The fact that Tanque Verde and second-year coach Jeff Bollnow came close to make the 2A state playoffs was impressive inasmuch as the Hawks lost more than 20 seniors from last year’s team that reached the quarterfinal round for the first time in program history.
The Hawks finished 6-4 and rated No. 17 in 2A, one spot out of the 16-team 2A playoff field announced Saturday.
The 2A allows region champions to automatically qualify, which means No. 23 Holbrook (7-3) qualified for the tournament as the 2A Little Colorado champions.
Holbrook’s inclusion knocked at No. 16-rated Heritage Academy Laveen (5-4) from the playoff field.
Bisbee, the 2A San Pedro champion, is the No. 6 seed at 9-1 in Carlos Lopez’s first year as head coach. The Pumas will host No. 11 Camp Verde (7-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. in a first round game.
Willcox (7-3) is the No. 9 seed and the Cowboys will travel to No. 8 Scottsdale Prep (9-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. for its first-round game.
They are also coached by a first-year coach, Jeston Lotts, who has a history of doing well in the playoffs at Parker. In 2020 and 2021, Lotts led Parker to two region titles in the 2A Agua Fria. In 2021, Parker reached the state semifinals before losing to Morenci. He left Parker to take a counseling position at Willcox and coached the previous two years under Eric Hjalmarson, who left to coach at his alma mater Blue Ridge.
Tombstone (6-4) finished as the No. 20-rated team and Benson (5-5) was No. 22.
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