With the calendar change to November, high school tackle football moves (almost) entirely to postseason mode.

Semifinals start this week for 1A, as 2A moves on to the second round.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the 5A, 4A and 3A state tournament brackets were revealed.

In the 5A, there are seven local schools, led by No. 3 Desert View and No. 4 Marana.

Desert View (10-0) and Marana (9-1), which last lost to a 5A team in 2023, are on opposite sides of the bracket, so they could meet Dec. 5 in the state championship game.

Marana’s Ethan Glover (18) legs it out of the hands of Canyon del Oro’s David Luke (11) in the fourth quarter, Sept. 19.

All games are at 7 p.m.

FRIDAY

5A playoffs first round

No. 18 Mountain ViewΒ (6-4) at No. 15 SierraΒ Vista Buena (7-3)

Location: 5225 E. Buena School Blvd., Sierra Vista

Notable: After Buena went three years without a postseason, its Sierra Vista native head coach Joe Thomas has led the team to three consecutive playoff berths and hosting the tournament.

Mountain View is making its second straight appearance after a four-year hiatus. According to All Sports Tucson, head coach Matt Johnson leads Southern Arizona with 144 wins.

No. 23 Tucson High (5-5)Β at No. 10 ScottsdaleΒ Cactus Shadows (6-4)

Location: 5802 E. Dove Valley Road, Scottsdale

Notable: The Badgers have been playing varsity football since 1906, but last week was their first-ever game against Cactus Shadows, according to azfootballarchives.com. Tucson High now gets a chance to avenge its 48-40 loss to the Falcons immediately, playing them again this week.

It’s also Tucson High’s first trip to the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 2016.

No. 19 Flowing Wells (7-3) at No. 14 PhoenixΒ Mountain Pointe (6-4)

Location: 4201 E. Knox Road, Phoenix

Notable: Flowing Wells returns to the postseason for the first time since 2018, the last time it had a winning record.

Should the Caballeros upset the Pride, they will get another crack at No. 3 Desert View, which beat them 41-23 last week.

No. 17 Cienega (6-4)Β at No. 16 PhoenixΒ Sunnyslope (8-2)

Location: 35 W. Dunlap Ave., Phoenix

Notable: The Bobcats go to the tournament for the second straight season. According to azfootballarchives.com, they have gone to the postseason 18 times since debuting in 2002.

Sunnyslope has won five in a row, and Cienega has won four of its last five.

Byes: No. 3 Desert View, No. 4 Marana

4A playoffs first round

No. 22 Goodyear Estrella Foothills (7-3) atΒ No. 11 Sahuaro (7-3)

Sahuaro’s Jayden Winton, left, just manages to get fingertips to the ball and keep Mica Mountain’s Evan Wheeler from hauling in a Hail Mary score in the last seconds of the second quarter on Oct. 31.

Location: 545 N. Camino Seco

Notable: Sahuaro hosts a playoff game for the first time since 2019. After going 0-3 in 2020 and 1-8 in 2021, the Cougars went 5-5 in 2022, 3-7 in 2023 and 4-6 last year.

This is Estrella Foothills’ first-ever trip to Tucson, according to azfootballarchives.com. The school’s first football season was 2003.

No. 20 Phoenix Northwest Christian (6-4) at No. 13 Walden Grove (7-3)

Location: 15510 S. Sahuarita Park Road

Notable: After three losses in two years to Northwest Christian, Walden Grove looked like it exorcised its NC demons, but the Crusaders are back. Northwest Christian beat Walden Grove to open the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and in the 2023 playoffs, but Walden Grove beat them 30-20 in the first round last year.

The win over NC last season was the Red Wolves’ first playoff win in school history. Their first season was 2012.

Bye: No. 7 Mica Mountain

3A playoffs first round

No. 12 Page (8-2) at No. 5 Pusch Ridge Christian (8-2)

Location: 9500 N. Oracle Road

Notable: The Lions open up their 3A state title defense at home vs. Page, the 3A North champions and winners of seven straight. Page and PRCA’s only other meeting was in the first round of the playoffs in 2018, a 48-2 win for the Sand Devils.

Pusch Ridge’s other state championship was the 2015 Division IV title. Page’s best finish was runner-up in 1975 and 1976.

No. 15 Sabino (4-6)Β at No. 2 Chandler Valley Christian (9-1)

Location: 6900 W. Galveston St., Chandler

Notable: It’s another regular-season rematch. Although Sabino lost four in a row prior to its season-ending 40-0 win over Safford and enters the postseason with a losing record, it opened with an 18-14 loss at Valley Christian.

The Trojans have two 2A state championships, while Sabino has won three 4A titles and one in 3A in 2023.

2A playoffs second round

No. 9 Tanque Verde (9-2)Β at No. 8 Camp Verde (7-3)

Location: 1326 Montezuma Castle Highway, Camp Verde

Notable: Tanque Verde heads to Verde Valley to face Camp Verde, though, like Casa Grande or Prescott, the locals have a unique pronunciation for Verde: β€œVer-dee.”

TV has won seven in a row while Camp Verde has lost two consecutive.

Tanque Verde beat Tombstone 64-0 on Oct. 7. Tombstone’s head coach is Jerry Rhoades, who coached Camp Verde until 2018.

No. 14 Benson (7-4) atΒ No. 3 Phoenix Christian (8-2)

Location: 1751 W. Indian School Road, Phoenix

Notable: Benson must like the new 2A Region Crossover Games and 24-team tournament format; the team won its cross-over game 56-6 over Palo Verde and its first-round game 49-6 over Globe.

Phoenix Christian has won three in a row in the last three years over Benson, including 49-14 on Aug. 29 at home.

No. 11 GoodyearΒ Trivium Prep (8-3) atΒ No. 6 Willcox (8-2)

Location: 240 N. Bisbee Ave., Willcox

Notable: Willcox faces Trivium Prep for the first time.

Willcox had won seven in a row until it fell 42-14 to Tanque Verde in the 2A Region Crossover Game. Meanwhile, the Crimson Knights have won four in a row after a three-game losing streak.

6A

No. 14 SalpointeΒ Catholic (5-4) at No. 8Β Phoenix Pinnacle (6-3)

Salpointe's Charles Chaney (5) gets a congratulatory salute from Noah Banhie (0) after threading his way into the end zone in the second quarter of their game against Marana on Aug. 29, 2025, in Tucson.

Location: 3535 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix

Notable: Salpointe dropped three spots and out of the Open following its 21-7 loss to Gilbert Perry. The Lancers are still in the 6A tournament, which takes the next 12 6A teams after the Open takes the top 12.

The Lancers could possibly get back into the Open with a win over Pinnacle, otherwise, they are currently the No. 2 seed in the 6A tournament, behind only Perry.


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