The aligning of new regions, the scheduling and the re-scheduling is complete.
The official 2023 high school football schedules were released by the AIA this week.
The season starts Aug. 18 with schools from 1A, 2A and 3A competing. The 4A, 5A and 6A schools start their seasons Aug. 25.
The following are the schedules of teams from Southern Arizona (including some not in Southern Arizona but were placed in regions with teams from this area):
6A CENTRAL
— Marana is the only team from Southern Arizona on Salpointe’s schedule. Only one other time has that happened — in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season when the Lancers played only Buena among their six regular-season games.
— The Lancers will play a California school (Bishop Alemany in Mission Hills in the second week on the road) for the first time since they played at Crespi in Encino on Sept. 7, 2013. The Lancers won the Division II state championship that year with a 14-0 record.
— Salpointe, under fourth-year coach Eric Rogers, plays three of its four 6A Central games at home, but in between that slate, the Lancers will play non-region games at Peoria Liberty and Scottsdale Saguaro. Those schools played each other in the Open Division semifinals last year with Saguaro beating Liberty 43-42 before the Sabercats lost to Chandler Basha in the championship.
[table id=212 /]
5A SOUTHERN
— Buena is coming off a 7-3 season but did not qualify for the 5A state playoffs. How the Colts handle a stretch of three straight road games against 5A Southern foes Desert View, Cienega and Sunnyside in October will go a long way to determining if they can reach the postseason this year.
[table id=198 /]
— Casa Grande, part of the 4A Kino in 2021, is back to a regional with Southern Arizona schools after playing Phoenix-area schools last season.
— Former Arizona and Denver Broncos standout cornerback Randy Robbins has returned to his alma mater to be the athletic director after stepping down before the recently-completed school year for family reasons.
[table id=273 /]
— Cienega will try to return to the state playoffs in Justin Argraves’ third year at the school.
— Three of the Bobcats’ non-region games are against Phoenix-area schools — Mesa Desert Ridge (coached by former Sunnyside coach Roy Lopez), Phoenix Paradise Valley and Tempe McClintock. Paradise Valley went 9-2 last season while Desert Ridge and McClintock were each 3-7.
[table id=205 /]
— Desert View opens its season not against Sunnyside as has been the case in recent years. The Jaguars will host Phoenix-area schools Surprise Willow Canyon (7-3 last season) and Phoenix North (3-7) in the first two weeks.
— The Jaguars and Blue Devils are regional foes for the first time since 2014. The Sunnyside Unified School District rivals will conclude the season at Desert View on Nov. 3. Hard to believe — they have never concluded the regular season against each other. They have played each other in the season opener 14 times.
— Robert Bonillas, entering his 12th season at Desert View, will coach at his alma mater Nogales on Sept. 15.
[table id=199 /]
— Phillip Steward goes into his third season leading one of the most respected programs in Southern Arizona, evidenced by non-region road games against Salpointe to start the season and Gilbert Higley on Sept. 8. Higley won the 5A state championship last season with a 12-2 record.
[table id=213 /]
— Thomas Romack coached the Blue Devils to a 7-3 record in his first season but did not make the state playoffs last year despite not playing one game at home because of turf being installed on the field.
— Go figure: Sunnyside will play its first three games on the road this season before finally playing a game on its new turf Sept. 15 against Mica Mountain.
[table id=200 /]
5A SONORAN
— Flowing Wells’ two non-region road games are against schools outside this area — Avondale Agua Fria and Barry Goldwater. Agua Fria was 1-9 last season and Goldwater 7-3.
[table id=217 /]
— Ironwood Ridge was in a serious rebuilding phase last year with nearly every starter gone from the year before and finished 1-9 in Dale Stott’s first season. The Nighthawks open on the road against Chandler Seton Catholic, which was 2-8 last season.
[table id=202 /]
— Matt Johnson’s program traditionally plays top teams from the Phoenix area during the non-region schedule, and this year will be no different.
