The regular season has concluded and the brackets have been released for the 3A, 4A and 5A conferences. 

There were some technical difficulties with the bracket release show that kept the brackets from being released live like in year’s past, but the drama was at a feverpitch nonetheless. 

The team at Arizona Varsity, along with an anonymous voice, came together to share their insight on how the brackets played out. Below are the questions asked of every Team AZV member. 

• What are some takeaways from the final bracket?
• Looking at the path for the top two seeds in the conference, which team has the most difficult route to the championship?
• Which team is the favorite now at the end of the season? Any new dark horses? 
• Who do you believe will be playing in the conference championship? 

Answers to each question for the 4A Conference are below. 

What are some takeaways from the final bracket?

Chris Eaton, Gridiron Arizona: Lake Havasu was a victim of the strength of schedule aspect in Week 10. The Knights were No. 5 heading into their last game at home against Somerton and won that contest 55-0. However, Somerton, in its first varsity season, was historically bad. The Toros went 0-10 and got outscored 400-17.  Despite the win, Lake Havasu dropped FIVE spots to 10. That’s a big deal in the 4A playoffs because now, instead of a week off followed by a home game, Havasu will have to play in the first round. The Knights host Sierra Linda and if they win, will have a 300-mile trip southeast to Tucson to play defending 4A champion Mica Mountain (who is off this week as the 7 seed).

Ralph Amsden, Arizona Varsity Publisher: The only surprise to me was Coconino being ranked 14th. Yes, they went 6-4, but they had a 4th quarter lead on both St. Mary’s and No. 2 Snowflake, lost by 3 to 5A Sunrise Mountain, and had a one score loss to No. 3 Bradshaw Mountain. It would be different if they didn’t have any quality wins, but they beat No. 4 Mohave.

JJ Digos, Arizona Varsity Photographer/Writer: In 4A it was a little disappointing to see how close 7-3 Pueblo was to making the 24th seed. Great season but to be percentage points short of a playoff spot is incredibly heartbreaking.

I do believe that something should be done with region alignments to create some sort of value in winning a region championship. I know SOS is a big deal and all, but I do believe that a region champ should be deserving of a playoff berth. But again, this also comes down to what each conference athletic directors ultimately decide. 

Adam Beadle, Arizona Varsity Multimedia Specialist: 1-through-8 are all great teams who I feel like can win on big-time playoff matchup on any given night, but I still think Arcadia is the king, especially with the way they played in the second half against Snowflake. I think the 4A Round 2 in 4A is going to be one of the most exciting parts of this year’s playoffs in the entire state. I’d love for a team to surprise all of us. I just don’t think it’s going to happen. But who knows? 4A has been wild this year.

Brett Quintyne, C-Town Rivals: The 4A shows how important scheduling is. Pueblo finished the season on a 7 game winning streak and look how close they were to making it in. Paradise Honors had better power rankings but finished at 5-5 and is in. No argument here, its fair. For anyone who finished with a winning record it’s not a bad idea to really toughen up your schedule to have a better chance at playing into November. Props to Flowing Wells, it had been awhile since they had made the post season.

Zach Alvira, Arizona Varsity Writer: Not much of a surprise here but the 4A Conference is going to be so interesting to see how it plays out. We saw upsets on multiple occasions from manny of the teams in the final 24, and I expect that to be the case yet again. Peoria has been on a roll, Mica Mountain is still a threat and Marcos de Niza is highly underrated. Couple those with Arcadia being a powerhouse and now expected to win, as well as a Snowflake team eager for a rematch with the Titans, this is going to be fun.

Anonymous: Peoria seems like the hottest team in the 4A conference and is playing their best ball at the right time. They rolled through the region with Dontay Tyson out due to injury and will have him back in the postseason. Their two headed rushing attack has become lethal and their defense has become better and better. Snowflake outside of a tough battle versus Arcadia has pulled out multiple wins in different ways and has the experience to win in the postseason.

Looking at the path for the top two seeds in the conference, which team has the most difficult route to the championship?

Chris Eaton, Gridiron Arizona: Arcadia and Snowflake were the most consistent 4A teams all season (in a chaotic conference) and remained 1 and 2 with the seeds switching as the Titans got the road win at Snowflake on Friday. Looking at the paths to Mountain America Stadium, Arcadia’s win gives them the more favorable route.  The Titans would face the Deer Valley/St. Mary’s winner, then likely Marcos de Niza followed by Combs or Mohave in the semis (in Scottsdale). Snowflake likely has Eastmark (who has lost three straight) in the second round, but then could play IMO the two best teams in the bracket not named Arcadia & Snowflake. Mica Mountain could loom in the quarters followed by Bradshaw Mountain in the semis. Mica Mountain has won 6 straight games and given up a TOTAL of 20 points in that run (4 shutouts). Bradshaw, Grand Canyon Region champs, has won 7 in a row since a close 16-13 loss to Snowflake.

Ralph Amsden, Arizona Varsity Publisher: Snowflake has the more difficult path to the final game, for sure. Bradshaw Mountain, Gila Ridge, Coconino and last year’s champion, Mica Mountain, are all on their side of the bracket. Homefield is going to be extremely important for the Lobos.

