Team of the week
Palo Verde beat Bisbee 21-16 on Friday to improve to 6-3 and clinch its first winning season since 2009.
In 2009, the team reached the 4A Division II state semifinals. The Titans' previous best record since then was 2013, when they went 5-5 in Division IV (which is about 3A nowadays).
Palo Verde closes out the season by hosting Benson on Friday.
Palo Verde Titans Kameron Pippen (3) smiles for a portrait after the MLK Coaches for Charity Classic at McKale Center, Jan. 20, 2025.
Against Bisbee, Palo Verde senior Kameron Pippen ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, had an interception and 189 all-purpose yards.
Play of the week
With the Bobcats leading Flowing Wells 28-20, Cienega senior defensive back Jaden Rodgers forced a Caballeros incomplete pass at the end of the game to stop Flowing Wells' last drive, according to All Sports Tucson. Cienega has won three in a row to improve to 5-3, and Flowing Wells has dropped two straight after starting 6-0.
Stat book
– Sierra Vista Buena senior running back Michael Lujan ran for 251 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries in the Colts’ 49-33 win over Casa Grande last week. Also, senior cornerback Jayden Thomas and senior strong safety T.J. Walker each had two interceptions against the Cougars.
– Desert View freshman receiver Anthony Rodarte caught eight passes for 115 yards and two scores in the Jaguars’ 48-7 win at Canyon del Oro on Friday.
Next level
Robinson
The NFL tweeted a photo of San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey and Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson with the caption “best in the game.” Robinson graduated from Salpointe Catholic in 2020.
Quoteable
“Punish everybody, that’s my mentality. When I get on that field, I’m going to punish you.” — Marana sophomore running back Jeffrey Smith III said to All Sports Tucson after the Tigers’ comeback 17-9 win over Tucson High on Friday. Smith ran for 135 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against the Badgers.
Going social
"Tremendous job he and his staff have done!" (with a 100 emoji) — Former Salpointe head football coach, Pima County Sports Hall of Fame and Tucson Sugar Skulls minority owner Dennis Bene posted on X (Twitter), wrote, quoting a post about Sahuaro head coach Al Alexander.
Sahuaro is the highest-ranked Southern Arizona 4A team, No. 6 at the time of the post.
Going social II
"There are 27 football teams in 4A that have winning overall records." — Arizona Republic reporter Richard Obert posted on X.
There are 58 varsity tackle football teams in 4A, 29 in 6A, 31 in 3A and 49 in 5A. Five of the 12 Southern Arizona 4A schools have winning records, four of those are from the Kino Region (Mica Mountain, Walden Grove, Sahuaro and Douglas).
Games of the week
No. 2 Desert View (8-0) at No. 23 Cienega (5-3)*
Location: 12775 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way
Notable: Desert View puts its perfect record on the line when it faces Cienega on Friday at 7 p.m. The Bobcats won three in a row and five of their last six, including at Flowing Wells last week, which had started 6-0.
DV sophomore Jaylee Abraham is third in the 5A in rushing with 1,179 yards, and Cienega senior Andrei Davis-Lopez is first in the conference in sacks with 15. Davis-Lopez didn’t have any sacks last week, but blocked a field goal attempt.
No. 33 Sahuarita (4-4) at No. 29 Pueblo (5-3)*
Location: 3500 S. 12th Ave.
Notable: Friday at 7 p.m. could be the de facto 4A Gila championship game as Sahuarita and Pueblo are both 3-0. Plus, both of the I-19 rivals are coming in hot; the Mustangs have won three in a row, and the Warriors have won five consecutive.
Last season, Sahuarita head coach Jacob Allen won 4A Gila Coach of the Year after resigning from the Pueblo head coaching post. The teams didn't meet last season as Pueblo was in 4A Kino while the Mustangs won the Gila Region.
* Rankings as of Arizona Daily Star press time