— The Mountain Lions open at Gilbert, which went to the 5A state playoffs last year. Gilbert was eliminated by Scottsdale Horizon, which will visit Mountain View in Week 2 on Sept. 1. The game will mark the return of Horizon coach Andy Litten to Marana, where he coached the Tigers before moving to the Phoenix area. Litten is a Mountain View grad who walked on to Dick Tomey’s program at Arizona. Mountain View will then play at Peoria Sunrise Mountain (3-7 last year).
[table id=214 /]
— Nogales will transition to Joshua Jetton as head coach after alum Jake Teyechea was not retained. Teyechea is now the offensive coordinator at Sahuarita. Jetton comes to Nogales from being a line coach at Steilacoom (Wash.) High School. He served as a head coach of a middle school in Tacoma.
[table id=204 /]
— The Badgers have turned to former Salpointe running backs coach Zachary Neveleff as their head coach. Neveleff is young and aggressive, and his name is well-known among youths in Southern Arizona, a perfect mix for Tucson.
— For the third consecutive year, Tucson will host Phoenix South Mountain, which has former Arizona linebacker great Byron Evans as head coach.
[table id=211 /]
4A KINO
— Dustin Peace’s team nearly reached the 4A state championship game last year despite off-the-field issues.
— The Dorados will host Mesa Eastmark to open the season Aug. 25. Eastmark was elevated to 4A this season after winning the 3A state championship last year with a 13-1 record. They will then travel to Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain, which finished 8-4 last season, advancing to the 4A state quarterfinals.
[table id=215 /]
— After playing at San Tan Valley Combs (6-4 last year) to open the season, the Falcons will host perennial 3A power Yuma Catholic in Week 2. The Shamrocks are also now at the 4A level.
— Interesting: Daniel Sainz’s team plays four of its five non-region games on the road but hosts four of its five games against 4A Kino opponents.
[table id=221 /]
— Pat Nugent’s third season at Mica Mountain will start at San Tan Valley Poston Butte (6-5 last season) on Aug. 25. The Thunderbolts host Gilbert Mesquite in Week 2. Mesquite was 1-9 last season after going 9-4 with a loss in the semifinals to eventual 4A state champion Casa Grande in 2021.
[table id=201 /]
— Pueblo, under third-year coach Jake Allen, plays all Southern Arizona foes, except Vista Grande, which went 7-4 last season.
[table id=219 /]
— Al Alexander’s second year as Sahuaro’s coach will include four of five non-region games at home but four of five 4A Kino games on the road to close the season. In a brutal stretch, the Cougars must play Catalina Foothills, Walden Grove, Mica Mountain and Canyon del Oro on the road before hosting Pueblo in the regular-season finale.
[table id=194 /]
— Walden Grove coach Corey Noble is bent on making the 4A state playoffs after not qualifying last season despite an 8-2 record. The Red Wolves will open against two Phoenix-area schools that played in the 4A state playoffs last year — at Phoenix Northwest Christian (8-3 last year) and Phoenix Arcadia (6-5) at home. They then play three straight 5A schools from Southern Arizona — Cienega, Desert View and Mountain View.
[table id=207 /]
4A GILA
— Amphi has consecutive rivalry games in the non-region portion of the schedule — at Flowing Wells on Sept. 8 and at home against Amphi School District counterpart CDO on Sept. 15.
[table id=220 /]
— Cholla has gone from 5A to 4A this season after not winning more than two games in a season the previous five years.
[table id=218 /]
— The prestigious “Pick Trophy” went to Douglas for the second consecutive year after the Bulldogs won at Bisbee last year. The longtime rivals meet again in Douglas on Sept. 1.
[table id=203 /]
— Aiming to start strong, George Kelly’s team opens at Phoenix Sierra Linda (4-6 last season) and then at home against Avondale La Joya (2-8).
[table id=206 /]
— Rincon/University is joining Cholla with the move from 5A to 4A to hopefully become more competitive. The Rangers have gone 1-9 the last two seasons and have only one winning record out of the last 10 years.
[table id=223 /]
— Jeff Scurran, making great strides with the program in only his second season at Rio Rico, appears to have a manageable schedule with Vista Grande (7-4 last season) and Florence (8-3) as the only schools coming off winning seasons.
