PREVIOUSLY IN OUR LOOK AT 2026 SCHEDULES
BUENA COLTS
Last year: 6-5, lost to visiting Mountain View 27-8 in the first round of the 5A state playoffs.
Head coach: Chris Determan (First year at Buena; 144-85-1, 20th year overall)
— Buena’s ambitious scheduling under former coach Joe Thomas (now at Casa Grande) has the Colts playing at ALA-Gilbert North and Gilbert Highland this fall after they lost big last season at Sierra Vista against ALA-Gilbert North and Mesa Mountain View. ALA-Gilbert North went 11-2 and advanced to the 5A semifinals. Highland went 4-7 last year but is four years removed from winning the 6A title.
— Mesa Skyline, which has not had a winning season since 2017, visits in Week 2.
— A key stretch is Week 3 through Week 7 in which Buena plays four of the five weeks on the road and its lone game at home is against formidable Marana.
CANYON DEL ORO DORADOS
Last year: 3-7
Head coach: Scott McKee (9-12, third year at CDO; 92-114, 21st season overall)
— CDO’s freedom schedule includes four interesting games, three of them on the road. The Dorados will travel to two-time defending 4A state champion Mica Mountain in the second week. Those teams were 4A Kino rivals before CDO joined the 5A Sonoran last year. CDO also plays at Desert Vew in a freedom game Oct.16. McKee and Desert View coach Robert Bonillas are former Arizona teammates and have a deep respect for each other.
— CDO will open at home against Phoenix Trevor Browne, which was 2-8 last season and travels to Phoenix South Mountain, 1-9 last year. South Mountain is no longer coached by Arizona great Byron Evans.
— CDO’s four other home games against Marana, Ironwood Ridge, Tucson and Buena shape up to be significant matchups.
CASA GRANDE COUGARS
Last year: 5-5
Head coach: Joe Thomas (First year at Casa Grande; 65-73, 15th year as a head coach)
— Welcome to Casa Grande … Thomas’ first game is a home game against powerhouse ALA-Gilbert North. His Buena team last year lost 42-14 at home against the Eagles.
— Thomas will make his first return to Sierra Vista to coach against his former school Buena on Oct. 16. Thomas coached 11 years at Buena and three years at nearby Tombstone, his alma mater.
— Casa Grande will host region foes Tucson, Marana and CDO, with those games sandwiched around the game at Buena and at rival Vista Grande.
IRONWOOD RIDGE NIGHTHAWKS
Last year: 1-9
Head coach: Dale Stott (18-24, fifth year at Ironwood Ridge and overall)
— Ironwood Ridge’s freedom schedule includes two games from the Phoenix area — Gilbert Campo Verde at home Sept. 4 and at Scottsdale Desert Mountain on Oct. 9 after the Nighthawks have played three region games. Campo Verde is coming off a 7-5 season and quarterfinal appearance in the 5A playoffs and Desert Mountain earned the 5A state championship with a 12-3 record.
— The Nighthawks have a grueling three-game road stretch in the middle of the season against CDO, Marana and Desert Mountain.
— Ironwood Ridge plays three of its first four games at home but they are not easy. Catalina Foothills figures to be stronger in Daniel Sainz’s second year since returning to the school. Campo Verde follows. A game at dangerous Cienega is followed by Casa Grande visiting in Week 4.
MARANA TIGERS
Last year: 10-2, lost to Scottsdale Horizon 30-20 at home in the 5A quarterfinal round.
Head coach: Phillip Steward (42-14, sixth year at Marana and overall)
— Marana hosts Salpointe in the season opener and the Tigers will look to match their feat in 2024, when the Tigers overcame a 24-9 deficit in the third quarter to win 27-24 and snap the Lancers’ 27-game winning streak against Southern Arizona schools.
— The record of Marana’s four non-region opponents — Salpointe, Waddell Canyon View, Yuma Catholic and Mountain View — was 32-12 combined last year and they all advanced to the postseason. The Tigers routed Yuma Catholic 42-14 in Yuma early in the season and hung on to beat the Shamrocks 34-27 in the first round of the 5A state playoffs. They have a rematch Sept. 11 at Marana.
— Marana will play four of its first five region games on the road before ending the regular season at home against Mountain View in the Battle for the Boot and against Vista Grande in the region finale.
TUCSON BADGERS
Last year: 5-6, lost to Scottsdale Cactus Shadows 56-35 in the first round of the 5A state tournament.
Head coach: Zach Neveleff (19-14, fourth year at Tucson and overall)
— Tucson ends its regular season at home against Cactus Shadows after losing its final two games of the season last year against the Falcons.
— The Badgers start the season with the hope of avenging last year’s season-opening defeat against Mountain View at home, playing at the Mountain Lions this season. A road game against Salpointe follows. It will be homecoming for Neveleff, who played for the Lancers when Dennis Bene was coach and then later served as running backs coach there.
— After playing its third game of the season against Walden Grove at home in a freedom game, the Badgers host Buena and Vista Grande to start the region schedule — an important couple of games because they play three of the next four games on the road with the home game in that stretch against region favorite Marana.
VISTA GRANDE SPARTANS
Last year: 3-7
Head coach: Loren Dawson (3-7, second year at Vista Grande; 23-29, sixth year overall in high school)
— Vista Grande is playing almost an entire Southern Arizona schedule with Sunnyside and Walden Grove as freedom opponents, both games on the road.
— The Spartan will host freedom opponents Phoenix Central (2-8 last year) and nearby Maricopa Desert Sunrise (8-3 with a first-round loss in the 4A state tournament).
— The annual rivalry game with Casa Grande will be at home Oct. 23. Casa Grande leads the series 5-4 (Vista Grande’s first season was in 2010). Vista Grande has lost the last four meetings dating to 2018.
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