By Jon Johnson
PHOENIX – After three straight appearances in the 2A State Football Championship, the Arizona Interscholastic Association reclassification committee has moved the Pima Roughriders up to the 3A Conference for football pending appeal.
Pima head football coach Josh Wilkins told the Gila Herald that the school intends to appeal the reclassification and will also include bringing Morenci back into the 2A Conference.
“I don’t know why we have a system that punishes you for success,” Wilkins said. “Once the appeal process is completed and if we stay in 3A, I promise not to complain; I just want a fair chance. I don’t know how they expect us to compete week in and week out with teams that are two-and-a-half to three times our size. I played 15 kids all year last year, not including special teams, which I had to have underclassmen play to get people off the field, and one injury could have devastated us.”
Schools have until Jan. 7, 2025, to appeal the conference placement. When play resumes next year, Pima is expected to debut a new field at its new high school.
The AIA released the alignments on Wednesday and listed 38 teams for the 3A Conference, with three new additions – Pima (up from 2A) and Apache Junction and Empire (down from 4A).
Other local area teams, including Morenci, Thatcher, and Safford, are all classified in the 3A Conference for football. Regions have not been released.
