No. 10 AZ College Prep (8-3) at No. 2 Canyon del Oro (11-0)
Date: Friday
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Stream: NFHS Network (ONLY online streaming available)
AZ College Prep coach: Myron Blueford (34-37, seventh year overall and at AZ College Prep)
CDO coach: Dustin Peace (116-50, 15th year overall and at CDO)
CDO’s Coach Peace on the Dorados’ 45-20 victory over Poston Butte.
CDO advances in the 4A State Playoffs @cdo_football @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/Q5mgebYPMJ
— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) November 10, 2023
When AZ College Prep has the ball:
Run percentage: 52.3 percent (272 rushes)
Pass percentage: 47.7 percent (248 passes)
Junior QB Jaxon Castro is big (6-foot-2 and 200 pounds) and dangerous spreading the ball. AZ College Prep’s top four receivers have at least 19 receptions, led by sophomore Ashton Sanchez with 42 catches for 534 yards. Thomas O’Hara is next with 493 yards on 28 receptions. … Castro has completed 121 of 214 pass attempts for 1,841 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions … Kaleb Heyer and Alec Grant get the bulk of the carries as running backs. Heyer has rushed 111 times for 501 yards with four touchdowns and Grant has 420 yards on 82 rushes.
CDO’s defense has not allowed more than 21 points in a game all season. In five of its 11 games, the opponent has not scored more than a touchdown. … The Dorados carry a true team philosophy with their defense with four players with at least 40 tackles — DE Evan Greer with 49, CB Izaiah Lucero and FS Chase Laux with 46, and LB Kayden Luke with 44. Greer, a junior, has a phenomenal 23.5 tackles for loss, including 11 sacks. That means about 52 percent of his tackles occur behind the line. … LB Grant Young has eight sacks. … Laux is among the state’s leaders with six interceptions. The Dorados have 11 picks as a team. … CDO has 92.5 tackles for loss and 36 sacks.
When Canyon del Oro has the ball:
Run percentage: 76.3 percent (360 rushes)
Pass percentage: 23.7 percent (112 passes)
CDO is a predominantly running team behind 1,682 yards on 176 carries with 22 touchdowns by Luke, a senior, but the Dorados will pass the ball when necessary. … QB Tristen McClelland has completed 55 of 110 pass attempts for 1,000 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Nearly one-third of his completions have been for touchdowns. … McClelland’s primary target is TE Ryan Madsen, who has 13 receptions for 318 yards and six touchdowns. … Backup RB Joe Alba suffered a leg injury last month and has not returned. He gained 333 yards on 46 carries with seven touchdowns. Adrian Davidson (238 yards rushing) and ViJay King (217) are capable senior rushers.
AZ College Prep senior DE Cayden Gibson has a remarkable 34 tackles for loss with 16.5 sacks among his 91 tackles. He recently took a recruiting trip to Drake. … Sophomore LB Cam Mitchell leads the team with 96 tackles with 10 for loss. … The Knights have 94.5 tackles for loss and 36 sacks, similar numbers to CDO’s defense. … Senior CB Jared Chumley leads AZ College Prep with three interceptions and the team has 15 picks overall.
Common opponent
Eastmark — CDO opened the season on Aug. 25 with a 21-14 win at home over Eastmark, the defending 3A state champions who moved to 4A. AZ College Prep lost at Eastmark 22-21 on Sept. 15.
Series record
First meeting. AZ College Prep, based in Chandler, is only in its seventh year of existence.
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District
Recommended for you