JJ Digos, Arizona Varsity Photographer/Writer: Most difficult path to the 4A title game has to be No. 2 Snowflake’s. It would start with a potential matchup with No. 15 Eastmark in the second round. The Firebirds gave the Lobos all they could handle at home in East Mesa back in October, but a late Lobos 80+ yard TD run, followed by a pick-6 that sealed the game ultimately made the 26-6 scoreline look a little bit more dominant in the Lobos favor. A potential third round matchup against No. 7 Mica Mountain will be an absolute war between two of the most physical defenses in the 4A conference.

Without a doubt, Snowflake will have to play its best football to make it back to Mountain America Stadium for the second time in 4 years.

Adam Beadle, Arizona Varsity Multimedia Specialist: This might shock some people, but I think Snowflake has the most challenging path, and I say that because the Lobos may have to go up against some teams that have historically had success in the playoffs—namely, Eastmark and Mica Mountain.

Brett Quintyne, C-Town Rivals: The 1 and 2 seeds have an equally difficult path to the championship. 

Zach Alvira, Arizona Varsity Writer: Snowflake’s path is for sure the most difficult as the Lobos have a potential quarterfinal matchup with Mica Mountain on the horizon. But any of the other teams, especially Lake Havasu and Eastmark, could give the Lobos headaches if they match up at some point.

Anonymous: Out of every path, the toughest I see for a top two seed would be Snowflake in 4A. The Lobos could draw a path of Eastmark, Mica Mountain, Bradshaw Mountain, and whomever from the other side. All three of their potential opponents to get to the championship game have the ability to beat Snowflake in a playoff game. The biggest advantage for Snowflake however is a home atmosphere that may be second to none in the state. 

Which team is the favorite now at the end of the season? Any new dark horses? 

Chris Eaton, Gridiron Arizona: I think Arcadia clearly established itself as the favorite Friday night in hostile territory out in Snowflake. The Titans won 32-22 behind the run game of Ryan Jimenez (41 carries, 250 yards, 2 TDs). The Titans haven’t played for a state championship since they won their 1962 title (that’s even before my time on this Earth). At that time, there were only 2 rounds of playoffs. At midseason, I made Sahuaro and Eastmark the dark horses. Think I’m moving off of those two and taking Mica Mountain and Combs. The playoffs are quite often about defense and the Coyotes have that in spades (6 shutouts).

Ralph Amsden, Arizona Varsity Publisher: Arcadia’s game with Snowflake was close, but I watched it, and they felt like the better team. They earned the 1-seed and the right to be thought of as the clear favorite. As far as dark horses, you have to consider Gila Ridge out of Yuma extremely dangerous as a 6-seed. After losing the first game of the season to Lake Havasu, they rattled off 9 straight wins, including wins over Northwest Christian and St. Mary’s. If you look at what they have on offense, it’s enough to surprise some teams. Qb Isaac Soliz has 30 TD passes to only 4 INTs, Pretes Boxx III has 1,250 yards rushing and 19 TDs in the last 8 games alone, and WR Gabriel Cota is on the verge of back-to-back 10 TD reception seasons.

JJ Digos, Arizona Varsity Photographer/Writer: In 4A, Arcadia is my favorite. Everything runs through 44th Street and Indian School. I believe that they will get tested a bit against a Peoria/Marcos de Niza winner in the quarterfinals. Look out for Mohave and Joe Yoney, I think they will meet the Titans in the semis. I would absolutely love to see that matchup.

Adam Beadle, Arizona Varsity Multimedia Specialist: In 4A, Marcos de Niza is a team that really catches my eye at No. 8 as a dark horse. After watching them take down Tempe last Thursday, the Padres are getting hot at the right time, and they genuinely seem like they believe in each other.

Brett Quintyne, C-Town Rivals: I’m really happy with the season that Gila Ridge has had. With that being said, I think we have to look for the top 2 seeds to advance to the 4A finale.

Zach Alvira, Arizona Varsity Writer: Arcadia is without a doubt the favorite to win the conference, especially after the Titans knocked off Snowflake to end the regular season. But as we have seen all season, the 4A Conference is unpredictable. At this point, I truly feel any team can make a run. Gila Ridge has been impressive, Marcos de Niza is a sleeper pick, too. I still haven’t closed the door on a potential Mica Mountain repeat, either. This may be the most entertaining bracket.

Anonymous: 4A is a bit of a wild card as there’s so many teams that can win it. Arcadia appears to be the favorite after finishing the season 10-0 with wins over other contenders.

Who do you believe will be playing in the conference championship? 

Chris Eaton, Gridiron Arizona: Gotta ride those top 2 seeds again here and am looking for an Arcadia-Snowflake rematch in the title game on Dec. 5 in Tempe.  Snowflake made the 4A final in 2022 and the town turned out!

Ralph Amsden, Arizona Varsity Publisher: Right now, I think Arcadia is a safe bet coming out of the top half of the bracket, with an outside shot at Mohave shocking the entire state in the semifinals. In the bottom half of the bracket, I like a surprise semifinal between No. 6 Gila Ridge and No. 7 Mica Mountain, with Mica Mountain making a return trip to the championship game.

JJ Digos, Arizona Varsity Photographer/Writer: Arcadia vs. Snowflake

Adam Beadle, Arizona Varsity Multimedia Specialist: No 1. Arcadia vs No. 2 Snowflake

Brett Quintyne, C-Town Rivals: Arcadia vs Snowflake

Zach Alvira, Arizona Varsity Writer: Pretty straight forward here. Snowflake vs Arcadia. Great matchup. 

Anonymous: In 4A I’ll take Peoria versus Snowflake