ALLSPORTSTUCSON.COM CONTINUES ITS 50 POSTS FOR THE 50-DAY COUNTDOWN TO THE 2025 SEASON THAT STARTS AUG. 22 FOR SOME SOUTHERN ARIZONA SCHOOLS WITH A LOOK AT THE TOP 2A SOUTH II AND INDEPENDENT GAMES TO WATCH THIS SEASON FOR EACH PROGRAM. CATCH UP WITH ALL THE POSTS BY CLICKING HERE.
RELATED: 2A SOUTH II & INDEPENDENT SCHEDULES AND RETURNING 2A ALL-CONFERENCE AND ALL-REGION SELECTIONS
2A SOUTH II
BENSON
- Aug. 22, at Bisbee. The season opener between rivals is no longer a region game with Benson a 2A South II school and Bisbee in the 2A South I, but bragging rights are just as intense in this AZ-80W highway affair. Benson leads the series 24-12-2 that dates to 1982, but Bisbee has won the last three meetings. Before that, the Bobcats won 10 out of 11 games to take command of the rivalry.
DESERT CHRISTIAN
- Sept. 12, Catalina at home. The Eagles are in only their second year of varsity existence after playing at the 1A level last season, so this is an opportunity for the fledgling program to create an eastside rivalry (similar to Sabino and Sahuaro). The schools are only about a 10-minute drive apart on Speedway (between Alvernon and Pantano). It will be Desert Christian’s first home game against a team within the Tucson city limits.
SANTA CRUZ VALLEY
- Oct. 10, Willcox at home. With Eloy Santa Cruz Valley returning for the first time since 2021 to play in a region that includes teams from the Tucson area, the Dust Devils will be a highlight for all local programs on the schedule. Judging from the recent success of both programs, Santa Cruz Valley and Willcox will likely challenge for the 2A South II title. This game will be the second-to-last of the regular season for each team, making it an important pivot game toward a region title. The teams last met in the 2016 and 2017 seasons and Santa Cruz Valley won those games 72-0 and 50-0 under former coach Rishard Davis, a one-time Arizona walk-on who led Dust Devils to the state title in 2020. Santa Cruz Valley leads the series 17-4.
WILLCOX
- Sept. 5, Morenci at home. After opening the season at Palo Verde and Arizona Lutheran, Willcox plays its first home game against traditional 3A power Morenci in a non-region game. Morenci went from the 3A South to the 2A East after the realignment of programs in the spring. The schools, close to the Arizona-New Mexico border separated by 90 miles, played annually between 2005 and 2022 with Willcox going 4-14, including a 12-game losing streak to end that run. A win over the Wildcats for the first time since 2010 could propel Jeston Lotts’ program to a successful season.
CATALINA
- Oct. 3, Palo Verde at home. The realignment forced Catalina into independent status, aligned with other struggling 2A programs in the state. That means the Trojans, under Virgil Henderson, in his first year leading his alma mater, will play only three Tucson-area teams (Santa Rita, Desert Christian and Palo Verde). The game against the Titans is their lone home game scheduled against any of them. It is also the first of three straight home games coming down the stretch, a good opportunity to begin a promising conclusion to Henderson’s welcome-back season.
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 in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Recommended for you
