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 TOP 1A GAMES TO WATCH THIS SEASON FOR EACH PROGRAM. CATCH UP WITH ALL THE POSTS BY CLICKING HERE.
RELATED: 1A SCHEDULES AND RETURNING 1A ALL-CONFERENCE AND ALL-REGION SELECTIONS
BABOQUIVARI
- Aug. 29, St. David at home — The Warriors are 0-7 against St. David with the series starting in 2017. The average margin of defeat is 37.2 points. The closest Baboquivari came to upsetting the Tigers was in 2019, a 50-48 loss despite senior Anton Jose completing 6 of 8 passes for 117 yards with two touchdowns, rushing for 358 yards on 36 carries with five touchdowns, tallying 10 tackles and having an interception, and kicking off six times with two touchbacks. It will likely take another Herculean effort by the Warriors to have a chance to pull off an upset.
ST. DAVID
- Oct. 3, Hayden at home — After starting 4-1 in the series that started in 2011 against Hayden, the Tigers are on a 0-4 stretch against the Lobos, including two blowout losses in the playoffs the last two seasons. The Lobos have won 24 straight games entering the season, and that includes championship victories the last two years. St. David lost 53-6 against Hayden in the semifinals last year and 68-0 in the quarterfinals in 2023.
VALLEY UNION
- Oct. 3, Fort Thomas at home — The Blue Devils circling the calendar at St. David on Aug. 22 is a given, with it being the season opener, and the Tigers are the standard-bearer of the 1A South. Valley Union has the opportunity to run the table against the other region teams Duncan, Baboquivari and Fort Thomas because those games are all at home. The last region meeting is against Fort Thomas, which has lost the last four meetings against Valley Union. Earning at least a 3-1 record in the 1A South should help Valley Union reach the state playoffs.
SAN MANUEL
- Sept. 5, St. David at home — This is no longer a region rivalry matchup because San Manuel shifted to the 1A East this year following the realignment of programs in the spring. But these programs remain rivals because of their competition when they were traditionally atop the 1A South standings. After two close games in 2023, won by San Manuel 16-14 in the regular season and by St. David 44-38 in the first round of the state tournament, the Tigers routed the Miners 49-0 at home last season. San Manuel can gain revenge at its home field this time around.
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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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