY
5A
Casa Grande Vista Grande (2-4)Β at Sierra Vista Buena (3-3)
Location: 5225 E. Buena School Blvd., Sierra Vista
Notable: After back-to-back losses to Marana (5-1) and 6A Mesa Mountain View (4-2), Vista Grande could be a chance to right the ship for the Colts. The Spartans have dropped three in a row (to Walden Grove, Tucson High and Canyon del Oro) to teams coming off a loss.
Sunnyside (4-2)Β at Cienega (3-3)
Location: 12775 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way
Notable: Sunnyside looks to take down another Vail school after beating Mica Mountain 14-10. The Blue Devils donβt play Empire or Andrada Polytechnic, whose young athletic department doesnβt yet feature football.
Nogales (2-4) at Desert View (6-0)
Desert Viewβs head coach Robert Bonillas signals to an assistant as the Jaguars get ready to defend a play from Sahuaro, Sept. 5, 2025, in Tucson.
Location: 4101 E. Valencia Road
Notable: Desert View head coach Robert Bonillas played for Nogales and the UA. According to All Sports Tucson, if the Jaguars win, they will set the school record for their best start to a season at 7-0.
Scottsdale Desert Mountain (5-1)Β at Ironwood Ridge (1-5)
Location: 2475 W. Naranja Drive
Notable: In the time span featured on the AIA websiteβs archives (which date back to 2011), there isnβt a time when Desert Mountain took a trip to Southern Arizona for a football game, though it did beat Ironwood Ridge 17-7 in 2001 at home in the playoffs.
Casa Grande (3-3)Β at Marana (5-1)
Location: 12000 W. Emigh Road
Notable: Casa Grande is 1-1 against Southern Arizona schools, having beaten Ironwood Ridge 41-40, but losing 48-33 to Tucson High last week.
Flowing Wells (6-0)Β at Mountain View (3-3)
Running back Marty Hudecek chases down a long throw while running drills at practice at Flowing Wells High School, Sept. 30, 2025.
Location: 3901 W. Linda Vista Blvd.
Notable: Flowing Wells senior running back/linebacker Jayden Simmons, who has 2,114 career yards now, eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing plateau last week in the Caballerosβ 42-0 win over Nogales. He has run for 717 yards this year after rushing for 891 last year.
Canyon del Oro (3-3)Β at Tucson High (3-3)
Location: 400 N. Second Ave.
Notable: After Mesa beat Salpointe last week to reach 700 wins, the AIA published the other schools that have over 500 victories. Tucson High leads the way for Southern Arizona with 614 (sixth in the state), followed by Douglas (512) and Amphitheater (509).
4A
Douglas (3-2)Β at Amphitheater (2-4)
Location: 125 W. Yavapai Road
Notable: According to azfootballarchives.com, Amphi and Douglas first met in 1944, a 35-0 win for the Bulldogs.
Pueblo (3-3)Β at Cholla (2-4)
Location: 2001 W. Starr Pass Blvd.
Notable: Pueblo enters the Battle of the Santa Cruz having won three in a row, while Cholla has lost its last four. The Warriors have won the last three and eight of the last nine in this west-side rivalry.
Empire (1-5)Β at Rio Rico (1-5)
Location: 590 Camino Lito Galindo, Rio Rico
Notable: Empire won its first game of the season 36-6 against Cholla last week.
Rincon/University (2-3)Β at Sahuarita (2-4)
Location: 350 Sahuarita Road
Notable: Sahuarita beat Rio Rico 42-14 last week to end its two-game losing skid.
Catalina Foothills (3-3)Β at Sahuaro (4-2)
Location: 545 N. Camino Seco
Notable: Both teams opened 4A Kino play last week with opposite results, Foothills winning 47-13 at Amphi and Sahuaro losing 25-15 at Walden Grove.
Mica Mountain (4-2)Β at Walden Grove (4-2)
Location: 15510 S. Sahuarita Park Road
Notable: Two of the newer schools in Southern Arizona (Mica opened in 2020 and Walden Grove in 2011) face off. Mica Mountain is 2-0 against Walden Grove, with wins last year and in 2023.
3A
No. 17 Coolidge (4-3) atΒ No. 5 Pusch Ridge Christian (6-1)
Levi Adcock, left, of Pusch Ridge Christian Academy, tries to get his hands on Zachari Haley, of Sabino, in the first half, Oct. 3, 2025. Pusch Ridge won 27-8.
Location: 9500 N. Oracle Road
Notable: After getting its first-ever win at Sabino last week, Pusch Ridge debuts at No. 5 in the rankings.
No. 15 Sabino (3-4)Β at No. 14 Florence (2-4)
Location: 1000 S. Main St., Florence
Notable: The 3A state tournament is a 16-team affair, where the region winners get automatic bids, so 15th is not quite secure if the Sabercats want to go to the postseason.
2A
No. 34 Desert Christian (3-3)Β at No. 13 Benson (4-3)
Location: 360 S. Patagonia St., Benson
Notable: Debuting at 34th, it doesnβt look like Desert Christian will make the playoffs in its first year playing 11-person football. The team made it to the second round last season in its first year playing football, in 1A.
No. 45 Tombstone (1-5)Β at No. 36 Bisbee (2-5)
Location: 99 Arizona Street #73, Bisbee
Notable: Last week, Tombstone picked up its first win of the season, 63-6 over Santa Rita.
Scottsdale Coronado (0-5)Β at Catalina (2-4)
Location: 3645 E. Pima St.
Notable: The AIA doesnβt rank Coronado or Catalina because they are not eligible for the postseason since they play an independent schedule.
No. 7 Willcox (6-1) atΒ No. 17 Eloy Santa Cruz Valley (3-4)
Location: 900 N. Main St., Eloy
Notable: At 1-0 in the 2A South 2, Willcox is in line to win the region and get a spot in the Week 10 region crossover games. The winner of those automatically gets a bye to the second round, and in Willcoxβs case, would improve its playoff seeding.
No. 27 Palo Verde (4-3)Β at No. 50 Santa Rita (0-7)
Location: 3951 S. Pantano Road
Notable: After winning three in a row, Palo Verde can get to its most wins since 2013, when it went 5-5.
No. 33 Surprise Highland Prep (2-5) at No. 10 Tanque Verde (5-2)
Location: 4201 N. Melpomene Way
Notable: Tanque Verde has won three in a row and five of its last six.
1A
No. 3 St. David (6-1)Β at No. 17 Fort Thomas (1-6)
Location: 15502 West Highway 70, Fort Thomas
Notable: St. David has outscored opponents 363-63 while Fort Thomas has been outscored 338-166.
No. 16 Mayer (1-4) atΒ No. 8 Elfrida Valley Union (4-2)
Location: 4088 W. Jefferson Road, Elfrida
Notable: The 1A state tournament is 12 teams with four auto bids, so Valley Union is close to safely getting in at eighth in the rankings.