[table id=210 /]
— Sahuarita almost moved back to the 3A level after going 0-10 last season in 4A, but the school lobbied to stay in 4A to avoid the long travel involved with 3A schools playing in outpost areas. Also, the 3A South, with Sabino, Pusch Ridge, Thatcher, etc., is tougher than some 4A regions.
[table id=208 /]
3A SOUTH
— Morenci, long a 2A power, is moving up to 3A this season with Rishard Davis taking over the program. Davis is the former Arizona walk-on who was an assistant at Flowing Wells and Pusch Ridge before taking over at Santa Cruz Valley and leading the Dust Devils to the 2020 state championship.
[table id=270 /]
— Kent Middleton’s team will open against Show Low (11-2 last season, reaching the 3A semifinals) at NAU’s Walkup Skydome on Aug. 25. The Lions will host Catalina Foothills, a 4A program, on Sept. 15.
[table id=190 /]
— Sabino faces an arduous start of the season with four of five games on the road against the likes of Coolidge, Sahuaro, Mica Mountain and Safford. In between those games is a home game against Queen Creek Crismon, which is coached by the late Larry Smith’s son Corbin. Crismon is only in its second season and its athletic director is former Walden Grove athletic director Barry Cromer. On the flipside, Sabino hosts four of its last five games, including the annually anticipated game with Pusch Ridge Sept. 29.
[table id=185 /]
— Safford will travel to Tucson to play at 4A school Rincon/University on Sept. 8, a week before opening 3A south play against Sabino at home.
[table id=271 /]
— Thatcher went 13-0 before losing to Eastmark in the 3A state championship game. The Eagles also host Crismon. They will also play Sept. 15 at former 3A power Yuma Catholic, which is now a 4A school.
[table id=272 /]
2A SAN PEDRO
— Benson is back to the 2A level after going 5-6 last season as part of the 3A South.
[table id=191 /]
— Shawn Holley, who was a PE teacher and assistant coach at Holbrook High School the last three years, is the new coach at Bisbee. Holley also has a background of coaching in North Carolina and at Mohave Valley River Valley High School.
[table id=196 /]
— Greg McKinstry II enters his third season as Catalina’s coach with the hope of stringing wins together. The Trojans have not won more than one game in a season since going 2-8 in 2018.
[table id=192 /]
— The Titans have gone from 4A to 3A and now 2A in the last three years because of dwindling participation rates and competitiveness. The school hopes enhanced equipment in its weight room can help spur student interest in playing football. The Titans have not had a winning season since going 11-2 and reaching the state semifinals in 2009 under Todd Mayfield.
[table id=186 /]
— Another coaching change with former Cienega and Sahuarita defensive coordinator Jeffrey Bollnow taking over for the Hawks, who earned their first state playoff appearance in program history under coach Jay Dobyns last season. Dobyns left after three seasons citing he needed a break from coaching after being a longtime assistant at Salpointe before taking the Tanque Verde job.
[table id=195 /]
— Tombstone is in its third season under alum Dominic Bonilla, who has led the Yellow Jackets to records of 2-7 in 2021 and 4-6 last year.
[table id=187 /]
— Willcox loses its two-headed monster of Ayden Fuentes and Cristian Pando to graduation but coach Eric Hjalmarson has established consistent success with the program.
[table id=197 /]
1A SOUTH
— Cody Garcia, an assistant coach to Pete Delgado since Delgado became the football coach in 2019, is taking over the Warriors’ program. Delgado has moved on to be Tanque Verde’s line coach. Baboquivari is traditionally strapped for number of students who play football. Garcia knows how to work through that situation. It will be difficult early with the Warriors playing three of their first four games on the road.
[table id=184 /]
— San Manuel hopes to make another push to a state playoff appearance under alum Ernest Ivy, who has coached his program to at least eight wins the last two seasons.
[table id=188 /]
— St. David plays its first three games on the road, including the first four of five overall. Three of the last four are at home, including a rematch showdown with Hayden in the regular-season finale. The Lobos beat visiting St. David 28-19 to close the 2022 regular season, only one of two losses for the Tigers.
[table id=189 /]
— Valley Union, under second-year coach Skyler Hill, is in search of its first winning season since 2017.
[table id=222 /]
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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.
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