Week 3 of tackle football in Southern Arizona features some rivals renewals and a lot of inter-conference battles.
Salpointe Catholic and Tucson High renew their series that dates back to 1956, while one of the newer rivalries, Canyon del Oro and Mica Mountain, survives CDO moving to 5A.
Mica Mountain's Josiah Thornwell (5) slips through the hands of Canyon del Oro's Brenden Lawrence (24) in the first quarter of their 4A Kino game at Mica Mountain on Oct. 18, 2024.
Long-time foes Flowing Wells vs. Amphitheater and Pueblo vs. Sunnyside highlight the 4A and 5A tilts, while Nogales looks to keep winning against Rio Rico.
All games are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted
FRIDAY
6A/5A
Salpointe (1-0) at Tucson High (0-1)
Location: 400 N. Second Ave.
Notable: The Badgers’ 21-20 loss to Mountain View was Tucson’s High’s first overtime game of the MaxPreps era (since 2004).
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5A
Ironwood Ridge (0-1) at Campo Verde (0-1)
Location: 3870 S. Quartz St., Gilbert
Notable: Ironwood Ridge opened its season with a 21-17 loss at Catalina Foothills, while Campo Verde came away with a 26-16 defeat at Capistrano Valley in Mission Viejo, Calif.
Desert Edge (1-0) at Cienega (0-1)
Location: 12775 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way
Notable: Desert Edge, of Goodyear, won the 2024 5A state championship after finishing second in 2023.
Canyon View (1-0) at Marana (0-1)
Location: 12000 W. Emigh Road
Notable: It’s the season opener for Waddell's Canyon View High as its first game against Phoenix South Mountain was forfeited due to South Mountain not having enough players acclimatized to the heat. South Mountain is a 6A-sized school (2,203 enrollment).
Buena (1-0) at Skyline (1-0)
Location: 845 S. Crismon Road, Mesa
Notable: According to , this is the Colts’ third game against Skyline, with the Coyotes winning the first two in 2003 and 2004.
Mountain View (1-0) at Trevor G. Browne (0-1)
Location: 7402 W. Catalina Drive, Phoenix
Notable: The Bruins welcome another school from the northwest Tucson area, but are looking for a better result. Last wee,k CDO beat Trevor G. Browne 49-0.
5A/4A
Flowing Wells (1-0) at Amphi (0-1)
Location: 125 W. Yavapai Road
Notable: Since 2021, the Cabs and Panthers have split the “Battle for Prince Road,†with Amphi winning in 2021 and 2023 and Flowing Wells winning in 2022 and 2024.
Mica Mountain (1-0) at Canyon del Oro (1-0)
Location: 25 W. Calle Concordia
Notable: CDO is 2-2 against Mica Mountain, having beaten the Vail school twice in 2023. The Thunderbolts beat the Dorados in 2022 and 2024.
Empire (0-1) at Maricopa (0-1)
Location: 45012 W. Honeycutt Ave., Maricopa
Notable:Â Fun fact: Maricopa High is in Pinal County, and Pima High School is in Graham County.
Nogales (1-0) at Rio Rico (0-1)
Location: 590 Camino Lito Galindo, Rio Rico
Notable: Fresh off snapping their 20-game losing streak, the Apaches look to retake command of the all-time series with their rival. Nogales won the first 13 against Rio Rico, but the Hawks have won the last three.
Desert View (1-0) at Sahuaro (1-0)
Location: 545 N. Camino Seco
Notable: Sahuaro has won three of the last four and five of the last seven in this cat fight, but their last meeting was 2017.
Pueblo (1-0) at Sunnyside (1-0)
Pueblo's Omar Ibanez (34) bolts up the middle on his way to a touchdown against Sunnyside in the first quarter of their game at Pueblo High School, Sept. 14, 2018, in Tucson.
Location: 1725 E. Bilby Road
Notable: The blue south side teams renew their series for the first time since 2019. According to , Sunnyside and Pueblo first met in 1962, a 20-13 win for the Warriors.
4A
North Canyon (0-1) at Catalina Foothills (1-0)
Location: 4300 E. Sunrise Drive
Notable: Catalina Foothills hosts Phoenix's Rattlers after a 21-17 win over Ironwood Ridge and ahead of three games in a row away from home.
Maryvale (1-0) at Cholla (1-0)
Location: 2001 W. Starr Pass Blvd.
Notable: After punishing the Yuma Criminals 21-6 last week on the road, the Chargers return home to try and beat Maryvale for the third year in a row.
Combs (1-0) at Rincon/University (0-1)
Location: 421 N. Arcadia Ave.
Notable: Combs, of San Tan Valley, plays its second Southern Arizona team in a row after beating Rio Rico 56-0 last week. The Coyotes play Cholla next week.
Desert Sunrise (0-1) at Sahuarita (1-0)
Location: 350 Sahuarita Road
Notable:Â Maricopa's Desert Sunrise doubled its win total last year in its second season playing varsity football. The Golden Hawks went 2-8 in 2024 after going 1-9 in 2023.
4A/2A
Bisbee (1-1) at Douglas (0-1)
Location: 1550 15th St., Douglas
Notable: In a rare 4A versus 2A game, Douglas hosts the Pumas for the home opener. Douglas leads the series against its Cochise County rival 12-8 since 2004.
3A
Pusch Ridge Christian (2-0) at Crismon (1-1)
Location: 21942 E. Riggs Road, Queen Creek
Notable: The Lions have won 14 in a row.
Dysart (1-1) at Sabino (0-2)
Location: 5000 N. Bowes Road
Notable: The Sabercats look to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2014, when they fell to Salpointe, Sahuaro and Desert Edge. They did make the playoffs, where they lost to Scottsdale Saguaro.
2A
Tombstone (0-1) at Benson (1-1)
Location: 360 S. Patagonia St., Benson
Notable: Tombstone returns to action after its game last week was canceled. It wasn’t a forfeit, so the Yellow Jackets are 0-1 instead of 0-2.
Phoenix NFL YET (0-2) at Catalina (1-0)
Location: 3645 E. Pima St.
Notable: NFL Youth Education Towns were set up in cities that hosted the Super Bowl.
Desert Christian (1-1) at Santa Rita (0-2)
Location: 3951 S. Pantano Road
Notable: Santa Rita hosts Friday Night Lights for the third week in a row after opening the season by hosting Catalina and then last week when the team was at Miami, Sabino used the field because its new artificial turf wasn’t ready yet.
Palo Verde (1-1) at Tanque Verde (1-1)
Location: 4201 N. Melpomene Way
Notable: The Verde rivals open up region with both seeking a chance to get over .500 for the first time this year and get a leg up in 2A South 1 play.
Morenci (1-1) at Willcox (1-1)
Location: 240 N. Bisbee Ave., Willcox
Notable: The Wildcats have won 10 in a row over Willcox.
1A
St. David (2-0) at San Manuel (1-1)
Location: 711 S. McNab Parkway, San Manuel
Notable: St. David won its first two games 58-0 and 59-0.
Duncan (1-1) at Valley Union (1-1)
Location: 4088 W. Jefferson Road, Elfrida
Notable:Â Elfrida's Valley Union bounced back from a 58-0 loss to St. David to beat Glendale Desert Heights Prep last week 36-16.
SATURDAY
1A
Baboquivari (0-2) at Mohave Accelerated (0-2)
Location: 625 Marina Boulevard, Bullhead City
Time: 6 p.m.
Notable: Baboquivari gets an extra day to travel to face Mohave Accelerated in Bullhead City, which is next to the Nevada border.
Tucson High and Salpointe football renew historic series for 69th match up
