Arizona high school football teams sweat it out before playoff selection time
October 30, 2015 by MaxPreps, AZPreps365
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See the Cesar Chavez High player in action.
Winning will remove all doubt for Cesar Chavez (Laveen).
The Champions head into Friday's season finale against Fairfax (Laveen) outside of the Division III postseason field at No. 17. At 8-1 it is a bit of a surprise, but a weak schedule has Cesar Chavez needing a win to get in.
A win over No. 9 Fairfax would give the Champions an automatic spot as sectional champion, but a loss will make things interesting. The team just ahead of them – No. 16 Bradshaw Mountain (Prescott Valley) (6-3) – is only up by 0.0181 points. Bradshaw plays No. 13 Maricopa.
Chavez is playing the higher ranked team so it's a possibility that the Champions might end up at No. 16, but that still might not be enough. That hope can be squashed by Tempe, which is currently No. 19 in D-III but would earn an automatic berth with a win over Seton Catholic (Chandler) as section champ, meaning the 16th-ranked team probably wouldn't qualify to make room for Tempe.
"I can see it both ways," Tempe coach Brian Walker said. "We've played a tough schedule compared to some of the teams ahead of us. It's there in black and white. There can be an argument as to why Tempe is No. 19."
Walker, whose team has rebounded from a 1-4 start with four straight wins, just wants the opportunity in the postseason should the Buffaloes beat Seton Catholic.
"I'm dealing with teenagers so I don't know what team will come out of the locker room," he said. "Hopefully it is the team that wants to fight."
Clearly there are a lot of different scenarios that will play out this week. The results won't be known until Saturday morning when the playoff matchups are announced by the AIA.
There are plenty of section titles to be decided throughout the five divisions as the regular season wraps up, but most of those candidates already have playoff spots locked up. One of those will be the game most of the state will be focused on, as No. 1 Hamilton (Chandler) (9-0) and No. 3 Chandler (8-1) play for the Division I, Section I title.
It doesn't get much better than playing a bitter rival with a sectional title and mostly likely the No. 1 seed on the line in the last game of the year.
Photos by MaxPreps photographers / Graphic by Ryan Escobar"I think this is the fourth or fifth time I've coached where the last game was for the region or section championship," Hamilton coach Steve Belles said. "It's always a pretty cool thing."
Division I sections will have outright winners in Centennial (Peoria) and Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) if they defeat lower-ranked opponents along with the Chandler-Hamilton winner.
"We want to get to 10-0 and get to the playoffs with momentum," Mountain Pointe senior wide receiver Ralph Roman said. "Winning (a section title) is part of getting to what we want to accomplish."
In Division II the Westview (Avondale) vs. Millennium (Goodyear) winner will take a title, while frontrunners Sunnyside (Tucson), Queen Creek, Skyline (Mesa), Marcos de Niza (Tempe) and Saguaro (Scottsdale) could wrap up titles with victories.
Division III has a couple head-to-head sectional battles going on as Mingus (Cottonwood) takes on Prescott and Sunrise Mountain (Peoria) faces off with Cactus (Glendale).
The marquee game in D-IV is River Valley (Mohave Valley) against Lake Havasu (Lake Havasu City), while in Division V, St. Johns vs. Round Valley (Eagar) has a winner-takes-all aspect added to an already heated rivalry.
Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic sports writer and current Prep Sports Director for 1013 Communications, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com.
See the Cesar Chavez High player in action.
Winning will remove all doubt for Cesar Chavez (Laveen).
The Champions head into Friday's season finale against Fairfax (Laveen) outside of the Division III postseason field at No. 17. At 8-1 it is a bit of a surprise, but a weak schedule has Cesar Chavez needing a win to get in.
A win over No. 9 Fairfax would give the Champions an automatic spot as sectional champion, but a loss will make things interesting. The team just ahead of them – No. 16 Bradshaw Mountain (Prescott Valley) (6-3) – is only up by 0.0181 points. Bradshaw plays No. 13 Maricopa.
Chavez is playing the higher ranked team so it's a possibility that the Champions might end up at No. 16, but that still might not be enough. That hope can be squashed by Tempe, which is currently No. 19 in D-III but would earn an automatic berth with a win over Seton Catholic (Chandler) as section champ, meaning the 16th-ranked team probably wouldn't qualify to make room for Tempe.
"I can see it both ways," Tempe coach Brian Walker said. "We've played a tough schedule compared to some of the teams ahead of us. It's there in black and white. There can be an argument as to why Tempe is No. 19."
Walker, whose team has rebounded from a 1-4 start with four straight wins, just wants the opportunity in the postseason should the Buffaloes beat Seton Catholic.
"I'm dealing with teenagers so I don't know what team will come out of the locker room," he said. "Hopefully it is the team that wants to fight."
Clearly there are a lot of different scenarios that will play out this week. The results won't be known until Saturday morning when the playoff matchups are announced by the AIA.
There are plenty of section titles to be decided throughout the five divisions as the regular season wraps up, but most of those candidates already have playoff spots locked up. One of those will be the game most of the state will be focused on, as No. 1 Hamilton (Chandler) (9-0) and No. 3 Chandler (8-1) play for the Division I, Section I title.
It doesn't get much better than playing a bitter rival with a sectional title and mostly likely the No. 1 seed on the line in the last game of the year.
Photos by MaxPreps photographers / Graphic by Ryan EscobarDivision I sections will have outright winners in Centennial (Peoria) and Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) if they defeat lower-ranked opponents along with the Chandler-Hamilton winner.
"We want to get to 10-0 and get to the playoffs with momentum," Mountain Pointe senior wide receiver Ralph Roman said. "Winning (a section title) is part of getting to what we want to accomplish."
In Division II the Westview (Avondale) vs. Millennium (Goodyear) winner will take a title, while frontrunners Sunnyside (Tucson), Queen Creek, Skyline (Mesa), Marcos de Niza (Tempe) and Saguaro (Scottsdale) could wrap up titles with victories.
Division III has a couple head-to-head sectional battles going on as Mingus (Cottonwood) takes on Prescott and Sunrise Mountain (Peoria) faces off with Cactus (Glendale).
The marquee game in D-IV is River Valley (Mohave Valley) against Lake Havasu (Lake Havasu City), while in Division V, St. Johns vs. Round Valley (Eagar) has a winner-takes-all aspect added to an already heated rivalry.
Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic sports writer and current Prep Sports Director for 1013 Communications, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com.
