Canyon del Oro will move from 4A to 5A, Empire from 4A to 3A and Desert Christian from 1A to 2A, according to the initial conference placements Wednesday by the AIA for 11-man tackle football starting next fall, unless the schools successfully appeal to stay in their respective conferences.
The deadline for schools to appeal if they so choose is by Jan. 7.
The AIA executive board will hear the appeals and make a final determination about conference placement Jan. 21.
Canyon del Oro won the 4A state championship in 2023 and was 6-5 with a spot in the playoffs this season under new coach Scott McKee.
Empire has become one of the better teams in the 4A Gila under coach George Kelly, who has been at the school six seasons. The Ravens have finished 6-4 each of the last two years.
The move to the 3A is because of the school’s enrollment of 895, which is low compared to other Vail schools Cienega (1,892) of 5A and Mica Mountain (1,473) of 4A.
Desert Christian played its inaugural season this fall as an independent 1A (eight-man) team. The Eagles went 6-4 and advanced to the 1A state playoffs under coach Jason McKibben.
Also released Wednesday was the conference placements for flag football.
Nine Southern Arizona schools will field flag football teams for the first time next fall.
They include Canyon del Oro, Flowing Wells and Pueblo in 5A and Amphi, Salpointe, Ironwood Ridge, Rio Rico, Santa Rita and Andrada Polytechnic in 4A.
Andrada Polytechnic is a new school in Vail south of I-10 on Houghton Road.
Other interesting developments concerning 11-man tackle football:
— Traditional power Yuma Catholic is potentially going from 4A to 5A
— Surprise Paradise Honors, which lost to Sabino in the 2023 3A state championship game, is slated to go to 4A. Paradise Honors also lost to Pusch Ridge in the 3A semifinals this season.
— Pima, traditionally strong at the 2A level, is charted to go to 3A.
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