It’s officially state playoff time, and Southern Arizona high school football teams will be well-represented at the big-schools level.
For the first time since 2019, Salpointe Catholic will not take part in the Open Division bracket, an eight-team field of the top teams in Arizona. Instead, the second-seeded Lancers will open the Class 5A playoffs with a game against No. 15 Phoenix Sunnyslope.
The only other local team hosting a first-round matchup on Friday is sixth-seeded Desert View, which faces No. 11 Goodyear Millennium in the 5A bracket. Ninth-seeded Cienega will travel to No. 8 Buckeye Verrado, while red-hot, 13th-seeded Ironwood Ridge will head to Scottsdale for a game with No. 4 Desert Mountain.
And in 4A, Canyon del Oro has made the playoffs as a No. 12 seed.
The Star’s Justin Spears previews and predicts every matchup that features a Tucson team. Games are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, and predicted winners are in ALL CAPS.
Class 4A state playoffs, first round
No. 12 CANYON DEL ORO (6-4) at No. 5 Lake Havasu (7-2)
Location: 2675 S. Palo Verde Blvd., Lake Havasu City
Winner faces: No. 13 Flagstaff Coconino or No. 4 Glendale
What to expect: After starting the year 0-3, CDO won six of seven games — including a 26-22 win over rival Ironwood Ridge. CDO junior quarterback Caden Dawes has emerged as one of the top passers in Southern Arizona, putting up 1,570 yards and 17 touchdowns against just two interceptions. If Dawes and the CDO offense can establish a rhythm early and put Lake Havasu on its heels defensively, maybe the hot hand will win. And the Dorados will. Call it 30-23.
Class 5A state playoffs, first round
No. 9 CIENEGA (7-3) at No. 8 Buckeye Verrado (7-3)
Location: 20050 W. Indian School Road, Buckeye
Winner faces: No. 16 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows or No. 1 Scottsdale Horizon
What to expect: Cienega’s regular-season finale against Rincon/University was canceled, and it might be a reason why the Bobcats aren’t hosting on Friday. So, if Cienega wants to have a deep run in the first season of the Justin Argraves era, it’ll have to adopt the “road warriors” mindset. During the Bobcats’ six-game winning streak to end the regular season, Cienega’s defense only allowed 8.2 points per game in five contests. Here’s our prediction: Cienega running back Ritchie McCormack scores the go-ahead touchdown late, and the Bobcats’ defense has a fourth-down stop on the subsequent drive to seal the win. Bobcats return to Vail with a 31-28 win.
No. 13 Ironwood Ridge (6-4) at No. 4 SCOTTSDALE DESERT MOUNTAIN (10-1)
Location: 12575 E. Via Linda, Scottsdale
Winner faces: No. 12 Gilbert Campo Verde or No. 5 Peoria Sunrise Mountain
What to expect: Last week, the Star picked against the Nighthawks and favored Marana in a “get-right game.” (Poor choice of words; “bounce-back” would have been better). The Nighthawks took the prediction personally, then beat Marana by 42 points. Unfortunately for Ironwood Ridge, the Nighthawks must now face a Scottsdale Desert Mountain team that has scored at least 30 points in nine games this season. Ironwood Ridge is on a four-game winning streak and has scored 203 combined points in the final three games, so it’ll be able to keep up with the Wolves before falling 40-30.
No. 11 GOODYEAR MILLENNIUM (5-5) at No. 6 Desert View (9-1)
Location: 4101 E. Valencia Road
Winner faces: No. 14 Waddell Canyon View or No. 3 Goodyear Desert Edge
What to expect: Desert View wrapped its best season under head coach Robert Bonillas by beating Cholla, 56-6. Desert View’s quarterbacks completed just nine of 14 passes, but threw for 241 yards — an average of 26.8 yards per completion — and three touchdowns. Just looking at the records, Desert View should have control of this game, but the Tigers had one of the toughest schedules in Arizona, with matchups against playoff teams such as Scottsdale Horizon, Peoria Sunrise Mountain, Goodyear Desert Edge, Buckeye Verrado and Peoria Centennial. If there’s any team battle-tested for the playoffs, it’s Millennium. Expect an all-time performance from star running back Serge Gboweiah, who is 66 yards shy of passing the 1,000-yard rushing mark this season. It’s a tough call, but we like the Tigers to pull off the upset on Friday, 34-30. Regardless, this is a must-watch matchup this week.
No. 15 Phoenix Sunnyslope (6-4) at No. 2 SALPOINTE CATHOLIC (8-2)
Location: 1545 E. Copper St.
Winner faces: No. 10 Glendale Apollo or No. 7 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep
What to expect: The Lancers are in unfamiliar territory for two reasons: One, they’re out of the elite Open Division for the first time, and two, Salpointe moved up from 4A to 5A within the last year. Treyson Bourguet, one of the top quarterbacks to come through Southern Arizona in recent years, is in his final hurrah at Salpointe, and is in the hunt to accomplish something neither of his older brothers could do: Win a state championship. Expect the Lancers to take one step closer to its first state title since 2013 with a 49-20 win.
