The big schools begin their playoffs as Southern Arizona teams look to add to their Class 4A and 3A tackle football state championships from last year.
Tucsonโs lone 6A school hosts a playoff game (again), the 5A is filled with Southern Arizona schools, the stacked Kino Region is expected to impact the 4A bracket and a Baja Arizona side remains in both the 3A and 2A tourneys. Marana, the only local school in the stateโs eight-team Open Division tournament, starts on Friday, Nov. 22.
Be wary of the UA game traffic if youโre going to Salpointe Catholic or Tucson High and remember the high school playoff games all start at 7 p.m.
6A Playoffs: first round
No. 12 Gilbert Williams Field (4-6) at No. 5 Salpointe Catholic (7-2)
Location: 1545 East Copper St.
Notable: Salpointe hosts a playoff game for the ninth straight season after only getting four home games during the regular season. Williams Field is one of four teams in the 6A playoffs with a losing record, though last yearโs champion, Scottsdale Saguaro, entered the tourney 5-5 and upset Salpointe 42-24 in the semifinals. Salpointe, a 4A-sized school, is 3-2 in the 6A playoffs all-time, including a 36-33 double-overtime win over WF in 2022. The winner plays either No. 13 Laveen Cesar Chavez (7-3) or No. 4 Mesa Mountain View (9-1).
5A Playoffs: first round
No. 12 Glendale Raymond S. Kellis (9-1) at No. 5 Ironwood Ridge (8-2)
Location: 2475 West Naranja Drive
Notable: This is IR’s first game against Raymond S. Kellis, according to azfootballarchives.com. Ironwood Ridge finished the regular season 8-2 for the second year in a row, a feat they accomplished in 2015 and 2016 as well. I-Ridge has gone 8-2 nine times in its 22-year history. KGUN reported that IR junior quarterback Jaiden Martinez will miss the game due to a concussion. Martinez, who was second in the 5A Sonoran in passing (1,864 yards) and in rushing (822 yards), was knocked unconscious in last week’s game.
No. 13 Mountain View (6-4) at No. 4 Glendale Cactus (7-3)
Location: 6330 West Greenway Road, Glendale
Notable: MV returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2019, when it fell 56-25 to Williams Field in the first round. The Mountain Lions are 0-4 against Cactus, all of the games were in the playoffs and from 1990 to 1997, according to azfootballarchives.com. Cactus lost 28-21 in the first round to Gilbert Campo Verde last year. The winner plays Raymond S. Kellis or Ironwood Ridge.
No. 14 Casa Grande (6-4) at No. 3 Sierra Vista Buena (8-2)
Location: 5225 East Buena School Blvd., Sierra Vista
Notable: Itโs the first time Buena has hosted a playoff game in over 40 years. The Colts beat Casa Grande 66-42 on the road on Oct. 4. CG went 3-4 against Southern Arizona teams in the regular season, beating Nogales (0-10), Sunnyside (3-7) and Desert View (3-7). The winner plays No. 11 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep (5-5) or No. 6 Buckeye Verrado (8-2).
Tucsonโs Noah Chanez, right, ruises into the end zone, almost untouched, in the third quarter of their game at Catalina Foothills High School, on Sept. 27.
No. 15 Cienega (5-5) at No. 2 Tucson High (8-2)
Location: 400 North Second Ave.
Notable: The Badgers host the playoffs for the first time since 1971 and have racked up their most wins since 1973. Cienega head coach Justin Argraves, who coached at Tucson High for 10 years, is 2-1 against the Badgers, but that loss, 13-7, came this season. The Badgers won the 5A Sonoran, while the Bobcats were third in the 5A Southern. The winner plays No. 10 Scottsdale Cactus Shadows (7-4) or No. 7 Goodyear Desert Edge (6-4).
4A Playoffs: first round
No. 9 Walden Grove (7-3) at No. 8 Phoenix Northwest Christian (7-3)
Location: 16401 North 43rd Ave., Phoenix
Notable: Walden Grove looks to exorcise its Northwest Christian demons, as NC has beaten WG three times since Aug. 2023. This August, Walden Grove lost 21-16 to NC at home and last year the Crusaders beat WG 38-26 in the regular season and 40-12 in the playoffs, both in Phoenix. Last yea, Northwest Christian was a six seed and WG was No. 11, but Mica Mountain knocked out NC, 38-17, in the 2023 quarterfinals. The winner plays No. 16 San Tan Valley Combs (6-4) or No. 1 Yuma Catholic (9-1).
No. 13 Flagstaff Coconino (6-4) at No. 4 Mica Mountain (10-0)
Location: 10800 East Valencia Road
Notable: MM has won 26 of its last 28, only losing twice to eventual state champion Canyon del Oro last season. Coconino has won four of their last five, closing out the regular season with a 49-26 against rival Flagstaff. Mica Mountain has played a full varsity schedule for three seasons and has won two region titles. The winner plays No. 12 Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain (7-3) or No. 5 Phoenix Thunderbird (9-1).
Canyon del Oro's Lucas Cachoeira (3) squeezes an extra yard from Mica Mountain's Roy Garcia (8) after his catch for a first down in the first quarter of their 4A Kino game at Mica Mountain High School, on Oct. 18, 2024.
No. 14 Canyon del Oro (6-4) at No. 3 Snowflake (10-0)
Location: 190 South 2nd West, Snowflake
Notable: The defending 4A state champions CDO returns to the playoffs despite fielding 38 new players and 18 new starters and losing their head coach from 2023. Snowflakeโs alumni includes former senator Jeff Flake, and the Lobos lost to Mica Mountain in the first round last year 31-24. CDO, which won back-to-back state titles in 1976 and 1977, is the last Southern Arizona school to repeat as champs.
3A Playoffs: quarterfinals
No. 12 Surprise Paradise Honors (7-4) at No. 4 Pusch Ridge Christian (10-1)
Location: 9500 North Oracle Road
Notable: Paradise Honors reached the state championship game last year before falling 68-46 to Sabino. The Sabercatsโ state title was Southern Arizonaโs first since Pusch Ridge won the 2015 Division IV championship 14-7 over Northwest Christian. Pusch Ridge has won 10 games for the second time in three years; in 2022 they went 11-2 and reached the final four. The winner plays either No. 1 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (10-1) or No. 8 Queen Creek ALA Ironwood (8-2).
2A Playoffs: quarterfinals
No. 6 Bisbee (10-1) at No. 3 Pima (10-1)
Location: 38 East 200 South, Pima
Notable: Bisbee has won eight games in a row, while the Roughriders have won nine consecutive games. The Pumas are 3-5 against Pima in the Max Preps era (since 2004), losing the last two. The game will be broadcast on YouTube and Facebook. The winner plays No. 7 Phoenix Arizona Lutheran (8-3) or No. 2 Tonopah Tonopah Valley (13-0).
