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Cienega (4-3, 2-1 5A Southern) opened this season with a 38-31 loss against Sierra Vista’s Buena and a 26-0 loss at Goodyear Desert Edge (7-0). It was Cienega’s second 0-2 start ever, after 2015 when they started the season 0-3, according to .

Then the Bobcats won two before falling 27-6 at Mountain View. Cienega then its last two, including 34-13 at 6A’s Desert Ridge in Mesa.

“We’ve been battle-tested early, obviously the Buena game came down to the wire, the last play of the game,� said Cienega head coach Justin Argraves. “Then we had Desert Edge come here and that really tested us, so going up to Phoenix last week coming out with that win and then getting this win (Friday) night, we control our own destiny, so we just gotta take it day by day.�

On Friday, Cienega beat Sunnyside 20-6 at home in a battle that saw a couple of players ejected. Bobcat senior quarterback Julian Hainley passed for 249 yards, going 11 for 19 for two scores with two interceptions. Rodgers had three catches for 101 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown.

“It was a tough one, it was a battle, it got a little heated, so way to keep our composure, remember it’s about us, not about that, it was about us, so it’s on us,� said Cienega senior receiver/defensive back Jaden Rodgers. “We stuck together and we got to win, I’m proud of our guys.�

Rodgers, who , said Hainley threw him a good pass on that long touchdown.

“I got so much adrenaline, I had to slow myself down so I can make a move so I can get in the end zone, but it worked out and thank God I got in there,� Rodgers said. “My boy Julian threw me a good pass, so had to do what I had to do.�

With the win over Sunnyside, Cienega is tied for second with Flowing Wells in the 5A Southern at 2-1.

Cienega senior defensive end Andrei Davis-Lopez leads the 5A and is tied for second in the state with 15 sacks.

Hainley leads the region in passing (1,394 yards) and total yards (1,540), and Rodgers leads it in receiving (538 yards).

This week, the Bobcats travel to Flowing Wells (6-1, 2-1), which is reeling from its first loss. Then on Oct. 24, Cienega will host the Desert View Jaguars (7-0, 4-0), who are off to their .

Cienega has won six of the past seven against Sunnyside. Rodgers said the games with the Blue Devils are always competitive, though.

“I respect the heck out of (Sunnyside head coach Thomas Romack) over there, it’s good when you get two teams that love to compete and that’s what happened (Friday) night and fortunately we came out on the victory side (Friday) night,� Argraves said. “We got three tough games ahead of us so I’m focused on Flowing Wells.�

Flowing Wells has improved from 3-7, 3-7 and 5-5 in Brian Hook’s first three years as head coach there to a 6-0 start this season.

“He’s done a tremendous job this year,� Argraves said. “We got to go to their place and they’ve had a pretty darn good year this year.�

The 5A Southern is better than expected, with Desert View and Flowing Wells off to strong starts and Mountain View (4-3, 2-2) beating Tucson High and FW.

In the Southern Arizona 5A Sonoran region, Marana (6-0) has only lost to 6A Salpointe Catholic. Tucson High and Buena are expected to be title contenders, and Canyon del Oro moved up after a successful 4A run that included a state title.

This season, the 5A has changed from a 16-team playoff to 24 teams and opted out of the Open. The top eight teams receive byes in the single-elimination tournament, and the brackets will be announced on Nov. 1.

“You know, our region, I don’t think a lot of people thought our region was going to be as tough as it was this year, almost all the teams have some pretty solid wins this year,� Argraves said. “So that’s fun to see and then obviously 5A as a whole is pretty darn competitive and with the playoff changes, how they made it this year, it’s going to make it quite interesting come November 1st.