Arizona's top-ranked team, Marana, plays its final regular-season game before likely getting a couple weeks off, while region titles and other playoff position are up for grabs across Southern Arizona's tackle football landscape this week.
The games become even more critical for as the regular season for 2A and 3A (and some big schools) ends and the 1A moves to the elite eight.
All games are at 7 p.m.
1A Playoffs: Quarterfinals
No. 8 Desert Christian (6-3) at No. 1 Winkelman Hayden (9-0)
Location: 824 Thorne Ave., Winkelman
Notable: Hayden has won 21 games in a row, including the state championship last year, 62-30, over Heber Mogollon. It was the Lobos’ second state championship after they won the B title in 1972. They have four state championship game appearances in all. Winkelman is in Central/Eastern Arizona, east of Casa Grande between Tucson and Globe. DC has a sparkling 1.000 win percentage in its playoff history (the Eagles won their first postseason game 56-16 over Williams last week).
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No. 5 Bullhead City Mohave Accelerated (8-2) at No. 4 St. David (8-1)
Location: 70 E. Patton St., St. David
Notable: St. David returns to action after a bye in the first round. The Tigers last played on Oct. 18 when it beat Desert Christian 66-14. In the first round, Mohave Accelerated beat No. 12 seed Salome 36-22. MA and St. David are the only schools to beat Desert Christian on the field this season. The Patriots beat DC 30-8. Bullhead City is next to Nevada and the Colorado River.
Class 6A
No. 25 Scottsdale Saguaro (1-7) at No. 10 Salpointe Catholic (5-2)
Location: 1545 E. Copper St.
Notable: First-year Saguaro head coach Darius Kelly played for Buena and Pima College and was previously the head coach of Catalina Foothills and the Sonoran Sidewinders, a junior college alternate program.
Class 5A
No. 26 Sunnyside (3-5) at No. 10 Buena (6-2)
Location: 5225 E. Buena School Blvd., Sierra Vista
Notable: The Colts look to hold on to that home playoff game as currently three 5A teams are in the Open rankings, moving Buena up to the seven seed.
No. 16 Casa Grande (6-3) at No. 19 Cienega (4-4)
Location: 12775 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way
Notable: A chance for a couple of current playoff teams to improve their standing.
The Marana Tigers run onto the field in the last of the day’s light to take on Salpointe Catholic to open their 2024 season on Aug. 30 at Marana High School. All the Tigers have done since: race out to an unbeaten record and the state’s No. 1 ranking (both 5A and Open). A win Friday against Desert View and Marana finishes the regular-season 10-0.
No. 1 Marana (9-0) at No. 35 Desert View (2-6)
Location: 4101 E. Valencia Road
Notable: Marana, also No. 1 in the Open, has DV, loser of three straight this week. The Tigers then have their regular season bye and, if they beat the Jags, another bye before the start of the Open tournament on Nov. 22.
No. 44 Nogales (0-8) at No. 27 Flowing Wells (3-5)
Location: 3725 N. Flowing Wells Road
Notable: FW has a chance to finish with its first .500 or better record since 2018 when the Cabs went 8-3.
No. 24 Maricopa (4-4) at No. 5 Ironwood Ridge (7-1)
Location: 2475 W. Naranja Drive
Notable: If IR can hold on to the top two seed, the Nighthawks could see end up hosting all state playoff games in Oro Valley before the 5A state championship game at ASU.
No. 9 Tucson High (6-2) at No. 17 Mountain View (5-3)
Location: 3901 W. Linda Vista Blvd.
Notable: If MV can hold on to a playoff spot (a tall task since its closes out the regular season with the Badgers and Ironwood Ridge), the Mountain Lions would make the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Class 4A
No. 38 Pueblo (2-6) at No. 31 Catalina Foothills (1-7)
Location: 3901 W. Linda Vista Blvd.
Notable: Foothills has won nine straight against Pueblo, dating back to a 41-21 win in 2007.
No. 49 Rincon/University (2-6) at No. 26 Douglas (4-4)
Location: 1550 15th St., Douglas
Notable: After starting 0-4, the Bulldogs have won four straight.
No. 35 Empire (4-4) at No. 43 Rio Rico (3-5)
Location: 590 Camino Lito Galindo, Rio Rico
Notable: Empire leads the series in the Max Preps era (since 2004) 7-3, including three of the last five.
No. 33 Amphitheater (5-4) at No. 29 Sahuarita (5-3)
Location: 350 Sahuarita Road
Notable: Amphi has finished with .500 or better record in five of the last six seasons.
No. 15 Canyon Del Oro (5-3) at No. 28 Sahuaro (3-5)
Location: 545 N. Camino Seco
Notable: After starting the season 3-1, the Cougars have lost four in a row.
No. 5 Mica Mountain (8-0) at No. 10 Walden Grove (6-2)
Location: 15510 S. Sahuarita Park Road
Notable: The 4A (and 3A) don’t have automatic bids or the Open taking teams away so MM looks to get a chance to have two home postseason games and WG looks to host a playoff game.
Class 3A
No. 21 Sabino (3-6) at No. 5 Bullhead City Mohave (7-2)
Location: 3663 Bullhead Parkway, Bullhead City
Notable: Mohave plays inside, at the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse, which also hosts concerts, soccer, basketball and volleyball pickle ball. It has room for eight basketball courts, including one that previously belonged to Syracuse University.
No. 20 Safford (4-5) at No. 4 Pusch Ridge Christian (8-1)
Location: 9500 N. Oracle Road
Notable: PRCA has the chance to win nine regular season games for the second time in three years. In 2022 they went 11-2, falling to Mesa Eastmark in the state semifinals (Eastmark went on to win the state title that year before moving to 4A in 2023).
Class 2A
No. 21 Tombstone (5-4) at No. 33 Palo Verde (4-5)
Location: 1302 S. Avenida Vega
Notable: PV has the chance to avoid a losing record for the first time since 2020 when it went 1-1. The last .500 or better normal season was 2013 when they were 5-5.
No. 6 Bisbee (8-1) at No. 50 Santa Rita (0-9)
Location: 3951 S. Pantano Road
Notable: The Pumas have won six in a row.
No. 18 Benson (5-4) at No. 17 Tanque Verde (5-4)
Location: 4201 N. Melpomene Way
Notable: TV is 1-6 against Benson. The Hawks snapped the six-game losing streak last year with a 24-6 win.
No. 45 Catalina (1-8) at No. 9 Willcox (6-3)
Location: 240 N. Bisbee Ave., Willcox
Notable: The Cowboys have won three straight and five of their last six.
High school football: 1A stages final four while big schools close out regular season
