12 Southern Arizona football teams gear up for 3A-5A playoffs

Team of the Week

No. 5 Pusch Ridge Christian took on No. 1 Ben Franklin in Queen Creek on Friday in Lions’ regular-season finale. Expecting a “herculean task,” head coach Kent Middleton’s team gave the Chargers, the runaway 3A favorite for the entire season, a serious run in a shortened affair due to weather. The Lions were tied with Ben Franklin at half and fell 27-21, by far the closest a team has come to beating the Chargers.

Play of the Week

On Sierra Vista Buena’s first play from scrimmage after an Ironwood Ridge field goal in the closing moments of the first quarter, the Colts threw an interception to senior linebacker Jacob Knauer, who returned the ball to the 23-yard-line. Just outside the red zone, Nighthawks’ junior quarterback Max Harder rolled right and threw a strike to senior receiver Zarin Robbins in stride coming across the end zone.

Stat book

Players from all around Southern Arizona landed in the top 15 spots on the offensive stat leaderboards in their respective categories at the end of the regular season.

Three local quarterbacks were on the passing yards list, led by Rio Rico senior quarterback Sebastian Castro, No. 8 overall on the list with 2,160 passing yards at a 54% completion rate with 22 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Desert View junior Andrew Godoy is 10th in the state with 2,138 yards at a 72% rate. Godoy threw 22 touchdowns and just a single interception. Pueblo senior Roman Otero is just a spot behind at No. 11, with 2,126 yards at a 51.4% completion rate, with 28 touchdowns and five picks.

Pueblo senior wideout Jesus Enriquez is Arizona’s leader in receiving yards this season, hauling in 53 receptions for 1,181 yards and 18 touchdowns. Desert View sophomore Anthony Rodarte landed at No. 6 in receiving yards with 1,015, also on 53 receptions with 10 touchdowns.

Mac’s Friday Fact

12 Southern Arizona high school football teams landed in the 3A-5A playoff brackets on Saturday, with one 3A team, five 4A teams and six 5A teams from the region set to compete in the postseason.

No. 2 Mica Mountain is the highest seed of any Southern Arizona team and received a first-round bye along with No. 6 Walden Grove. No. 17 Sahuarita will travel to Flagstaff to face No. 16 Coconino, and No. 19 Sahuaro hauls to No. 14 Yuma Gila Ridge. No. 24 Pueblo snuck in to occupy the final spot and will play No. 9 Phoenix Arcadia.

At the 3A level, No. 5 Pusch Ridge is the lone Southern Arizona 3A team in the playoffs. The Lions host No. 12 El Mirage Dysart on Friday.

No. 6 Desert View received the lone first-round bye in 5A. No. 16 Marana received the final host seed at No. 16, welcoming No. 17 Phoenix Sunnyslope on Friday. No. 18 Buena, the 5A Sonoran Region champs, travel to No. 15 Yuma Catholic. No. 22 Tucson, No. 23 Canyon del Oro and No. 24 Ironwood Ridge all snuck in to occupy the final 5A playoff spots.

Quotable

“Every year is different in terms of where your team is at. This team is the youngest team we’ve had in three years... It’s a good group from top to bottom; it’s a solid senior class with really good juniors and sophomores, so we are still growing. We still make some young guy type of mistakes at times, but overall I think we are doing a pretty good job. We are getting better every week, and that’s all I can ask for at this time of year.” — Mica Mountain head coach Jay Campos told AllSportsTucson.com regarding the team’s status and youth ahead of the playoffs after beating Sahuaro on Thursday.