No. 9 Pima hosts No. 10 Chandler Prep
By Raymundo Frasquillo
STATEWIDE – A total of 51 ranked teams and five independent teams will participate in the 2A Class crossover region pairings this week. Fourteen teams will take the field on Thursday, Oct. 23, and 42 on Friday, Oct. 24.
The East Region hosts the Metro 1 Region, the South 1 Region hosts the South 2 Region, the Metro 2 Region hosts the Metro 3 Region, the Metro 4 Region hosts the Metro 5 Region, and the North 2 Region hosts the North 1 Region.
East Region third seed Morenci (5-4 overall) hosts Metro 1 Region third seed Glendale Arete Prep (3-6), East Region second seed Pima (5-4) hosts Metro 1 Region second seed Chandler Prep (5-4), and South 2 Region top seed Willcox (8-1) visits South 1 Region top seed Tucson Tanque Verde (7-2) on Friday, Oct. 24 for 7 p.m. kick-offs.
The 14 teams playing on Oct. 23 include East Region fifth seed Miami (2-7) hosting Metro 1 Region fifth seed Florence American Leadership – Anthem South (2-7), South 1 Region fifth seed Santa Rita (0-9) hosting Independent Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic (0-9), Metro 2 Region fifth seed Phoenix NFL Yet (0-8) hosting Metro 2 Region fifth seed Phoenix Bourgade Catholic (5-4), and Metro 4 Region fifth seed Fort Mohave Desert Star (2-7) hosting Metro 5 Region fifth seed Laveen Heritage (4-5).
North 2 Region third seed Sanders Valley (4-5) hosts North 1 Region third seed Teec Nos Pos Red Mesa (4-5), North 2 Region fourth seed Keams Canyon Hopi (3-6) hosts North 1 Region fourth seed Many Farms (1-8), and North 2 Region fifth seed Tuba City Greyhills (0-8) hosts Metro 3 Region fifth seed Chino Valley (4-5).
Other Oct. 24 pairings include East Region top seed Saint Johns (8-1) hosting Metro 1 Region Gilbert San Tan Charter (8-1), East Region fourth seed Globe (5-4) hosting Metro 1 Region Chandler Lincoln Prep (3-6), South 1 Region second seed Palo Verde Magnet (6-3) hosting South 2 Region second seed Benson (5-4), South 1 Region third seed Bisbee (3-6) hosting South 2 Region third seed Santa Cruz (4-5), and South 1 Region fourth seed Tombstone (1-7) hosting South 2 Region fourth seed Desert Christian (3-5).
The Metro 2 Region top seed Phoenix Arizona Lutheran (8-1) hosts Metro 3 Region top seed Scottsdale Christian (9-0), Metro 2 Region second seed Parker (6-2) hosts Metro 3 Region second seed Camp Verde (7-2), Metro 2 Region third seed Scottsdale Prep (4-5) hosts Metro 3 Region third seed Phoenix Cortez (3-6), and Metro 2 Region fourth seed Phoenix Madison Highland Prep (1-6) hosts Metro 3 Region fourth seed Fountain Hills (3-6).
The Metro 4 Region top seed Phoenix Veritas Prep (9-0) hosts Metro 5 Region top seed Glendale Prep (7-2), Metro 4 Region second seed Phoenix Christian (7-2) hosts Metro 5 Region second seed Tonopah Valley (4-5), Metro 4 Region third seed Glendale Trivium Prep (6-3) hosts Metro 5 Region third seed Wellton Antelope (4-5), Metro 4 Region fourth seed Wittmann Mountainside (5-4) hosts Metro 5 Region fourth seed Avondale Highland Prep West (4-5), and Metro 4 Region sixth seed Surprise Highland Prep (2-7) hosts Metro 5 Region sixth seed California Winterhaven San Pasqual (2-7).
The North 2 Region top seed Tuba City (6-3) hosts North 1 Region top seed Holbrook (6-3), North 2 Region second seed Whiteriver Alchesay (6-3) hosts North 2 Region second seed Pinon (6-3), Independent San Carlos (5-3) hosts independent Tucson Catalina (3-5), and independent Scottsdale Coronado (0-8) hosts independent Kingman Academy (2-7).
No. 33 ARETE PREP Chargers (minus 7.4671 rating)
The Mike Marino-coached Chargers (3-6 overall, 2-2 region) averaged a score of 20-28 (177-251) per game or an 8-point deficit after nine games.
Arete Prep has totaled 2,132 offensive yards, averaging 5.3 (223-1,186) yards rushing and 12.8 (74-946) yards on 74-132 pass completions with three interceptions. The Chargers have scored 12 touchdowns on the ground and 12 through the air.
