The 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A state playoffs got out to a quick start Tuesday night and seven teams from Southern Arizona all advanced to the next round, scheduled for Friday night across the state:
No. 5 Tucson beat No. 12 Perry 50-21 at home and the Badgers (25-2) will play at No. 4 Millennium (22-7) in a 6A quarterfinal game.
No. 5 Marana struggled early but came back to defeat No. 12 Fairfax 48-43 at home. The Tigers (22-4) will travel to No. 4 Chaparral (25-4) in a 5A quarterfinal match.
MORE ON THE MARANA GAME HERE
No. 7 Cienega and No. 9 Ironwood Ridge will also advance to the 5A quarterfinal round while No. 11 Sahuaro and No. 16 Mountain View lost in the first round.
No. 5 Pueblo beat No. 12 Moon Valley 66-44 at home and the Warriors (26-1) will travel to No. 4 Flagstaff (26-5) in a 4A quarterfinal game. No. 9 Canyon del Oro also advances but No. 15 Rio Rico saw their season come to an end.
No. 14 Tanque Verde beat No. 19 Florence 53-43 to advance to the 3A second round where the Hawks (23-4) will play No. 3 Chinle (18-6) at Ganado High School. It was the first playoff victory for Tanque Verde in program history. No. 17 Empire lost their first playoff game since 2010.
No. 5 Pusch Ridge had a first-round bye and the Lions will face. No. 12 Yuma Catholic at Amphitheater at 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, FEB 14
GIRLS 6A
FIRST ROUND
No. 5 Tucson 50, No. 12 Perry 21
GIRLS 5A
FIRST ROUND
No. 5 Marana 48, No. 12 Fairfax 43
No. 7 Cienega 43, No. 10 Ironwood 37
No. 9 Ironwood Ridge 25, No. 8 Maricopa 46
No. 6 Desert Edge 51, No. 11 Sahuaro 46
No. 1 Mesquite 93, No. 16 Mountain View 31
GIRLS 4A
FIRST ROUND
No. 5 Pueblo 66, No. 12 Moon Valley 44
No. 9 Canyon del Oro 57, No. 8 Thunderbird 46
No. 2 Seton Catholic 90, No. 15 Rio Rico 22
GIRLS 3A
FIRST ROUND
No. 5 Pusch Ridge, BYE
No. 14 Tanque Verde 53, No. 19 Florence 43
No. 16 Monument Valley 66, No. 17 Empire 49
WEDNESDAY, FEB 15
BOYS 5A
FIRST ROUND: 6:30 p.m.
No. 12 Mountain View at No.5 Buena
No. 11 Paradise Valley at No. 6 Cienega
No. 10 Sahuaro at No. 7 Cholla
BOYS 4A
FIRST ROUND: 6:30 p.m.
No. 15 Saguaro at No. 2 Salpointe
14 Higley at No. 3 Catalina Foothills
11 Marcos de Niza at No. 6 Rio Rico
BOYS 3A
FIRST ROUND: 6:30 p.m.
No. 20 Monument Valley at No. 13 Sabino
No. 21 Empire at No. 12 Page
No. 22 Tanque Verde at No. 11 Florence
FRIDAY, FEB 17
GIRLS 6A
QUARTERFINALS
No. 5 Tucson at No. 4 Millennium, 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS 5A
QUARTERFINALS
No. 5 Marana at No. 4 Chaparral, 6:30 p.m.
No. 7 Cienega at No. 2 Arcadia, 6:30 p.m.
No. 9 Ironwood Ridge at No. 1 Mesquite, 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS 4A
QUARTERFINALS
No. 5 Pueblo at No. 4 Flagstaff, 6:30 p.m.
No. 9 Canyon del Oro at No. 1 Cactus Shadows, 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS 3A
SECOND ROUND
No. 5 Pusch Ridge vs. No. 12 Yuma Catholic at Amphitheater, 6:30 p.m.
No. 14 Tanque Verde vs. No. 3 Chinle at Ganado, 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS 2A
FIRST ROUND
No. 13 Benson vs. No. 4 Chandler Prep, 10:30 a.m. (Bradshaw Mountain)
BOYS 2A
FIRST ROUND
No. 11 Rancho Solano vs. No. 6 St. Augustine, 9 a.m. (Bradshaw Mountain)
No. 9 Santa Cruz vs. No. 8 Horizon Honors, Noon (Prescott)
GIRLS 1A
FIRST ROUND
No. 14 Duncan vs. No. 3 The Gregory School, 9 a.m. (Prescott Valley)
No. 13 Greyhills vs. No. 4 Immaculate Heart, 10:30 a.m. (Yavapai)
No. 11 Anthem Prep vs. No 6 St. David, 4:30 p.m. (Prescott)
No. 15 Baboquivari vs. No. 2 Rock Point, 7:30 p.m. (Prescott)
BOYS 1A
FIRST ROUND
No. 9 Immaculate Heart vs. No. 8 Joseph City, 9 a.m. (Yavapai)
No. 16 Bagdad vs. No. 1 The Gregory School, 10:30 a.m. (Prescott Valley)
No. 12 Patagonia vs. No. 5 St. David, 1:30 p.m. (Prescott)
No. 10 Williams vs. No. 7 Baboquivari, 6 p.m. (Prescott)
SATURDAY, FEB 18
BOYS 5A
QUARTERFINALS: 6:30 p.m.
Mountain View/Buena winner vs. TBD
Sahuaro/Cholla winner vs. TBD
GIRLS 1A
QUARTERFINALS
Duncan/The Gregory School winner vs. TBD
BOYS 1A
QUARTERFINALS
Patagonia/St. David winner vs. TBD
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com