Kincade Kiger scooped up a fumble and ran 85 yards for the winning score as eighth-seeded
Desert Edge (Goodyear) stunned top-seeded and defending Class 4A Division II state champ Cactus (Glendale), 21-20, in quarterfinal action Friday at Cactus.
Desert Edge (10-2) rallied from a 20-7 halftime deficit to post the biggest win in school history.
Lashunn Norris rushed for more than 150 yards and two scores for Cactus (10-2), which suffered its first 4A-II loss since the 2008 season.
The game was one of two significant upsets in the state playoffs. In the 5A-II playoffs, No. 7 seed
Ironwood Ridge (Tucson) (9-3) pounded No. 2 seed Glendale Sandra Day O'Connor, 41-21. That result didn't surprise as much given O'Connor's relatively weak schedule this season.
Mitch Fischer rushed for 197 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Ironwood Ridge. O'Connor finished 11-1.
Click here to view MaxPreps' Arizona football playoff brackets.WESTERMAN TO RETURN FOR HAMILTONHamilton (Chandler) coach Steve Belles expects to get Texas-bound offensive tackle
Christian Westerman back for the Huskies' Class 5A Division I state semifinal game against Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) on Dec. 3. The 6-feet-5, 295-pound senior suffered a leg injury in practice before the team's first-round playoff game and sat out the past two games. Belles initially feared Westerman had suffered fractures in each of the two bones below the left knee, but a subsequent diagnosis found they were just contusions. Westerman is expected to resume practice on Nov. 29. Hamilton defeated Mesquite (Gilbert) 48-7 in the quarterfinals Friday and has outscored its two playoff opponents 110-13.
CAREY QUESTIONABLE FOR CANYON DEL ORO
Canyon del Oro (Oro Valley) may have to defend its 4A-I state title without star running back
Ka'Deem Carey, a University of Arizona commit. Carey had some tightness in his hamstring before the Dorados' 28-9 quarterfinal win over Apollo (Glendale), and then injured it further on a long run during the game, leaving his status in doubt for Friday's semifinal game vs. Cienega (Vail). Coach Dustin Peace said Carey was doing some high-knee running on Monday and felt "pretty good" but the Dorados will continue to monitor him and he'll be a game-time decision. "Either way, I think we'll get something out of him this week," Peace said. "But I just feel bad for him. He's got a lot of opportunities ahead of him but I know he wants to contribute so it's been frustrating dealing with injuries all season." Carey rushed for 2,738 yards and 43 touchdowns last season.
TOP SEEDS MOVE TO 3A, 2A TITLE GAMESThe No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will play for the Class 3A and 2A titles. No. 2 seed and defending champ
Blue Ridge (Lakeside) and No. 1
Show Low won their 3A semifinal games while No. 1
Northwest Christian (Phoenix) and No. 2
Yuma Catholic made it to the 2A title game. Northwest handled St. Johns with surprising ease, 42-13, while Yuma edged Thatcher, 22-20. Show Low beat Snowflake, 42-21, while Blue Ridge rolled Florence, 49-7, after Florence lost its star player, Kyle Washington, to a separated shoulder early in the game. The 2A and 3A championship games will be played Saturday at 1 and 5 p.m., respectively, at Northern Arizona University's Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
DESERT RIDGE KEEPS ROLLINGDesert Ridge (Mesa) continued its incredible late-season run with a 49-22 win over Gilbert in the Class 5A-I state quarterfinals. Desert Ridge has won seven straight games including the last three without starting quarterback
Parker Rasmussen, who was injured in a 44-0 win over Westwood (Mesa) on Oct. 29. Erstwhile running back
Jordan Becerra has filled in primarily as a rushing threat and the Jaguars have averaged 370 rushing yards in the past three games. Coach Jeremy Hathcock will have an interesting quarterback dilemma when Rasmussen returns for a semifinal game Dec. 3 vs. Desert Vista (Phoenix).
THE FAB 51. Kenny Mitchell, Sr., WR/KR/PR, Williams Field (Gilbert): Caught a 46-yard touchdown pass on the first series, returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter and returned a kickoff 92 yards for a score in a 4A-II semifinal win over Amphitheater (Tucson). Mitchell amassed 282 all-purpose yards.
2. Malcolm Holland, Sr., FS, Hamilton: Had two interceptions and a punt return for a touchdown in a 5A-I quarterfinal win over Gilbert Mesquite.