Defensively, the Chargers have 9.5 quarterback sacks, eight interceptions, and five fumble recoveries
The Maricopa County boys defeated Teec Nos Pos Red Mesa (41-6, Sept. 11), Florence American Leadership – Anthem South (48-0, Sept. 19), and Chandler Lincoln Prep (34-14, Sept. 26) plus fell to Glendale Prep (0-49, Aug. 22), American Leadership – Mesa North (0-35, Aug. 29), Buckeye Odyssey Institute (20-35, Sept. 5), Gilbert San Tan Charter (6-44, Oct. 3), Globe (21-28, Oct. 10), and Chandler Prep (7-40, Oct. 17).
Arete Prep lists a 23-member roster: 12 seniors, five juniors, three sophomores, and five freshmen. Seniors include Rayan Ahmed (2), Lucas Allgood (1), Wyatt Dees (65), Dillon Evans (11), Harrison Kremer (4), Jimmy Mills (21), C.J. Morris (67), Avery Pabin (51), Milan Patel (76), Anthony Ponce (8), Nicholas Shade (55), and Isaac Walter (71); juniors Gavin Heim (20), Childress Martinez (7), Case Morris (12), Adam Pham (3), and Nhattan Pham (10); sophomores Jack Glascock (6), Paton Sharp (68), and Anthony Soto (9); and freshmen Andrew Amistad (30), Eamonn Connelley (44), Nicholas Galanos (61), Nikolai Ortega (95), Will Straub (88).
The Chargers competed in the 5-member 2A Metro 1 Region with the Chandler Lincoln Prep Lightning, the Chandler Prep Titans, the Florence American Leadership – Anthem South Titans, and the Gilbert San Tan Charter Roadrunners.
No. 14 MORENCI Wildcats (4.6711 rating)
The Frankie Gonzalez-coached Wildcats (5-4 overall, 2-2 region) averaged a score of 23-14 (208-124) per game or a 9-point margin after nine games.
Morenci has totaled 2,729 offensive yards, averaging 6.3 (345-2,169) yards rushing and 12.9 (31-560) yards on 31-69 pass completions with five interceptions. The Wildcats have scored 23 touchdowns on the ground and four through the air.
Defensively, the Wildcats have 12 quarterback sacks, 11 interceptions, and three fumble recoveries
The Greenlee County boys defeated Safford (20-14, Aug. 22), Bisbee (26-0, Sept. 12), Globe (43-15, Sept. 19), Benson (20-14, Sept. 25), and Miami (52-0, Oct. 3) plus fell to Tucson Tanque Verde (16-24, Aug. 29), Willcox (14-23, Sept. 5), Pima (6-13, Oct. 10), and Saint Johns (12-21, Oct. 17).
Morenci lists a 37-member roster: 12 seniors, five juniors, 15 sophomores, and six freshmen. Seniors include Julian Aragon (13), Zachary Biggs (66), Michael Chavez (50), Dean Chee (65), Isaiah Cook (77), Jaymz Guzzo (4), Mathew Hernandez (0), Derick Lytle (9), Andre McCauley (12), Richard Rodriguez (7), Anthony Rogers (11), and Kiano Torres (3); juniors Joel Baca (28), Mason Clark (17), Camron Dodson (55), Jesse Strickland (70), and Heston Winters (88); sophomores Jacob Bracamonte (21), Brennen Burkhead (5), Jeremya Cruz (8), James Davis (59), Sonny Gobert (33), Eli Laney (1), David Licano (78), Braxton Merrill (18), Deegan Miller (10), Zane Randle (72), Joseph Rodriguez (23), Hunter Roumell (68), Joshwa Sandoval (52), and Loghan Szymanski (75); and freshmen Kyson Abril (6), Andres Aguilera (51), Bryden Herrera (74), Ceejay Madrid (60), Damian Paz (40), and Keston Armstrong (2).
The Wildcats competed in the 5-member 2A East Region with the Globe Tigers, the Miami Vandals, the Pima Roughriders, and the Saint Johns Redskins.
No. 9 CHANDLER PREP Titans (8.1050 rating)
Chandler Prep (7-2 overall, 3-1 region) averaged a score per game of 45-14 (408-123) or a 31-point margin after nine games.
Chandler Prep has totaled 2,132 offensive yards, averaging 5.3 (223-1,186) yards rushing and 12.8 (74-946) yards on 74-132 pass completions with three interceptions. The Chargers have scored 12 touchdowns on the ground and 12 through the air.
