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A pair of Southern Arizona football teams remain, and they’re a couple familiar names: Salpointe Catholic in and Mica Mountain in , both in the semifinals.

Salpointe looks to win Southern Arizona’s first 6A while Mica Mountain aims to claim the Tucson area’s third straight 4A crown and its second in a row.

Both games start at 7 p.m. Friday.

6A state semifinals

No. 8 Salpointe Catholic (7-5) at No. 4 Queen Creek Casteel (7-5)

Location: 24901 S. Power Road, Queen Creek

Rundown: Salpointe takes another ride up I-10, seeking to earn a trip to the state championship game at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium.

After celebrating senior night on Oct. 31, the Lancers have played three straight games in the Phoenix area, losing at Phoenix Pinnacle 28-21 in the regular-season finale but beating Queen Creek 23-8 and then Pinnacle 10-7 last week, when the Pioneers were the top seed in the 6A tournament.

This is Salpointe’s seventh trip to the Phoenix area of the season, its third to Queen Creek. Since moving up to 6A in 2022, Salpointe has played 20 games at Phoenix-area schools, with the Casteel game set to be the 21st.

Although a 4A school in terms of size, Salpointe has had 6A success since moving up, though it hasn’t made the Open as a 6A team. In 2022, the Lancers reached the 6A quarterfinals, in 2023, they made the 6A semifinals, and in 2024, they won their region and went to the .

Both Salpointe and Casteel are seeking their second state championship, though the Lancers have made it to six state championship games, most recently in 2021 at the 5A level. Casteel has one state title game appearance, when it beat Pusch Ridge Christian in the 3A title game in 2017.

Casteel enters the game having lost two of its last three. The team dropped the regular-season finale 41-21 to ALA - Queen Creek, which Salpointe beat 21-17 on the road, then lost 51-42 to Phoenix Brophy Prep in the Open. The Colts rebounded to beat Gilbert Higley 39-34 in the 6A tourney.

Salpointe and Casteel have never met. The Colts’ first varsity season was 2016, and Salpointe’s was 1952.

Salpointe features two quarterbacks who have over 940 yards passing this year, senior Rayce Alvarez (947) and junior Matthew Avelar (965). Both have played 10 games, with Alvarez playing the first Pinnacle game and the playoffs.

Junior running back Chris Chaney is Salpointe's leading rusher with 811 yards and three 100-plus yard games. Junior slotback R.J. Gory is the Lancers' leading receiver, with 654 yards on 59 catches.

Junior quarterback Tee Smith (1,714 yards passing) leads the way for Casteel. He’s also the school's leading rusher with 691 yards, and junior running back Wyatt Defreitas has 574.

Senior Brody Smith is Casteel's leading receiver with 581 yards on 38 catches.

Salpointe features two first-team All-6A Southern Region players in senior defensive tackle/nose guard Noah Banhie and senior center/guard Joshua Meisner.

Casteel has eight first-team All-6A Southeast Region selections.

The game will be streamed on the .

4A state semifinals

No. 7 Mica Mountain (10-2) at No. 6 Yuma Gila Ridge (11-1)

Location: 7150 E. 24th St., Yuma

Rundown: The more things change, the more they stay the same for Mica Mountain.

The Thunderbolts returned one offensive starter and six on defense from last season and changed head coaches, but yet again they face a school from Yuma on the road in the state semifinals.

Last year, Mica dispatched Yuma Catholic 24-14 in the Final Four. This season, Yuma Catholic was in the 5A and reached the second round before getting knocked out by Marana 34-27.

However, last year Mica Mountain was undefeated, so it hosted Phoenix Thunderbird in the quarterfinals, beating the Titans 38-14. This year, Mica Mountain went up to No. 2 Snowflake and beat the Lobos 21-14 in the Elite Eight.

After losing to 6A Salpointe on Oct. 7, 2022, Mica Mountain went on a stretch where its only losses until this September were at eventual 4A state champion Canyon del Oro in 2023. The Thunderbolts' 16-game winning streak ended on Sept. 12 at ALA - West Foothills, but since, they have won eight straight.

ALA - West Foothills would go on to earn the 12 seed and, after upsetting No. 4 Bullhead City Mohave 28-18 in the quarterfinals, are in the other semifinal.

Gila Ridge has won 11 in a row since it lost 21-12 at Lake Havasu to open the season. Lake Havasu would go on to earn the 10th seed and won its first playoff game, but lost 35-0 to Mica Mountain.

Senior athlete Riley Carson leads Mica with 1,214 all-purpose yards. He has 65 rushing yards, 651 receiving, 110 returning kicks, 323 returning punts and 65 returning interceptions.

Carson has scored 66 points via touchdown and 61 from kicks and averages 38.7 yards per punt and 59.2 per kickoff. He’s also one of the returnees from last year’s state championship side and finished second in the state in soccer as a sophomore and reached the semifinals last year.

Senior Jaidyn Crist took over the quarterback spot and has passed for 1,458 yards.

Junior quarterback Isaac Soliz has passed for 2,296 yards for Gila Ridge. Senior running back Prentes Boxx lll leads the Hawks in rushing with 1,607, and their leading receiver is senior Gabriel Cota with 708 yards and 41 catches.

Mica Mountain swept the 4A Kino awards with Jay Campos winning Region Coach of the Year, Carson winning Region Offensive Player of the Year and senior linebacker Broden Schmidt getting Region Player of the Year and region defensive POY.

Mica had 13 first-team All-Region selections.

In 4A Desert Southwest, Gila Ridge’s Jessica Slaughter was Region Coach of the Year, senior defensive lineman Drew Caudle won Region Defensive Player of the Year and Boxx was Region Offensive Player of the Year. Gila Ridge had 17 first-time All-Region picks.

The game will be streamed on the , and a radio broadcast will be on .