We didn’t really expect the final week of the regular season for the 6A Conference to come to an end without any drama, right?
Maybe we expected some. But what took place last week was surely not on many people’s bingo card.
Upsets, double-overtime games and a senior backup quarterback stepping up in the national spotlight headline this past week’s In Review for Arizona Varsity.
Queen Creek stuns Red Mountain on the road
Arizona Varsity Publisher and CEO Ralph Amsden posed the question on Twitter/X Friday night.
“Who had Queen Creek beating Red Mountain on the road to end the season in their crystal ball?”
Queen Creek’s response was perfect.
The Bulldogs have dealt with injuries all season, most notably to star quarterback Tate Reynolds. Reynolds’ senior season has been anything but what he expected, sidelined most of the year and now out for the remainder of the season.
But his teammates played an inspired brand of football Friday night, stunning Red Mountain at home to solidify a playoff spot. Sophomore quarterback Sawyer Hales passed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on the night, while senior David Rossen got it done on the ground with 83 rushing yards and a score.
But it was the Bulldogs’ defense that truly shined, holding Red Mountain to 14 points until a late touchdown and 2-point conversion by the Mountain Lions with the game decided. The Queen Creek defense combined for 10 tackles for loss and five sacks on the night. They also forced two interceptions and three fumbles, one of which was returned 55 yards for a touchdown by Bear Fisher, the team’s standout tight end.
The win helped Queen Creek earn a home 6A play-in game as the No. 16 seed. The Bulldogs host No. 17 Salpointe Catholic. Red Mountain fell to No. 6 in the Open Division rankings and now faces a red hot ALA Queen Creek team that has won five in a row since starting 0-5.
Mountain View outlasts upset-minded Highland in double overtime thriller
Mountain View and Highland combined for over 700 yards of offense Friday night, and it took two overtimes to decide the winner.
Highland has been playing catch up all season after an uncharacteristic 0-4 start to the season. At 4-5 entering the Week 11 tilt, the Hawks still weren’t too comfortable as one of the last three teams in the 6A Conference playoffs. They had to leave it all out on the field against the Toros. Mountain View meanwhile was reeling after two straight losses before beating Desert Ridge by 10 touchdowns.
The result was a thriller between the two schools separated by just a handful of miles in the East Valley.
Mountain View was led by quarterback Brady Goodman, who passed for 252 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 138 yards and three more scores. All three of his touchdown passes went to wideout Talan Arnett, who hauled in 13 catches for 140 yards overall. Arnett became the 6A touchdown receptions leader in the process, beating out former Perry standout Colby Dickie.
The Toro defense got the final stop against Highland in the second overtime period, corralling Hawks quarterback Paiden Cash Dalhaug inside the 5.
Senior Daniel Vaita steps up big to save Hamilton’s perfect season
Hamilton was dead in the water.
Chandler held a commanding 27-13 lead over the Huskies at halftime and extended it in the third quarter. Standout Husky sophomore quarterback Jax Sculley went down with a knee injury, leaving the Hamilton offense stagnant.
That is until senior Daniel Vaita found his groove.
The Huskies started chipping away at the Chandler lead. But a pick-six interception seemed to end the comeback bid. Until it didn’t.
Hamilton came storming back, eventually pulling to within a point after sophomore star wideout Roye Oliver III made an incredible diving grab in the back of the end zone. A Chandler punt later and Skyler Cole capped off the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run.
Hamilton outscored Chandler 42-14 in the second half to complete the perfect regular season with a 55-41 victory in the BAttle for Arizona Avenue. Vaita passed for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Oliver hauled in 12 passes for 198 yards and two scores. He also had a punt return for a touchdown. Senior running back Jacob Brown added two touchdowns of his own to go along with 105 yards on the ground. Cole led the way with 147 rushing yards and the touchdown that gave Hamilton its first lead with 2:30 remaining.
