High school football: Great 4A teams CDO, Mica Mountain deserve better than 'Open' playoff

Obviously, Mica Mountain and Canyon del Oro — both 6-0 on the season — wouldn’t go so far as to tank this Friday night’s matchup in Oro Valley.

But the loser just might be better off.

Normally the focus would be on No. 3 CDO or No. 2 Mica Mountain moving up to No. 1, but those aren’t the only rankings those two teams are looking at.

The state’s “Open” tournament plucks out the top eight teams across the 6A, 5A and 4A classes and puts them in a separate bracket away from their usual counterparts. Mica Mountain and CDO are No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, in the Open rankings.

Open No. 1 Peoria Centennial is ranked No. 22 in MaxPreps’ national rankings. Open No. 4 Chandler has had seven players drafted by the NFL in the last 10 years, the seventh-most nationally, according to MaxPreps.

Open No. 2 Peoria Liberty is No. 24 in the country, with the possibility of facing multiple nationally-ranked teams this season. The Open is for teams that are in the running to be televised on ESPN.

I wouldn’t be surprised if CDO or Mica Mountain could beat one of those powerhouses, but the prospects of them beating three straight in successive weeks is, admittedly, really low. The AIA’s own rankings reflect that as they’re the only two 4A schools close to the Open right now, after the Open’s initial seedings only included one non-6A school.

The AIA added the Open in 2019 after we saw lopsided results like No. 1 Salpointe Catholic jumping ahead of No. 5 Sahuaro 53-0 in the 2018 4A state semifinals; that was just the first half of that game. Then No. 2 Scottsdale Saguaro beat up Salpointe 42-16 in the state championship game at Arizona Stadium.

But in 2020, promotion and relegation was also to 11-man football. That meant teams like Salpointe and Saguaro rightfully moved up to 6A. It also meant future college or NFL-caliber Lancers like Bijan Robinson and Lathan Ransom would face those 6A ESPN-type teams every week.

The merit-based conference placement (over three years) was a great move; but that and the Open tournament are not both necessary. It’s overkill.

Having both neuters the 6A tournament. Last year, Phoenix Cesar Chavez reached the 6A playoffs as a 5-5 team and lost 70-30 in the first round.

The Open is basically the top 6A teams with a token 5A or 4A team or two. But why? Isn’t that what the actual 6A tournament is for?

This season, Mica Mountain and Canyon del Oro are too good; they broke the system.

Last year, the AIA tweaked the Open qualifications to make it harder for 4A teams to make it to the eight-team dance. The Open is determined by a team’s normal rankings, multiplied by 10 for 6A teams, nine for 5A and eight for 4A.

AIA Executive Director David Hines told the Arizona Republic that though the 4A conference chose to remain in the Open, most 4A coaches would rather not run that gauntlet.

So while the winner of Friday’s game between the Dorados and Thunderbolts does deserve to play in the Open, they also deserve a long playoff run.

In 2022, when CDO beat Phoenix Thunderbird 28-3 in the state quarterfinals, Peace said the expectation now is to practice on Thanksgiving.

Before the season, I asked CDO senior offensive and defensive tackle Sa’Kylee Woodard and senior quarterback Tristen McClelland if their goal was to go deep in the 4A tournament or the Open. They both had a similar response.

“Whatever happens we just take it a day at a time, one game at a time,” Woodard said. “We’re highly ranked in Arizona, but that doesn’t matter, though. “We gotta continue to build and sharpen our craft, so I think just taking it game by game see what happens.”

I’m sure MM players would say the same on the record.

It’s been reported over the years that 4A teams can petition out of the Open, but that would have to be done before the season. So it’s hard to imagine many saying, “yeah we take it one game at a time ... but we’re going to win all those and be atop the 4A rankings in a couple months ... but, still, we don’t want to play the top teams.”

In 2021, Salpointe went 8-2 in the regular season and missed the Open for the first time. After the Lancers beat Phoenix Sunnyslope 63-24 in the first round of the 5A tourney, I asked one Lancer player if they liked being in a longer, easier-to-win tournament, and of course, he had a similar response.

Sure, making the Open would mean you’re one of the best teams in the state, but that postseason could only be one game.

There’s a reason why fight songs feature lines like “Let’s take state!” not “let’s achieve a high enough rank in MaxPreps’ secret algorithm and the AIA’s multiplier to get into the Open tournament!”

So let’s be honest: when it comes time to share pics with their grandkids, would these players rather show a screenshot of the PDF of the Open’s bracket or a selfie with a state championship trophy?

Or, just a thought, how cool would it be if CDO and Mica Mountain stayed in 4A and played again in a rematch for the state championship in Arizona Stadium — just like when eventual Arizona Wildcat and NFL running back Ka’Deem Carey led CDO to the state title on the UA campus against Sabino in 2009?

Imagine CDO star Kayden Luke battling Mica Mountain’s Kason Colbert at The Stadium for all the marbles.

We should be so lucky.