Yellow Jackets, Roughriders Morenci-bound; Willcox netters welcome Bisbee, Benson; Tigers visit Fort Thomas netters on Friday
By Raymundo Frasquillo
GRAHAM COUNTY – The Marcie Lopeman-coached 3A No. 16 Thatcher Eagles (9-3, 9.8779 rating) host the No. 11 Tanque Verde Hawks (11-2, 14.3702) on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Thatcher also visits No. 25 Empire (7-7, 1.4080) on Thursday, Oct. 22. The region contests both have 6 p.m. starts.
Across the county, No. 20 Safford (7-6, 3.8273) visits No. 27 Show Low (2-10, minus 2.7293) on Monday, Oct. 19, hosts No. 46 Palo Verde Magnet (0-13, minus 25.7431) on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and visits No. 36 Andrada Polytechnic (5-5, minus 6.5491) on Oct. 22.
Twenty-third-ranked 2A Pima (7-7, 3,0382) hosts No. 42 Bisbee (3-10, minus 13.5726) on Friday, Oct. 23.
In Greenlee County, the Alisha Brewer-coached No. 27 Morenci Wildcats (6-6, minus 0.6586) host the Dan Romero-coached No. 28 Tombstone Yellow Jackets (5-7, minus 1.5423) on Monday, Oct. 19, and the Ruthie Butler-coached Pima Roughriders on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Cochise County has Sierra Vista American Leadership hosting Benson on Oct. 19 and Tombstone on Oct. 21 while No. 24 Willcox (7-6, 2.9683) hosts Bisbee on Oct. 19 and No. 18 Benson (10-4, 6.8788) on Oct. 21, and Benson visits No. 3 / 1A South Region Saint David (12-1, 19.6647) on Oct. 22.
Also this week (Oct. 19-24) for 3A South Region members, Empire hosts Andrada Polytechnic, No. 43 Sabino (1-11, minus 16.9969) hosts Palo Verde Magnet on Oct. 20; No. 9 Pusch Ridge (9-2, 15.4033) hosts No. 13 Maricopa Heritage (10-1, 13.0251) on Oct. 21; Pusch Ridge visits Tanque Verde and Amphitheater visits Sabino on Oct. 22; and Palo Verde Magnet visits No. 15 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (8-4, 10.2275) on Friday, Oct. 23.
In the 2A East Region this week (Oct. 19-24), No. 38 San Carlos (5-10, minus 8.3934) hosts No. 32 Lincoln Prep (3-8, minus 4.3971), No. 8 Gilbert Classical (9-3, 13.2219) visits No. 17 / 2A Central Region Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep (6-6, 6.9839), and No. 48 Miami (2-12, minus 17.8346) visits No. 31 / 1A East Region Winkelman Hayden (4-9, minus 16.0143) on Oct. 19; No. 6 San Tan Charter (10-2, 18.1395) hosts No. 2 / 2A Valley Region Phoenix Country Day School (10-2, 24.8457), San Carlos visits Gilbert Classical, No. 37 Gilbert Arete Prep (4-6, minus 6.3073) hosts Lincoln Prep, and No. 26 Globe (9-6, minus 0.5646) visits Miami on Oct. 21; and Arete Prep visits 3A No. 41/ 3A West Region Phoenix Madison Highland Prep (4-12, minus 12.1649) on Oct. 23.
In 1A action, the Darcy Barney-coached No. 13 Fort Thomas Apaches (9-5 seeding, 5.4376 rating) host Saint David on Friday, Oct. 23. It has a 5 p.m. start. But first, the Apaches are in Kearny against No. 21 Ray (7-7, minus 4.8562) on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Meanwhile, No. 17 Duncan (10-6 seeding, 2.5318 rating) has no matches scheduled this week.
