The 10th week of tackle high school football in Southern Arizona sees the start of the playoffs, a new phase of a season debut and a bunch of big games.
In 1A, the state tournament begins on Friday. In 2A, the first-ever Region Crossover Games take place, pitting teams against an equal from another region.
For the bigger schools, the games get more important as the weather cools because the season is running short.
All games are at 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
1A playoffs first round
No. 10 Elfrida Valley Union (6-2) at No. 7 Kearny Ray (6-3)
Location: 701 N. Highway 177, Kearny
Notable: Valley Union enters the playoffs having won four in a row by an aggregate of 222-12, while Ray has lost its last two 46-28 and 68-6.
Bye: No. 3 seed St. David
2A Region Crossover Games First place
No. 5 Willcox (8-1) at
No. 12 Tanque Verde (7-2)
Location: 4201 N. Melpomene Way
Notable: Under the new rules, the 2A South 2 champions travel to face the 2A South 1 winners with an automatic bid to the state tournament at stake (if they finish outside the top 24). The top eight teams receive a bye in the first round.
Second place
No. 16 Benson (5-4) at
No. 29 Palo Verde (6-3)
Location: 1302 S. Avenida Vega
Notable: Palo Verde has won five in a row.
Third place
No. 17 Eloy Santa Cruz Valley (4-5) at No. 34 Bisbee (3-6)
Location: 99 Arizona St. #73, Bisbee
Notable: Santa Cruz Valley is seeking its third straight playoff appearance.
Fourth place
No. 39 Desert Christian (3-5) at No. 45 Tombstone (1-7)
Location: 1211 N. Yellow Jacket Way, Tombstone
Notable: Tombstone faces its fourth Tucson team this season, with its sole win coming over Santa Rita in early October.
Independents
Catalina (3-5) at
Peridot San Carlos (5-3)
Location: Highway 70 Mile Post 270, Peridot
Notable: San Carlos faces its second straight TUSD school at home after beating Santa Rita 58-0 last week.
6A
No. 21 Mesa Westwood (3-4) at No. 11 Salpointe Catholic (4-3)
Location: 1545 E. Copper St.
Notable: After losing 58-7 at No. 1 Chandler Basha, Salpointe moved up a spot in the 6A/Open rankings. This week’s Basha game against No. 2 Chandler Hamilton is the MaxPreps National Game of the Week and will be streamed on maxpreps.com and YouTube. Basha is ranked No. 18 and Hamilton No. 53 in the country in MaxPreps’ rankings.
5A
No. 35 Canyon del Oro (3-5) at No. 14 Sierra Vista Buena (5-3)
Canyon del Oro’s David Luke (11) out jumps Marana’s Sean Roebuck (5) for an interception in the third quarter, Sept. 19, 2025, in Tucson.
Location: 5225 E. Buena School Blvd., Sierra Vista
Notable: According to azfootballarchives.com, CDO and Buena first met in 1966, a 25-13 win for Canyon del Oro.
No. 2 Desert View (8-0) at
No. 19 Cienega (5-3)
Location: 12775 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way
Notable: Cienega moved up four spots in the rankings after its 28-20 win over Flowing Wells last week. Seeds 9 through 16 host first-round playoff games.
No. 23 Sunnyside (4-4) at
No. 21 Flowing Wells (6-2)
Location: 3725 N. Flowing Wells Road
Notable: The Blue Devils and Caballeros cling to playoff spots as the top 24 go to the big dance.
No. 6 Marana (7-1) at No. 16 Mountain View (5-3)
Location: 3901 W. Linda Vista Blvd.
Notable: Marana has won three of the last four in the Battle of the Boot rivalry. In flag football, the Marana and Mountain View girls play in the Battle of the Saddle. The boys’ trophy looks like a boot, and the girls’ reward is a saddle.
No. 18 Maricopa (5-3) at
No. 41 Nogales (2-6)
Location: 1905 Apache Blvd., Nogales
Notable: Maricopa has won its last three games, Nogales has lost its last six.
No. 40 Ironwood Ridge (1-7) at No. 22 Tucson High (4-4)
Location: 400 N. Second Ave.
Notable: Although they blew a 9-3 lead at Marana last week and lost 17-9, the Badgers moved up three places to No. 22 and to a playoff spot if the season ended today.
4A
No. 3 Sahuaro (6-2) at
No. 55 Amphitheater (2-6)
Location: 125 W. Yavapai Road
Notable: Sahuaro, the highest-ranked local 4A team, moved up to third from No. 6 and is now competing with Desert View (5A No. 2) for the best ranking among all Southern Arizona sides.
No. 54 Rio Rico (1-7) at
No. 40 Cholla (3-5)
Location: 2001 W. Starr Pass Blvd.
Notable: Cholla snapped its five-game losing streak with a 36-0 win at Rincon/University.
No. 14 Walden Grove (5-3) at
No. 28 Douglas (4-3)
Walden Grove’s Paul Delgado (22) gets spun around by Catalina Foothills’s Isai Valenzuela (52) after running back his interception during the second quarter of their game, Oct. 17, 2025, in Tucson.
Location: 1550 15th St., Douglas
Notable: Walden Grove jumped eight spots in the rankings following its 35-10 win over Catalina Foothills last week.
No. 33 Catalina Foothills (3-5)
at No. 11 Mica Mountain (6-2)
Catalina Foothills’ Jack Cartwright rips through the banner as he leads the Falcons onto the field to face Walden Grove, Oct. 17, 2025, in Tucson.
Location: 10800 E. Valencia Road
Notable: Mica Mountain dropped two spots in the rankings after its 43-0 win over Amphi.
No. 31 Sahuarita (4-4) at
No. 29 Pueblo (5-3)
Location: 3500 S. 12th Ave.
Notable: Pueblo has won three of the last four against Sahuarita, getting victories in 2022, 2011 and 2008 but losing in 2012.
No. 39 Empire (2-6) at
No. 47 Rincon/University (2-5)
Location: 421 N. Arcadia Ave.
Notable: Empire has won the last three against the Rangers and is 4-1 against Rincon/University all-time.
3A
No. 16 Sabino (3-5) at
No. 4 Thatcher (7-1)
Location: 615 N. Stadium Ave., Thatcher
Notable: Unlike 2A (24 teams), 4A (24), 5A (24) and 6A (12 in the Open and 12 in the 6A tournament), only 16 3A sides make the postseason, so Sabino is cutting it close with its current three-game losing streak.
