Pima draws St. Johns as a first-round opponent
By Jon Johnson
PHOENIX – The brackets are in and Pima and Santa Cruz flip-flopped while Thatcher slid to third for both teams to finish ranked No. 3 in the 2A and 3A Conferences, respectively, heading into the playoffs.
2A Conference
No. 3 Pima (8-0 conference, 9-1 overall) will host its opening-round game against No. 14 St. Johns (5-2 conference, 6-4 overall) at Edd Hubbard Field in Pima on Friday, Nov. 8, starting at 7 p.m.
The pairing is an interesting one for Pima after its stunning upset of then-No. 3 Santa Cruz, 29-22, on Friday night.
The Roughriders previously defeated St. Johns in the regular season on the same field on Sept. 20, but the score was just 7-2. Pima head coach Josh Wilkins said his team is eager to start the playoffs. After back-to-back 2A Championships, Pima was runner-up in 2023 after falling
41-24 to Scottsdale Christian Academy.
“We are very excited for our seating and our side of the bracket and have a really good chance to get back to the state championship,” Wilkins told the Gila Herald.
3A Conference
No. 3 Thatcher (8-1 conference, 8-2 overall) will host its opening-round game against No. 14 Gilbert Christian (5-4 conference, 6-4 overall) at EAC’s John Mickelson Field on Friday, Nov. 8, starting at 7 p.m.
Thatcher finished the regular season by dispatching No. 24 Morenci 43-6 on Friday night, ending the Wildcats’ season. No. 20 Safford also failed to qualify for the playoffs and fell to No. 4 Pusch Ridge 0-45 in the final regular-season game on Friday.