This week (Oct. 19-24) for 1A East Region members, No. 31 Winkelman Hayden (4-9, minus 16.0143) hosts 2A No. 48 / 2A East Region Miami (2-12, minus 17.8346) on Oct. 19; No. 1 Scottsdale Cicero Prep (12-1, 24.6566) hosts 2A No. 19 / 2A Black Canyon Region Anthem Prep (9-5, 6.8662) and San Manuel visits No. 36 / 1A South Region ASDB (1-8, minus 21.8287) on Oct. 20; Cicero Prep hosts Hayden, Ray hosts No. 20 / 1A South Region San Simon (7-6, minus 1.3039), and No. 30 Superior (3-9, minus 15.0308) visits No. 6 / 1A South Region Patagonia (11-1, 12.7983) on Oct. 22; and No. 39 San Manuel (0-13, minus 30.1955) hosts No. 24 / 1A West Region Phoenix Valley Lutheran (7-7, minus 6.9352) on Oct. 24.
In the 1A South Region this week, No. 3 Saint David (12-1, 19.6647) visits No. 6 Patagonia (10-2, 12.7983) on Oct. 19; Patagonia hosts No. 18 Valley Union (7-5, 2.2759), No. 20 San Simon (7-6, minus 1.3039) hosts unranked Lourdes Catholic (2-5, unrated) on Oct. 20; No. 10 The Gregory School (11-4, 5.8978) hosts 2A No. 30 / 2A South Region Desert Christian (9-5, minus 2.7436) on Oct. 21; Saint David hosts 2A No. 18 / 2A Southeast Region Benson (10-4, 6.8788), Patagonia hosts No. 30 / 1A East Region Superior (3-9, minus 15.0308), Valley Union hosts Sells Baboquivari, and The Gregory School visits Lourdes Catholic, San Simon visits Ray on Oct. 22; Saint David visits 1A East Region Fort Thomas on Oct. 23; and Patagonia hosts 1A East Region Kearny Ray on Oct. 24.
3A State Rankings
Statewide 3A rankings as on noon on Oct. 16 were Gilbert Christian (13-0, 35.9933) No. 1 of 47, Chandler Valley Christian (8-1, 29.2389) No. 2, Tuba City (14-0, 25.0413) No. 3, Payson (10-1, 22.6819) No. 4, Snowflake (10-4, 19.3611) No. 5, Kayenta Monument Valley (12-3, 17.2708) No. 6, Phoenix Northwest Christian (9-5, 16.5153) No. 7, and Lakeside Blue Ridge (8-3, 16.0526) No. 8,
Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (9-2, 15.4033) was No. 9, Yuma Catholic (13-2, 15.3481) was No. 10, Tucson Tanque Verde (11-2, 14.3702) No. 11, Buckeye Odyssey Institute (12-2, 14.1028) No. 12, Maricopa Heritage (10-1, 13.0251) No. 13, Chandler Seton Catholic (8-6, 11.3058) No. 14, Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (8-4, 10.2275) No. 15, and Thatcher (9-3, 9.8779) No. 16.
Mesa Heritage Gateway (9-4, 9.6914) was No. 17, Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic (12-3, 8.3907) No. 18, Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (7-5, 5.1499) No. 19, Safford (7-6, 3.8273) No. 20, Ganado (7-7, 3.5302) No. 21, Fort Defiance Window Rock (8-5, 3.3008) No. 22, Surprise Highland Prep (8-6, 2.2325) No. 23, and Chino Valley (9-5, 2.1398) No. 24.
The top two region teams have an automatic berth. The Top 24 will be available for the 16-team bracket after Nos. 9-16 compete against Nos. 17-24 during the Play-In Round on Nov. 3. The winners will meet the Top 8 in the 16-team state tourney bracket.
Rankings for 3A South Region members as of noon on Oct. 9 were Vail Empire (7-5, 3.6750) No. 25, Tucson Amphitheater (5-6, minus 6.7940) No. 36, Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (3-5, minus 8.9395) No. 40, Tucson Sabino (1-11, minus 17.5285) No. 44, and Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (0-10, minus 24.2671) No. 46.
