ALLSPORTSTUCSON.COM CONTINUES ITS 50 POSTS FOR THE 50-DAY COUNTDOWN TO THE 2025 SEASON THAT STARTS AUG. 22 FOR SOME SCHOOLS WITH A LOOK AT THE 2A SOUTH I SCHEDULES. CATCH UP WITH ALL THE POSTS BY CLICKING HERE.
The realignment of football programs going into this school year separated Southern Arizona schools into three different 2A regions — South I, South II and Independent. The 2A San Pedro is no longer.
Bisbee, Palo Verde, Santa Rita, Tanque Verde and Tombstone are in the 2A South I.
Benson, Desert Christian (a 1A Independent last season in its first varsity season), Santa Cruz Valley and Willcox are in the 2A South II.
Catalina, a struggling program with its third different head coach in the last three years, is a 2A Independent program.
2A South I scheduling notes:
— Each of the 2A schools plays only a nine-game schedule instead of the traditional 10 games in a season.
— With five teams in the 2A South I, four region games are scheduled.
— Bisbee, which went 10-2 in Carlos Lopez’s first season last year, has a challenging early schedule with consecutive road games against rival Douglas (a 4A school) on Sept. 5 followed a week later with a game against traditional power Morenci (a former 3A school placed in 2A this season). The game against Morenci finishes three straight road games (first playing Phoenix Cortez before playing at Douglas).
— Jamal Chatman’s fourth season at Palo Verde also begins with a challenging early schedule with a home game against Willcox (7-4 last season) followed by three straight road games against ALA-Anthem South, Tanque Verde and 4A school Rincon/University.
— Douglas Smith, in search of his first victory at Santa Rita in his second season at the school, has a non-region schedule that includes a former 1A school in Desert Christian and tough Miami team (7-4 last year), along with three other teams (Catalina, San Pasqual and San Carlos) that went a combined 6-24 last season.
— Tanque Verde, under third-year coach Jeffrey Bollnow, has a rivalry brewing with Phoenix Christian, beginning the season for the third straight year against the Cougars. The Hawks won at Phoenix Christian in 2023 but lost to the Cougars last season at home. They host Phoenix Christian again this season to kick off their season. Tanque Verde then travels to Morenci and hosts Palo Verde before going on the road three straight weeks against Benson, Trivium Prep and Santa Rita.
— Tombstone is welcoming back Jerry Rhoades as its head coach. Dominik Bonilla left to Rio Rico after leading the Yellow Jackets for four seasons. Rhoades went 2-15 in two years at Tombstone before he stepped down, but remained at the school when Bonilla took over. His record should have an asterisk because it includes a 0-7 record during the COVID-19-affected season of 2020. Tombstone’s first five games are a grind – at Miami, Pima, at Benson, Santa Cruz Valley and at Willcox. Those teams went a combined 39-17 last season.
2A SOUTH I SCHEDULES
BISBEE (1-2)
Head coach: Carlos Lopez (11-4, second year at Bisbee and overall)Pumas compete in the 2A South I. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Opp | Bis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/22 | Benson | L | 34 | 0 |
| 8/29 | at Cortez | W | 20 | 26 |
| 9/5 | at Douglas | L | 25 | 0 |
| 9/12 | at Morenci | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/19 | Santa Rita* | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/26 | Chandler Prep | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/3 | at Tanque Verde* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/10 | Tombstone* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/17 | at Palo Verde* | -- | -- | -- |
PALO VERDE (1-2, 0-1)
Head coach: Jamal Chatman (9-24, fourth year at Palo Verde and overall)Titans compete in the 2A South I. *Region game. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | PV | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/22 | Willcox | L | 0 | 49 |
| 8/29 | at ALA-Anthem South | W | 28 | 14 |
| 9/5 | at Tanque Verde* | L | 0 | 69 |
| 9/12 | at Rincon/UHS | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/19 | Coronado | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/26 | Tombstone* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/3 | at Catalina | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/10 | at Santa Rita* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/17 | Bisbee* | -- | -- | -- |
SANTA RITA (0-3)
Head coach: Douglas Smith (0-13, second year at Santa Rita and overall)Eagles are in the 2A South I. Games at 7 p.m.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | SR | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/22 | Catalina | L | 6 | 36 |
| 8/29 | at Miami | L | 0 | 64 |
| 9/5 | Desert Christian | L | 0 | 64 |
| 9/11 | San Pasqual | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/19 | at Bisbee* | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/26 | Tanque Verde* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/3 | at Tombstone* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/10 | Palo Verde* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/17 | at San Carlos | -- | -- | -- |
TANQUE VERDE (11-2)
Head coach: Jeffrey Bollnow (26-9, third year at Tanque Verde and overall)Hawks compete in the 2A South I. *Region games. +Playoffs
&-at Tempe McClintock High School
| Date | Opponent | W/L | TV | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/22 | Phoenix Christian | L | 7 | 47 |
| 8/29 | at Morenci | W | 24 | 16 |
| 9/5 | Palo Verde* | W | 69 | 0 |
| 9/12 | at Benson | L | 21 | 30 |
| 9/18 | at Trivium Prep | W | 38 | 0 |
| 9/26 | at Santa Rita* | W | 59 | 6 |
| 10/3 | Bisbee* | W | 62 | 8 |
| 10/10 | Highland Prep | W | 57 | 0 |
| 10/17 | at Tombstone* | W | 64 | 0 |
| 10/24 | Willcox* | W | 42 | 14 |
| 10/31 | Tonopah Valley+ | W | 43 | 6 |
| 11/7 | at Camp Verde+ | W | 39 | 15 |
| 11/14 | at Veritas Prep+ | W | 28 | 23 |
| 11/22 | vs. St. Johns+& |
TOMBSTONE (0-2)
Head coach: Jerry Rhoades (2-17, third year at Tombstone; 30-45, ninth year overall)Yellow Jackets of the 2A South I have decided to forfeit their season. *Region game.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | THS | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/22 | at Miami | L | 7 | 28 |
| 8/29 | Pima | CCD | -- | -- |
| 9/5 | at Benson | L | 14 | 61 |
| 9/12 | Santa Cruz Valley | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/19 | at Willcox | -- | -- | -- |
| 9/26 | at Palo Verde* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/3 | Santa Rita* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/10 | at Bisbee* | -- | -- | -- |
| 10/17 | Tanque Verde* | -- | -- | -- |
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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 in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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