Another full slate of high school football in on tap for Southern Arizona this week — this time with every game in the Tucson area taking place on Friday (Rio Rico does, however, play Thursday night).
Fifteen local teams are looking to start the season 2-0.
All games are at 7 p.m.
Thursday
Class 4A
Glendale (0-1) at Rio Rico (1-0)
Location: 590 Camino Lito Galindo, Rio Rico
Notable: Last week, new RR head coach Carlos Duran debuted with a 27-20 win at Maricopa Desert Sunrise.
Ironwood Ridge High School’s student section sports its luau motif just before the Nighthawks’ game against Buena gets started on Sept. 1, 2023.
Friday
Class 5A
Ironwood Ridge (1-0) at Buena (1-0)
Location: 5225 E. Buena School Blvd., Sierra Vista
Notable: Last season Buena beat IR 35-20 on the road after outscoring the Nighthawks 14-0 in the fourth quarter.
Mountain View (1-0) at Scottsdale Horizon (1-0)
Location: 5601 E. Greenway Road, Scottsdale
Notable: Mountain View is looking for its first 2-0 start since 2015, when the Mountain Lions beat Horizon in the second game 40-37 at home.
Casa Grande (1-0) at Nogales (0-1)
Location: 1905 Apache Blvd., Nogales
Notable: Last week multiple fights in the stands led to Casa Grande finishing its 52-44 win home over Tempe Corona del Sol without any fans watching.
Desert View (0-1) at Phoenix North (0-1)
Location: 1101 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix
Notable: North opened in 1939, closed in 1981 and reopened in 1983; DV opened in 1985.
Cienega (1-0) at Phoenix Paradise Valley (1-0)
Location: 3950 E. Bell Road, Phoenix
Notable: It’s PV’s second straight game against Bobcats after the Trojans beat Phoenix Central last week 9-7.
Flowing Wells (1-0) at Sunnyside (0-1)
Location: 1725 E. Bilby Road
Notable: Last week FW beat Avondale Agua Fria 41-0, the third straight game the Cabs scored at least 41. Last year they ended the season with a 42-0 win over Nogales and a 42-26 rout of Maricopa.
Marana (1-0) at Tucson High (1-0)
Location: 400 N. Second Ave.
Notable: Although this is the second season of a two-year scheduling cycle, it’s the second straight season the Tigers play at Tucson High. Last year turf issues led to the game being moved to THS, which Marana won 43-7.
Class 4A
Walden Grove (0-1) at Phoenix Arcadia (1-0)
Location: 4703 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix
Notable: Walden Grove might be happy to be playing anyone other than Phoenix Northwest Christian. Last week NC beat WG after they knocked the Red Wolves out of the playoffs last year and defeated Walden in the 2023 season opener.
Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain (0-1) at Canyon del Oro (0-1)
Location: 25 W. Calle Concordia
Notable: It’s Bradshaw Mountain’s first trip to Southern Arizona since defeating Mica Mountain 41-14 in MM’s first game of their first full varsity season.
Phoenix Maryvale (0-1) at Cholla (0-1)
Location: 2001 W. Starr Pass Blvd.
Notable: It’s Maryvale’s second straight trip to Tucson in as many weeks as the Panthers lost 43-8 to Amphi last week.
Sahuarita (1-0) at Glendale Deer Valley (1-0)
Location: 18424 N. 51st Ave., Glendale
Notable: Sahuarita head coach Jacob Allen won his first game in charge of the Mustangs.
Amphitheater (1-0) at Glendale Independence (1-0)
Location: 6602 N. 75th Ave., Glendale
Notable: Amphi is looking for its first 2-0 start since 2021.
Empire (1-0) at Avondale La Joya Community (0-1)
Location: 1650 W. Whyman Ave., Avondale
Notable: Empire is riding a six-game winning streak after closing out last season with five straight victories.
Mica Mountain (1-0) at Gilbert Mesquite (1-0)
Location: 500 S. McQueen Road, Gilbert
Notable: Last season MM beat Mesquite
Tucson-area high school football: Sahuaro senior running back Jermarell Webb scores on a one-yard rushing touchdown during the Cougars' 15-14 win over rival Sabino on Aug. 30, 2024. (James Kelley, Special to the Arizona Daily Star)
Sahuaro (1-0) at Phoenix Northwest Christian (1-0)
Location: 16401 N. 43rd Ave., Phoenix
Notable: It’s NC’s fourth straight game against Southern Arizona. It beat Walden Grove twice but lost to Mica Mountain in the state quarterfinals last season.
Pueblo (1-0) at Casa Grande Vista Grande (1-0)
Location: 1556 N. Arizola Road, Casa Grande
Notable: Pueblo alum Sylvester Lewis won his first game as PHS head coach last week, 13-0 over Nogales.
Catalina Foothills (0-1) at Yuma Catholic (1-0)
Location: 2100 W. 28th St., Yuma
Notable: Last week in CF's 28-21 loss to San Tan Valley Combs, six Falcons caught passes.
Classes 4A/2A
Palo Verde (0-1) at Rincon/University (1-0)
Location: 421 N. Arcadia Ave.
Notable: Rincon/University has won eight in a row against Palo Verde, dating back to 2013.
Class 3A
Pusch Ridge Christian (1-0) at Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (2-0)
Location: 18864 E. Germann Road, Queen Creek
Notable: With a bye in the first week and some road games, Pusch Ridge doesn’t play at home for the first time until Week 4. Benjamin Franklin however opens the season with four straight home games.
Tucson-area high school football: Sabino senior defensive back Britt Robertson records an interception during the Sabercats' 15-14 loss to rival Sahuaro on Aug. 30, 2024. (James Kelley, Special to the Arizona Daily Star)
Sabino (1-1) at Queen Creek Crismon (0-2)
Location: 21942 E. Riggs Road, Queen Creek
Notable: After going 0-10 last year, Crismon has yet to win a varsity football game.
Class 2A
Catalina (0-2) at Florence ALA — Anthem South (0-2)
Location: 8450 E. Franklin Road, Florence
Notable: ALA — Anthem South, which went 0-10 last year, has one varsity football win, 14-6 over Miami in 2022.
Santa Rita (0-1) at Winterhaven (Calif.) San Pasqual Valley (0-1)
Location: 676 Baseline Road, Winterhaven, Calif.
Notable: Although San Pasqual Valley is in California (near Yuma) it is an Arizona Interscholastic Association-affiliated school.
Glendale Prep (1-0) at Tanque Verde (0-1)
Location: 4201 N. Melpomene Way
Notable: TV did play Glendale Prep last season, winning 30-3, but that matchup was played at the end of the regular season.
Sahuaro High School's wait to beat Sabino is over, but the Cougars are looking for more. On Friday Sahuaro held on to beat the Sabercats 15-14, snapping a four-game losing streak to the school's east side rivals.
HS football player of the week: Marana QB Colten Meyer spurred Tigers' upset win over Salpointe CatholicMarana High School star quarterback Colten Meyer helped the Tigers take down Salpointe Catholic in Week 1.
High school football across Tucson and surrounding communities: A look back at the first full week of action, including big early-season wins by Marana High School, Sahuaro, and newcomer Desert Christian, and big college moments by former Salpointe, Canyon del Oro prep stars.
From Greg Hansen's Notebook: This week's short stuff, including: Marana HS ending Salpointe's seven-year win streak against Tucson-area schools; UA women's golf facing ex-coach Laura Ianello, Texas twice early on; history of coach's kids playing on UA teams; more.
