Friday night's high school football playoff pairings and predictions
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Justin Spears
Sports Reporter
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The Star takes you inside all four playoff pairings of Southern Arizona teams in the quarterfinals and offers up a score prediction for each matchup Friday night.
Four Southern Arizona teams headline quarterfinal action
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Cienega's Terrell Hayward (7) finds room in the red zone during the second quarter of a first-round win over Marana last week.
High school football playoffs continue this week as four Southern Arizona teams enter the quarterfinals in the Class 3A, 4A and 5A brackets. Last week, Marana, Flowing Wells, Canyon del Oro, Pusch Ridge Christian, Walden Grove and Ironwood Ridge bowed out in the first round. The survivors: Cienega, Salpointe Catholic, Sahuaro and Sabino.
Our game of the week comes out of the east side with fifth-seeded Sahuaro hosting No. 13 Chandler Seton Catholic Prep in the 4A bracket. The winner could potentially play top-seeded Salpointe Catholic in the semifinals.
The Star’s Justin Spears previews each matchup, with the predicted winners in ALL CAPS. Each game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday.
No. 8 Cienega (9-2) at No. 1 PEORIA CENTENNIAL (11-0)
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Peoria Centennial quarterback Jonathan Morris (8), dumping a pass over an Ironwood Ridge defender earlier this season, had 189 yards and two touchdowns against Cienega this year.
Where: 14388 N. 79th Ave., Peoria
What: Class 5A quarterfinals
Matchup: The Cienega Bobcats’ loss to Ironwood Ridge in the regular season finale comes back to bite them this week. Cienega could’ve hosted two home playoff games, but the loss knocked the Bobcats down a few spots in a tough 5A bracket. Now they’re pitted against the defending state champions in powerhouse Centennial, a team that’s won three state titles over the last four seasons. No pressure for Cienega, right? The Bobcats will have to play perfect if they want a chance in this contest. Fortunately for Cienega, it is familiar with this team despite a 35-0 loss to Centennial earlier in the season. Las Vegas transfer Tawee Walker had 14 carriers for 102 yards and two touchdowns to help hand Cienega its first shutout loss since 2014, while quarterback Jonathan Morris completed 13 of 17 passes for 189 yards and two scores. Cienega’s do-it-all standout Terrell Hayward was limited with 86 all-purpose yards and will have to contribute even more if the Bobcats hope to pull off the upset. According MaxPreps.com, Centennial is the second-best team in the state, including schools from the Class 6A level. The Coyotes are certainly playing like it. Cienega keeps it close early, but Centennial’s athletes will wear it down. Call it 42-14.
No. 13 Chandler Seton Catholic Prep (8-3) at No. 5 Sahuaro (9-2)
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Cameron Williams, left, is a 6-foot, 200-pound senior running back for Sahuaro.
Where: 545 N. Camino Seco
What: Class 4A quarterfinals
Matchup: On paper, Sahuaro seems like the heavy favorite. But the Cougars will be in for a battle Friday night. Seton Catholic Prep is coming off an upset over fourth-seeded Peoria, and the Sentinels look to maintain their road-warrior mentality in Tucson. Sahuaro is in the quarterfinals for the first time under head coach Scott McKee, and the Cougars have been flying this season since a 34-7 win over east-side rival Sabino — the first victory against the Sabercats in four years. Sahuaro’s only loss since that opening-week upset came on the road against Salpointe Catholic. If Sahuaro wants to advance to the state semifinals with a chance for a rematch with the Lancers, the Cougars will need to accomplish one task: Feed. Cameron. Williams. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior running back is built like a truck and has rushed for 1,124 yards and 23 touchdowns this season. Sahuaro will benefit from its rushing attack, considering Seton Catholic has an up-tempo offense that likes to score. The Sentinels have scored at least 54 points in their last three wins. The question is: What color gatorade will McKee wear after the win? Sahuaro prevails, 38-34.
No. 9 Cottonwood Mingus (9-2) at No. 1 SALPOINTE CATHOLIC (11-0)
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Salpointe Catholic's Bijan Robinson (5) leads a potent Lancers offense into the 4A quarterfinals.
Where: 1545 E. Copper Street
What: Class 4A quarterfinals
Matchup: It’s routine at this point to talk about Salpointe’s top talents in running backs Bijan Robinson and Mario Padilla, along with two-way star Lathan Ransom, but the Lancers have as complete of a team as last season. On defense, the top four leading tacklers are all juniors with linebacker Shamon Davis leading the way with 97 on the season. Linebacker Ray Figueroa leads the team in tackles for loss with 15, while Ransom is the top defensive back with six interceptions. And as for the big boys up front? Salpointe has three offensive linemen that are taller than 6-feet-4-inches. Quarterback Devin Green has thrown for 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns with just two interceptions. Salpointe lost a lot of talent from last season’s state runner-up, but it reloaded instead of rebuilt. Robinson is putting up video game numbers with his most notable performance two weeks ago, when he rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns on four carries. Considering Mingus doesn’t have any notable wins this season, expect the Lancers to waltz into the semifinals for the third consecutive season. Salpointe rolls, 35-7.
No. 6 SABINO (9-2) at No. 3 Snowflake (9-1)
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Sabino head coach Ryan McBrayer, celebrating with Gabriel Aguiar (18) after a fumble recovery earlier this season, has the Sabercats poised to do damage in the 3A bracket.
Where: 220 South 2nd West, Snowflake
What: Class 3A quarterfinals
Matchup: Snowflake is roughly a four-hour drive from Tucson, slightly north of Show Low and Pinetop. It has an elevation of 5,682 feet, more than double that of Tucson. The elements won’t be Sabino’s only challenge. Snowflake shut out its previous two opponents by a combined score of 56-0, and hasn’t lost a game since August. The Sabercats are in a similar position because they lost the first two games of the season, but have found their groove while winning nine consecutive games. Sabino dealt with quarterback issues at the start of the season, alternating between three players, but coach Ryan McBrayer found his guy in sophomore AJ Skaggs; he’s thrown for 1,363 yards, 16 touchdowns and three interceptions. In last week’s 38-6 win over Lakeside Blue Ridge, Skaggs completed 11 of 13 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, unanimous Class 3A South Defensive Player of the Year Richie Pina leads the way for Sabino. Pina is a senior linebacker with 118 tackles on the season. Sabino’s second-leading tackler has 76 tackles, so Pina has been all over the field for the Sabercats. Both teams are playing tremendous football so it’s a tough call, but we’ll go with the local team. Sabino wins 27-23. Pina gets the game-winning tackle on fourth-and-short near midfield and the Sabercats run out the clock to win. Mark it down.
Justin Spears
Sports Reporter