Defensively, the Titans have 13.5 quarterback sacks, 10 interceptions, and three fumble recoveries
The Maricopa County boys have wins over Scottsdale Prep (57-26, Aug. 22), Glendale Prep (34-21, Sept. 5), Wellton Antelope Union (49-7, Sept. 12), Bisbee (49-0, Sept. 26), Chandler Lincoln Prep (64-0, Oct. 3), Florence American Leadership – Anthem South (68-0, Oct. 9), and Gilbert Arete Prep (40-7, Oct. 17) plus fell to Glendale Trivium Prep (40-41, Aug. 29) and Gilbert San Tan Charter (7-21, Sept. 19).
The Chris Ator-coached Titans list a 29-member roster with six seniors, eight juniors, 13 sophomores, and two freshmen. Seniors include Avery Hamler (5), Jack Leonard (44), Malachi Madrid (72), Ian Mcjunkin (50), Brandon Myers (55), and Gavin Severa (20); juniors Amar Ahmed (8), Joey Busanni (32), Aaron Crawford (2), Kody Dodson (6), Jackson Erwin (52), Elliot Garone (4), Oliver Rodriguez (11), and Cooper Wilson-debois (77); sophomores Isaiah Aragon (68), Sawyer Avery (24), Marshawn Britt (21), Zane Eve (60), Liam Hine (19), Logan Kelly (18), Jack Killingworth (14), Yassin Mohammed (67), Colin Schulze (71), Ayden Scott (10), Jayden Segoviano (79), Simeon Shirley (9), and Bear Ware (17); and freshmen Xavier Guererro (66) and Corbin Pittman (12).
Chandler Prep competed in the 5-member 2A Metro 1 Region with the Chandler Lincoln Prep Lightning, the Florence American Leadership – Anthem South Titans, the Gilbert Arete Prep Chargers, and the Gilbert San Tan Charter Roadrunners.
No. 10 PIMA Roughriders (6.9312 rating)
The Josh Wilkins-coached Roughriders (5-4 overall, 3-1 region) averaged a score per game of 26-11 (231-98) or a 15-point margin after nine games.
Pima has totaled 2,132 offensive yards, averaging 5.7 (230-1,314) yards rushing and 9.0 (9-81) yards on 9-19 pass completions with nine interceptions. The Roughriders have scored 21 touchdowns on the ground and three through the air.
Defensively, the Roughriders have 19.5 quarterback sacks, 14 interceptions, and two fumble recoveries
The Graham County boys have wins over Tuba City (42-0, Aug. 29), Miami (55-0, Sept. 26), Globe (42-0, Oct. 3), Morenci (13-6, Oct. 10), and Phoenix Madison Highland (61-0, Oct. 17) plus fell to Scottsdale Christian (6-33, Aug. 21), Eagar Round Valley (0-36, Sept. 5), Willcox (0-7, Sept. 12), and Saint Johns (12-16).
Pima lists a 36-member roster with eight seniors, 12 juniors, seven sophomores, and nine freshmen. Seniors include Rooster Alder (11), Keegan Corona (22), Brett Flowers (61), Bryan Kelly (72), Garth Lunt (71), Dante McCray (73), Wade Peterson (44), and Charles Richardson (74); juniors Adam Bryce (23), Gilbert Bryce (1), Josh Bryce (55), Rhiley Good (60), Cedric Grimes (2), Jonathan Guerrero (52), Hollen Hoopes (78), Colt Lunt (45), Emmet McBiles (3), Case Mullenaux (66), Joe Palmer (42), and Hayden Wilkins (20); sophomores Roddy Allred (50), JoJo Bryce (62), Kaden Davis (8), Keegan Espinoza (7), Jax Haws (75), Ryett McBiles (10), and Mason Skinner (5); and freshmen Tucker Bryce (58), Jace Cameron (64), MacIan Duncan (16), Wyatt Elms (18), Ethan Lunt (81), Graham McBride (12), Landon Miner (25), Tanner Preston (65), and Brady McWhorter (85).
The Roughriders competed in the 5-member 2A East Region with the Globe Tigers, the Morenci Wildcats, the Miami Vandals, and the Saint Johns Redskins.
2A State Rankings
The final rankings following region crossover pairings on Oct. 23-24 will be released on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Rankings for the Top 24 of 51 2A teams as of Oct. 21 were Scottsdale Christian (9-0 overall, 19.9028 rating) No. 1, Phoenix Veritas Pre (9-0, 19.0540) No. 2, Phoenix Christian (7-2, 14.4808) No. 3, Saint Johns (8-1, 14.1736) No. 4, Willcox (7-1, 12.7241) No. 5,
Camp Verde (7-2, 11.7704) No. 6, Gilbert San Tan Charter (8-1, 11.5834) No. 7, and Phoenix Arizona Lutheran (8-1, 11.1849) No. 8.
