Southern Arizona tackle football heats up as the big schools move to the second half of the season and, in most cases, to region play. For the small schools, it's a big week too, as the first statewide rankings come out
The 6A Central, 5A Sonoran, 5A Southern and 4A Kino regions all start league play this week, while, on Tuesday, the 3A to 1A rankings made their 2024 season debut.
The initial 6A to 4A plus the Open rankings will debut next Tuesday.
Although some big names have byes this week — that includes Tucson High, Cienega, Mica Mountain and Canyon del Oro — there is still plenty of football in Southern Arizona this week, almost exclusively on Friday.
All games start at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Thursday
Class 5A
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Nogales (0-4) at Desert View (1-3)
Location: 4101 E. Valencia Road
Notable: DV head coach Robert Bonillas faces off against his alma mater. Bonillas was the Star’s 1993 Class 5A Player of the Year as a rusher, punter and linebacker while at Nogales. Then he played at the UA from 1995 to 1998 as a safety, tight end and linebacker.
Friday
Class 6A
Salpointe Catholic (2-1) at Phoenix Desert Vista (1-4)
Location: 16440 S. 32nd St., Phoenix
Notable: Although it’s early October, Salpointe has only played three games because of a planned bye and a late cancellation. The Lancers originally were set to face Mission Hills (Calif.) Bishop Alemany on Sept. 6 but the Warriors backed out (Salpointe beat them 52-21 last year in the Golden State). Bishop Alemany is 5-0 and beat Los Angeles Salesian 21-17 on Sept. 6.
Class 5A
Buena (4-1) at Casa Grande (4-1)
Location: 2730 N. Trekell Road, Casa Grande
Notable: Although they lost last week 41-7 to Mica Mountain, the Cougars have won two of their last three against Southern Arizona teams, including beating Buena 35-31 in November.
Sunnyside receivers take throws into the corner as the Blue Devils prepared to host visiting Flowing Wells at Sunnyside High School on Sept. 5.
Ironwood Ridge (4-1) at Flowing Wells (3-2)
Location: 3725 N. Flowing Wells Road
Notable: It’s a stretch of three games for IR where the Nighthawks face three top-end local teams. Last week they beat Sahuaro 37-7; next week they play at Tucson High.
Marana (5-0) at Sunnyside (2-3)
Location: 1725 E. Bilby Road
Notable: The Tigers have beaten the Blue Devils three of their last four times they have faced off. That one stands out, though, as Sunnyside won last year's meeting, 17-6.
Classes 5A/4A
Mountain View (2-2) at Walden Grove (2-2)
Location: 15510 S. Sahuarita Park Road
Notable: The Mountain Lions and Red Wolves arrived at 2-2 in different ways. MV won its opener, then lost and then won again before falling 46-13 to Marana in its most recent game on Sept. 20. WG won its last two, including 30-8 over Desert View last week.
Class 4A
Rincon/University (1-3) at Cholla (1-4)
Location: 2001 W. Starr Pass Blvd.
Notable: The Rangers and Chargers have both dropped three games in a row.
Amphitheater (2-3) at Douglas (1-4)
Location: 1550 15th St., Douglas
Notable: According to AZFootballArchives.com, the Amphi/Douglas series dates back to 1944 when the Bulldogs beat the Panthers 35-0. More recently, Amphi has beaten Douglas seven times in a row.
Sahuarita (1-3) at Empire (3-2)
Location: 10701 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way
Notable: Empire has won five in a row against Sahuarita
Catalina Foothills (0-5) at Sahuaro (3-2)
Location: 545 N. Camino Seco
Notable: CF senior quarterback Jacob Ford passed for 347 yards and ran for 160 yards in the Falcons’ 56-38 loss to Tucson High last week.
Class 3A
No. 21 Sabino (2-3) at No. 10 Pusch Ridge Christian (4-1)
Location: 9500 N. Oracle Road
Notable: Sabino has some work to do to get into playoff position and be able to defend its state championship. Meanwhile Pusch Ridge is playing for a home playoff game.
Class 2A
No. 28 Palo Verde (3-2) at No. 21 Benson (2-3)
Location: 360 S. Patagonia St., Benson
Notable: This is the start of a string of four straight home games for the Bobcats as Santa Rita, Catalina and Willcox also come to town.
No. 17 Willcox (3-2) at No. 9 Bisbee (4-1)
Location: 99 Arizona St. No. 73, Bisbee
Notable: Just outside the top 16, Willcox looks to make the state tournament for the fourth straight season.
No. 51 Santa Rita (0-5) at No. 46 Catalina (0-5)
Location: 3645 E. Pima St.
Notable: Someone’s getting its first win in a while. Catalina hasn’t won since Sept. 8, 2023, and Santa Rita’s last varsity victory (the school didn’t have a varsity team in 2023 or 2022) was Oct. 15 2021; that was a 40-6 win over Catalina.
Tanque Verde quarterback Rocco Haggard (14) calls out a play during the Hawks’ season-opening loss to Phoenix Christian on Aug. 23. Tanque Verde rebounded from that defeat, however, to win four straight, with the Hawks going for five in a row Friday night at Tombstone.
No. 5 Tanque Verde (4-1) at No. 29 Tombstone (2-3)
Location: 1211 N. Yellow Jacket Way, Tombstone
Notable: Fresh from hosting its first playoff game ever last season, Tanque Verde is close to hosting two playoff games in the initial 2A rankings. The state semifinals are both at Mesa Westwood.
Class 1A
No. 7 Bullhead City Mohave Accelerated (5-1) at No. 4 Desert Christian (4-1)
Location: 7525 East Speedway Boulevard (6 p.m.)
Notable: Desert Christian hosts its first ever homecoming and dedicates its new field at 5:20 p.m before a 6 p.m. kickoff
No. 18 Baboquivari (1-5) at No. 1 Winkelman Hayden (6-0)
Location: 824 Thorne Ave., Winkelman
Notable: Although 1-5, Baboquivari is close to the 12-team 1A playoff in the first ranking. There are 22 teams eligible for the rankings in 1A.
No. 17 San Manuel (2-4) at No. 6 St. David (5-1)
Location: 70 E. Patton St., St. David
Notable: St. David rebounded from its first loss to beat (now No. 12) Elfrida Valley Union 56-6 last week.
