High school football: 1A stages final four while big schools close out regular season
In tackle football this week, big schools close out the regular season while 3A and 2A start playoffs and 1A stages its final four.
Region titles are on the line for 4A to 6A while four Southern Arizona schools partake in the smaller school playoffs.
All games are at 7 p.m.
No. 13 Lakeside Blue Ridge (7-3) at No. 4 Pusch Ridge Christian (9-1)
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Notable: Blue Ridge leads Arizona in state championships with 15 but their last was in 2013. Scottsdale Saguaro is second with 14 state championships. Pusch Ridge's state title came in 2015. This season, Pusch Ridge has won eight games in a row while Blue Ridge has lost three in a row.
No. 9 Willcox (7-3) at No. 8 Scottsdale Prep (9-1)
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Notable: Willcox faces a Scottsdale team for a second straight postseason. Last year they lost 49-7 to Scottsdale Christian in the first round. Willcox has made it to the playoffs four straight seasons.
No. 11 Camp Verde (7-3) at No. 6 Bisbee (9-1)
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Notable: Bisbee has won seven straight, Camp Verde has won four in a row. Camp Verde is located in Verde Valley, between Flagstaff and Phoenix.
No. 4 St. David (9-1) vs. No. 1 Winkelman Hayden (10-0)
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Notable: St. David faces top ranked Hayden on neutral ground as the last two rounds of the 1A tournament are at Scottsdale Coronado. Hayden has won 22 games in a row, including the state championship last year, after dispatching Desert Christian 77-6 last week. St. David has won six in a row.
No. 4 Phoenix Brophy Prep (8-1) at No. 11 Salpointe Catholic (6-2)
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Notable: Right now there are five 6A teams in the Open (like Brophy, who is No. 7) so Salpointe is playing for a chance to move up to a top four seed and potentially host two playoff games in addition to the 6A Central title.
No. 19 Cienega (5-4) at No. 7 Buena (7-2)
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Notable: The Open currently features three 5A teams so if playoffs started today, Buena would be the four seed and Cienega the 16.
No. 29 Flowing Wells (4-5) at No. 23 Maricopa (4-5)
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Notable: Flowing Wells has a chance to finish with their first .500 or better record since 2018 when they went 8-3.
No. 6 Ironwood Ridge (8-1) at No. 17 Mountain View (5-4)
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Notable: Ironwood Ridge dropped a spot in the rankings, below Tucson High, who they beat 30-27 on the road, after the Badgers knocked off Mountain View 34-21 last week.
No. 5 Tucson High (7-2) at No. 45 Nogales (0-9)
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Notable: The Apaches, losers of 19 in a row, look to avoid a second straight 0-10 season. However, Nogales' flag football team did beat Tucson High 13-6 on the road on Monday.
No. 34 Desert View (2-7) at No. 32 Sunnyside (3-6)
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Notable: The Blue Devils lead the Sunnyside Unified School District rivalry series 16-5 according to azfootballarchives.com . However, the Jaguars are 4-7 against Sunnyside in the 21st century after going 1-9 against SS in the 1900s.
No. 44 Rio Rico (3-6) at No. 53 Cholla (1-8)
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Notable: Rio Rico has lost four in a row and Cholla has dropped seven in a row.
No. 50 Rincon/University (2-7) at No. 32 Empire (5-4)
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Notable: Empire senior running back Ngonkra Fuangunyi has rushed for 1,177 yards this season, an average of 130.8 per game.
No. 28 Catalina Foothills (2-7) at No. 3 Mica Mountain (9-0)
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Notable: Catalina Foothills is one of the six schools to beat Mica Mountain, knocking off the Thunderbolts 29-26 in 2022.
No. 29 Sahuaro (3-6) at No. 41 Pueblo (2-7)
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Notable: Sahuaro and Pueblo have only played twice in the Max Preps era (since 2004). They split the pair of games, with the Warriors winning in 2021 and the Cougars finishing on top last year.
No. 26 Douglas (5-4) at No. 27 Sahuarita (6-3)
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Notable: Sahuarita has already tripled their win total from last year, when they went 2-8.
No. 13 Canyon del Oro (6-3) at No. 10 Walden Grove (6-3)
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Notable: Walden Grove's three losses are by five points to No. 8 Phoenix Northwest Christian, by three to No. 5 Phoenix Arcadia and by 10 to No. 3 Mica Mountain.
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