Chandler Prep (7-2, 8.1050) was No. 9, Pima (5-4, 6.9312) No. 10, Glendale Trivium Prep (6-3, 6.8580) No. 11, Tucson Tanque Verde (7-2, 6.7411) No. 12, Glendale Prep (7-2, 6.7326) No. 13, Morenci (5-4, 4.6711) No. 14, Parker (6-2, 4.4575) No. 15, and Benson (5-4, 4.4319) No. 16.
Eloy Santa Cruz (4-5, 1.5144) was No. 17, Holbrook (6-3, 1.2887) No. 18, Globe (5-4, 0.1194) No. 19, Tonopah Valley (4-5, minus 0.1878) No. 20, Wittmann Mountainside (5-4, minus 0.7807) No. 21, Scottsdale Prep (3-5, minus 0.8315) No. 22, Tuba City (6-3, minus 1.5522) No. 23, and Whiteriver Alchesay (6-3, minus 1.1756) No. 24.
2A East Region Standings
Region standings as of Oct. 18 were Saint Johns (8-1 overall, 4-0 region), Pima (5-4, 3-1), Morenci (5-4, 2-2), Globe (5-4, 1-3), and Miami (2-7, 0-4).
In region pairings, it was Saint Johns over Pima (16-12, Sept. 19), Globe (41-0, Sept. 26), Miami (59-0, Oct. 10, and Morenci (21-12, Oct. 17); Pima over Miami (55-0, Sept. 26), Globe (42-0, Oct. 3), and Morenci (13-6, Oct. 10); Morenci over Globe (43-12, Sept. 19) and Miami (52-0, Oct. 3); and Globe over Miami (45-8, Sept. 12).
2A South 1 Region Standings
Region standings as of Oct. 18 were Tucson Tanque Verde (7-2 overall, 4-0 region), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (6-3, 3-1), Bisbee (3-6, 2-2), Tombstone (1-7, 1-3), and Tucson Santa Rita (0-9, 0-4).
The region pairing results were Tanque Verde over Palo Verde Magnet (69-0, Sept. 5), Santa Rita (59-6, Sept. 26), Bisbee (62-8, Oct. 3), and Tombstone (64-0, Oct. 17); Palo Verde Magnet over Tombstone (32-18, Sept. 26), Santa Rita (0-77, Oct. 10), and Bisbee (21-16, Oct. 17); Bisbee over Santa Rita (54-6, Sept. 19) and Tombstone (46-0, Oct. 10); and Tombstone over Santa Rita (6-63, Oct. 3).
2A South 2 Region Standings
Region standings as of Oct. 18 were Willcox (8-1 overall, 3-0 region), Benson (5-4, 2-1), Eloy Santa Cruz (4-5, 1-2), and Tucson Desert Christian (3-5, 0-3).
In region pairings, it was Willcox over Desert Christian (58-0, Oct. 3), Santa Cruz (42-23, Oct. 10), and Benson (26-17, Oct. 17); Benson over Santa Cruz (28-26, Oct. 3) and Desert Christian (67-7, Oct. 10), Santa Cruz over Desert Christian (57-15, Oct. 17).
Saint Johns – 21, Morenci – 12
Senior Derick Lytle crossed the goal line with 2:16 left in the third quarter, and senior Jaymz Guzzo caught a pass in the end zone for a 9-yard score with a second remaining to play, both on 2nd-and-goal situations. The visiting Wildcats outscored their hosts 12-0 during the final 14:16. However, it was not enough to offset the 21-0 deficit already in place.
Saint Johns senior Sam Winters sprinted 43 yards down the sideline with 3:21 left in the opening quarter on first down during the second possession. Senior Treharn Platt added the conversion kick. The Redskins struck again two possessions later. Junior Caden Waite connected with senior Trace Nielson for a 9-yard reception on 2nd-and-goal. Saint Johns led 13-0 with 39 seconds left in the first half.
The initial second-half possession resulted in a 7-play, 40-yard drive culminating with junior Bridgen Heap stepping in from two yards out on 2nd-and-goal. Nielson added the conversion run as the Redskins enjoyed a 21-0 advantage with 3:04 elapsed in the second half.
For the evening, four touchdowns were scored on 2nd-and-goal and one on a first down.
Morenci netted 278 offensive yards, averaging 2.9 (20-58) yards rushing and 12.9 (17-220) yards on 17-29 pass completions with no interceptions. The Wildcats scored once each on the ground and through the air. Saint Johns totaled 287 yards, averaging 5.2 (36-188) yards rushing and 12.4 (8-99) yards on 8-39 pass completions with no interceptions.
