Salpointe football avenges loss to slide into state semifinals

Team of the week

No. 8 Salpointe Catholic avenged its Nov. 7 loss to No. 1 Phoenix Pinnacle and beat the Pioneers 10-7 on Friday in the Class 6A state quarterfinals.

Salpointe senior quarterback Rayce Alvarez was 21 for 30 for a touchdown, no interceptions and 172 yards.

Stat book

– Marana senior quarterback Colten Meyer passed for 346 yards in the Tigers’ loss to Scottsdale Horizon last week, according to AZPreps365.com. With the yardage, Meyer moved up to 9,020 yards and into first all-time on the top Southern Arizona career passing chart, passing Sabino’s Cameron Hackworth. Meyer also overtook San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy for 20th on the state record list.

– Willcox senior running back/linebacker Ismael Cuevas ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in the Cowboys’ 28-25 loss to Scottsdale Christian on Saturday. Willcox junior fullback/linebacker Kaleb Cooke rushed for 144 yards and a score on 14 attempts.

Next level

Salpointe alumnus Armani Sheriff, a sophomore receiver at New Mexico Highlands, announced last week he has entered the transfer portal.

Going social

"Thanksgiving practice this week in DUB CITY - 21-14 win keeping our season alive. Hopefully none of the media are gamblers because they all bet it wrong. Heading to Yuma on our way to ASU stadium."  — Mica Mountain senior athlete Riley Carson posted on X about the Thunderbolts’ 21-14 win at Snowflake, the state semifinal at Yuma Gila Ridge and the state championship game at ASU.

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Quotable I

“This was fun, exploring new things together. So much growth together. I always believed in our guys and then we really started getting it rolling and I thought we had something going here. We were getting better every week and a few different things here and we could have kept it going, but I’m very proud of my guys and I’m going to miss my seniors like crazy.” — Tanque Verde head coach Jeffrey Bollnow told AZPreps365.com after the Hawks lost 29-16 to St. Johns in the 2A state semifinals, TV’s first final four appearance.

Quotable II

“I told (Desert View sophomore Jaylee Abraham) after the game that he’s going to be a pain in the butt for the next couple years. He’s going to be the next greatest running back out of Tucson, if not all of Arizona. He’s a heck of a player, man, and he’s a good kid. He plays both ways, and he has a high motor.” — Waddell Canyon View head coach Manuel Alcantar said to All Sports Tucson after his blue Jaguars knocked out Desert View.

Games of the week

4A state semifinals: No. 7 Mica Mountain (10-2) at No. 6 Yuma Gila Ridge (11-1)

Location: 7150 E. 24th St., Yuma

Notable: Once again, the road to the state championship game for Mica Mountain runs through Yuma. Last season, the Thunderbolts beat Yuma Catholic in the semifinals on the road, 24-14. On Friday at 7 p.m., they return, this time to face Yuma Gila Ridge. Mica Mountain has won eight in a row, and Gila Ridge has won 11 in a row since it lost 21-12 to Lake Havasu at NAU. Mica Mountain beat Lake Havasu 35-0 in the second round.

6A state semifinals: No. 8 Salpointe Catholic (7-5) at No. 4 Queen Creek Casteel (7-5)

Location: 24901 S. Power Road, Queen Creek

Notable: At 7 p.m. Friday, Salpointe looks to return to the state championship game for the first time since 2021, when the Lancers lost to Scottsdale Horizon in the Class 5A title game. Casteel has made it to a state championship game once, when it beat Pusch Ridge Christian in the 3A title game in 2017. MaxPreps rankings have Salpointe as the No. 18 and Casteel as the No. 16 teams in the state.