3A South Region
The region standings as of Oct. 16 were Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (18-8-2* overall, 9-2 seeding, 5-0 region), Tucson Tanque Verde (26-11, 11-2, 5-0), Thatcher (19-11*, 9-3, 3-1), Safford (11-10-2, 7-6, 2-2), Vail Empire (11-23, 7-7, 2-2), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (8-12, 5-5, 2-2), Tucson Amphitheater (7-9, 5-7, 1-3), Tucson Sabino (2-20, 1-11, 0-5), and Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (0-20*, 0-13, 0-4).
Region pairings to date resulted in wins for Thatcher of 3-0 (25-12, 25-6, 25-13) over Sabino on Aug. 27, of 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 25-18) over Safford on Sept. 29, and of 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-7) over Amphitheater on Oct. 5; Andrada Polytechnic of 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-11) over Sabino on Sept. 10 and 3-0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-9) over Palo Verde Magnet on Oct. 15; Empire of 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-17) over Sabino on Sept. 16 and of 3-0 (25-5, 25-18, 25-8) over Amphitheater on Oct. 1; Safford of 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-9) over Sabino on Sept. 21 and 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-13) over Amphitheater on Oct. 13; Pusch Ridge of 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-14, 25-13) over Safford on Sept. 23, of 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-13) over Empire on Sept. 29, of 3-1(23-25, 25-14, 25-11, 25-10) over Andrada Polytechnic on Oct. 1, of 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-16, 19-25, 16-14) over Thatcher on Oct. 13, and of 3-0 (25-2, 25-3, 25-3) over Palo Verde Magnet on Oct. 14; Tanque Verde of 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17) over Safford on Sept. 24, of 3-0 (25-6, 25-13, 25-14) over Andrada Polytechnic on Sept. 28, of 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-8) over Sabino on Sept. 30; and Amphitheater of 3-2 (25-14, 20-25, 25-8, 18-25, 15-8) over Palo Verde Magnet on Sept. 29.
2A State Rankings
Statewide 2A rankings as of noon on Oct. 16 were Chandler Prep (14-1, 26.3770) No. 1 of 55, Phoenix Country Day School (10-2, 24.8457) No. 2, Glendale Prep (14-1, 21.7322) No. 3, Scottsdale Christian (9-2, 20.0586) No. 4, Phoenix North Valley Christian (10-1, 18.9465) No. 5, Gilbert San Tan Charter (10-2, 18.1395) No. 6, Phoenix Horizon Honors (8-3, 15.5654) No. 7, and Gilbert Classical (9-3, 13.2219) No. 8,
Eagar Round Valley (12-2, 12.3552) was No. 9, Saint Johns (9-4, 11.5991) No. 10, Scottsdale Prep (8-5, 11.1931) No. 11, Mesa North American Leadership (9-4, 10.8522) No. 12, Mesa Heritage (9-3, 10.4176) No. 13, Camp Verde (8-5, 7.9228) No. 14, Glendale Trivium Prep (8-5, 7.8805) No. 15, and Sierra Vista American Leadership (7-2, 7.0079) No. 16.
Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep (6-6, 6.9839) was No. 17, Benson (10-4, 6.8788) No. 18, Anthem Prep (9-5, 6.8662) No. 19, Parker (8-5, 5.7545) No. 20, Kingman Academy (7-5, 5.6669) No. 21, Fountain Hills (6-6, 4.7999) No. 22, Pima (7-7, 3.0382) No. 23, and Willcox (7-6, 2.9683) No. 24.
The top two region teams have an automatic berth. The Top 24 will be available for the 16-team bracket after Nos. 9-24 face off during the Play-In Round on Nov. 3. The winners will meet the Top 8 in the 16-team state tourney bracket.