The Huskies were announced the next morning as the No. 1 seed in the Open Division playoffs for the first time since 2021. But it came with a price as Sculley’s knee injury will likely keep him out the rest of the season.
Upsets dominate 3A-5A first-round playoff games
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise for the 4A Conference. Those teams have been opening the door for each other all season.
But all other conferences had their fair share of stunners in the opening round of the playoffs.
5A
No. 17 Cienega traveled up from Tucson to face No. 16 Sunnyslope, a team that many believed to be a top 10 program at one point this season. The Bobcats came away with a 49-35 upset win.
In similar fashion, No. 20 Yuma Catholic brought an end to the No. 13 Millennium Tigers season Friday night, 35-28.
Mountain View Marana, the 18-seed, traveled south and knocked off No. 15 Buena, 27-8.
4A
Things got weird in a hurry.
No. 24 Paradise Honors ended No. 9 Peoria’s season with a 31-21 win.
No. 20 Northwest Christian beat No. 13 Walden Grove on the road, 52-46.
No. 22 Estrella Foothills went to Sahuaro and knocked off the No. 11 Cougars, 17-14.
3A
Arguably the biggest upset of the night took place in 3A when No. 13 Florence traveled to the white mountains and beat No. 6 Thatcher, 14-6. That result sent shockwaves across the state.
No. 10 Gilbert Christian traveled to Payson and knocked off the No. 7 Longhorns, 25-15.
More notable headlines from Week 11
- ALA Queen Creek ended the regular season on a five-game win streak after beating Casteel 41-21. Did the Arizona Varsity team awaken a sleeping giant?
- Mesa capped off a 4-1 stretch to end the regular season with a 41-15 win over Westwood to earn the No. 15 seed in the playoffs and a home 6A play-in game.
Open Division Rankings
1 Hamilton (bye)
2 Basha (bye)
3 Liberty (bye)
4 Chandler (bye)
5 Brophy
6 Red Mountain
7 Pinnacle
8 Mountain View
9 Centennial
10 Williams Field
11 ALA Queen Creek
12 Casteel
Open Division Play-In Games
9 Centennial at 8 Mountain View
12 Casteel at 5 Brophy
11 ALA Queen Creek at 6 Red Mountain
10 Williams Field at 7 Pinnacle
6A Conference Play-In Round
20 Sandra Day O’Connor at 13 Higley
19 Westwood at 14 Perry
18 Highland at 15 Mesa
17 Salpointe Catholic at 16 Queen Creek
Second round playoff matchups
5A Conference
17 Cienega at 1 Desert Edge
9 Desert Mountain at 8 Cactus
12 Notre Dame Prep at 5 Horizon
20 Yuma Catholic at 4 Marana
14 Mountain Pointe at 3 Desert View
11 Campo Verde at 6 Canyon View
10 Cactus Shadows at 7 Arizona College Prep
18 Marana Mountain View at 2 ALA Gilbert North
4A Conference
16 St. Mary’s at 1 Arcadia
24 Paradise Honors at 8 Marcos de Niza
12 ALA West Foothills at 5 Combs
20 Northwest Christian at 4 Mohave
14 Coconino at 3 Bradshaw Mountain
22 Estrella Foothills at 6 Gila Ridge
10 Lake Havasu at 7 Mica Mountain
15 Eastmark at 2 Snowflake
3A Conference
8 Show Low at 1 Ben Franklin
13 Florence at 5 Pusch Ridge
6 Crismon at 3 Round Valley
10 Gilbert Christian at 2 Valley Christian
2A Conference Quarterfinals
9 Tanque Verde at 1 Veritas Prep
5 Arizona Lutheran at 4 St. Johns
14 Benson at 6 Willcox
7 San Tan Charter at 2 Scottsdale Christian
1A State Championship, Saturday, Nov. 15 at Coronado High School, 6 p.m.
2 Bagdad vs 1 Hayden
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