Rankings for the other 2A Southeast Region members were Morenci (6-6, minus 0.6586) No. 27, Tombstone (5-7, minus 1.5423) No. 28, Tucson Sabino (1-11, minus 17.5285) No. 44, and Bisbee (3-10, minus 13.5726) No. 42.
The rest of the East Region member rankings were Gilbert Arete Prep (4-6, minus 6.3073), Globe (9-6, minus 0.5646), No. 26, Chandler Lincoln Prep (3-8, minus 4.3971), San Carlos (5-10, minus 8.3934), and Miami (2-12, minus 17.8346).
2A Southeast Region
The region standings as of Oct. 16 were Willcox (21-13 overall, 7-6 seeding, 2-0 region), Morenci (8-18*, 6-6, 2-0), Pima (13-16, 7-7, 2-1), Sierra Vista American Leadership (20-8, 7-3, 1-1), Benson (12-8*, 10-4, 1-2), Tombstone (13-19, 6-7, 0-2), and Bisbee (4-15*, 3-10, 0-2).
Region pairings to date have resulted in a win of 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12) for Pima of 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12) over Tombstone on Sept. 28 and of 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-14, 17-15) over Benson on Oct. 7; Sierra Vista ALA of 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-11) over Bisbee on Sept. 30; and Willcox of 3-1 (26-24, 26-24, 11-25, 25-22) over Sierra Vista American Leadership on Oct. 7 and of 3-1 (25-16, 24-26, 25-16, 25-22) over Pima on Oct. 12; Morenci of 3-0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-13) over Bisbee on Oct. 12 and of 3-2 (7-25, 25-23, 26-28, 25-22, 15-12) over Benson on Oct. 14; and Benson of 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-18) over Tombstone on Oct. 15.
2A East Region
The region standings as of Oct. 16 were Gilbert San Tan Charter (13-7 overall, 11-2 seeding, 4-0 region), San Carlos (10-13*, 5-10, 2-1), Gilbert Arete Prep (10-8, 7-7, 2-1), Globe (10-13, 9-6, 1-2), Gilbert Classical (17-5, 9-3, 1-1), Chandler Lincoln Prep (9-12, 3-9, 0-2), and Miami (4-16*, 2-12, 0-3).
Region pairings to date have resulted in wins for San Tan Charter of 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-23) over Gilbert Classical on Sept. 3, of 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-15) over Globe on Sept. 30, of 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-15) over Miami on Oct. 15, and of 3-0 (25-12, 25-8, 25-22) over Lincoln Prep on Oct. 16; Arete Prep of 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-16) over Miami on Sept. 11 and of 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-21) over Globe on Sept. 14; Globe of 3-2 (15-25, 25-12, 25-19, 24-26, 15-11) over San Carlos on Sept. 23; San Carlos of 3-2 (20-25, 27-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-9) over Arete Prep on Oct. 12 and of 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-10) over Miami on Oct. 13; and Gilbert Classical of 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-23) over Lincoln Prep on Oct. 15.
1A State Rankings
The 1A State Rankings as of region standings as of noon on Oct. 16 were Scottsdale Cicero Prep (12-1 seeding, 24.6566 ranking) No. 1, Rock Point (14-0, 21.1627) No. 2, Saint David (11-0, 21.8477) No. 3, Flagstaff Basis (12-0, 18.5342) No. 4, North Phoenix Prep (10-2, 13.7712) No. 5, Patagonia (11-1, 12.7983) No. 6, Teec Nos Pos Red Mesa (8-1, 9.5833) No. 7, and Heber Mogollon (9-4, 9.1298) No. 8.
Glendale Desert Heights Prep (9-3, 6.4396) was No. 9, Tucson’s The Gregory School (11-4, 5.8978) No. 10, Joseph City (8-4, 5.6509) No. 11, Saint Michael (9-3, 5.6082) No. 12, Fort Thomas (9-5, 5.4376) No. 13, Williams (9-3, 3.8129) No. 14, Ash Fork (8-3, 2.9636) No. 15, and Tuba City Greyhills (6-4, 2.8315) No. 16.
The top 16 ranked teams will be the state tourney field at the conclusion of the regular season and region tourneys.
Rankings for other East Region teams were Duncan (10-6, 2.5318) No. 17, Kearny Ray (7-7, minus 4.8562) No. 21, Superior (3-9, minus 15.0308) No. 30, Winkelman Hayden (4-9, minus 16.0143) No. 31, and San Manuel (0-12, minus 30.1955) No. 39.
The other South Region members were ranked Elfrida Valley Union (7-5, minus 2.2759) No. 20, San Simon (7-6, minus 1.3039) No. 20, Tucson ASDB (1-8, minus 21.8287) No. 36, and Nogales Lourdes Catholic (2-5, unrated) not ranked.
1A East Region
The region standings as of Oct. 17 were Scottsdale Cicero Prep (21-8 overall, 12-1 seeding, 4-0 region), Fort Thomas (11-7, 9-5, 3-1), Duncan (17-9, 10-6, 3-2), Winkelman Hayden (4-9, 1-3, 4-9, 2-2), Kearny Ray (8-13, 7-7, 2-2), Superior (4-15, 3-9, 1-4), and San Manuel (0-13, 0-13, 0-5).
Region pairing results to date include Cicero Prep of 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-18) over Duncan on Aug. 31, of 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-19) over Fort Thomas on Oct. 1, of 3-0 over Superior on Oct. 6, and of 3-0 over Ray on Oct. 8; Fort Thomas of 3-0 over Hayden on Sept. 1, of 3-2 (18-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-9) over Duncan on Oct. 6, and of 3-0 over Superior on Oct. 8; Duncan of 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-20) over Ray on Sept. 22, of 3-0 (25-20, 25-7, 25-17) over Hayden on Oct. 1, and of 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-14) over San Manuel on Oct. 14; Hayden of 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-11) over San Manuel on Oct. 6 and of 3-1 (25-10, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19) over Superior on Oct. 13; Ray of 3-1 over San Manuel on Sept. 29 and of 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-9) over Superior on Oct. 14; and Superior of 3-2 (16-25, 18-25, 28-26, 27-25, 15-7) over San Manuel on Oct. 1.
1A South Region
The region standings as of Oct. 17 were Saint David (25-8 overall, 13-1 seeding, 4-0 region), Patagonia (16-7, 11-1, 4-1), Elfrida Valley Union (8-7*, 7-6, 3-2), Tucson’s The Gregory School (11-4, 2-3), San Simon (12-11, 8-6, 2-3), Tucson ASDB (1-12, 1-8, 0-4) and, Nogales Lourdes Catholic (3-8, 2-5, 0-3). Region pairings to date have resulted in wins for Saint David of 3-0 (25-5, 25-3, 25-7) over ASDB on Sept. 2, of 3-0 (25-3, 25-11, 25-9) over Lourdes Catholic on Sept. 4, of 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-9) over San Simon on Sept. 21, of 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-14) over The Gregory School on Oct. 6, and of 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-23) over Valley Union on Oct. 14; Patagonia of 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-11) over The Gregory School on Sept. 2, of 3-0 (25-7, 25-9, 25-13) over ASDB on Sept. 8, of 3-1 (25-10, 22-25, 25-5, 25-20) over San Simon on Oct. 2, and of 3-0 (25-20, 25-7, 25-19) over Lourdes Catholic on Oct. 6; The Gregory School of 3-0 (25-9, 25-8, 25-10) over ASDB on Sept. 3 and of 3-1 (19-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-20) over San Simon on Sept. 9; Valley Union of 3-0 over Lourdes Catholic on Sept. 11, of 3-2 (20-25, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 18-16) over The Gregory School on Oct. 8, and of ; and San Simon of 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 11-25, 15-13) over Valley Union on Sept. 15 and of 3-0 (25-5, 25-14, 25-10) ASDB on Sept. 18.