3. Jordan Becerra, Jr., QB, Desert Ridge: Ran for 265 yards and three touchdowns, threw for 85 yards and another score and recovered a ball in the end zone for a safety in a 5A-I quarterfinal win over Gilbert.
4. Mike Ingrassia, Sr., RB, Desert Vista: Had 211 rushing yards and four touchdowns (three rushing) in a 5A-I quarterfinal win over Salpointe (Tucson).
5. Rathen Ricedorff, Sr., QB, Show Low: Ricedorff broke the state record for touchdown passes in a season with five more in a 3A semifinal win over Snowflake. Ricedorff finished the game with 274 yards passing in three quarters of play. He currently has 53 touchdown passes as the Cougars prepare for the state championship vs. Blue Ridge, the only team to beat them this season. Brian Wriston set the old state record of 49 touchdown passes at Moon Valley (Phoenix) in 2004.
FIVE GAMES TO WATCH2A state championship – Northwest Christian vs. Yuma Catholic, Saturday, 1 p.m., Northern Arizona University's Walkup Skydome: The Crusaders have had a surprisingly easy run through the 2A playoffs after emerging as region champs in what some observers felt was a down year for the Central Region. When these two teams met on Oct. 15, Northwest emerged with a tight, 14-10 win in a game that featured less than 500 yards of total offense. Neither team has won a 2A title. Yuma Catholic is playing in its first; Northwest in its second.
3A state championship – Show Low vs. Blue Ridge, Saturday, 5 p.m., Northern Arizona University's Walkup Skydome: There is plenty of animosity between these White Mountain rivals, but never more than this season after Show Low accused Blue Ridge of illegally recruiting Cal commit Jordan Morgan, a charge that the Arizona Interscholastic Association found baseless. Blue Ridge beat Show Low in the teams' regular-season meeting, 36-18.
4A-I semifinals: Queen Creek vs. Saguaro (Scottsdale), Friday, 7 p.m., Paradise Valley High School: Saguaro edged Queen Creek 31-28 for the Desert Valley Region title in the teams' Nov. 5 meeting. The key to stopping Saguaro is slowing the rushing attack of quarterback
Teddy Ruben and running backs
D.J. Foster and
Danny Clark, but nobody's done it this season. Queen Creek has a balanced offense with quarterback
Adam Brzeczek and running back
Chim Nga and a terrific coach in Joe Germaine. Expect a few wrinkles.
4A-II semifinals: Williams Field (Gilbert) vs. Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale), Friday, 3 p.m., Paradise Valley High School: Notre Dame racked up nearly 500 yards of offense but lost 21-16 in the East Sky Region rivals' prior meeting. That offensive success leads many to believe the Saints will get their revenge in the rematch. But Williams Field played that game without star running back
Alex Howard and the Black Hawks were still figuring out how to use multi-faceted weapon
Kenny Mitchell. Williams Field allows plenty of yards but plays good red zone defense and makes plays. Notre Dame will also have to find a way to slow a vastly improved Williams Field offense, which will find out this week if Howard will play after he took a shot to the midsection in the quarterfinals and sat out the second half after vomiting up blood.
4A-II semifinals: Desert Edge vs. Thunderbird (Phoenix), Friday, 7 p.m., North Canyon High School: Either a No. 8 seed (Desert Edge) or a No. 13 seed will be playing for the state championship. Desert Edge has won seven straight since a 14-7 loss to Williams Field. Thunderbird has also hit its stride, winning its past three games including a stunner over No. 4 seed Liberty (Peoria).
CRAIG'S CRANIUMIt's important to check your mouth multiple times per game while watching
Chaparral (Scottsdale) play. The top-seeded, defending 5A-II state champs are so athletically gifted that the jaw-dropping plays come with regularity.
The Firebirds have not been tested all season, outscoring opponents 653-48, and we don't expect they will be this season. Chaparral has outscored two playoff opponents 130-10 as it prepares to square off with Westview (Avondale) in the state semifinals this Friday before a likely title date with erstwhile 5A-II king Centennial (Peoria), the only team in 5A-II that anybody believes can come within a couple touchdowns of Chaparral.
We've lamented in this space before how disappointing it is that we won't get to see Chaparral square off with likely 5A-I champ Hamilton for a winner-take-all title. These are the two best teams in the state, after all, and their styles are so different it would be interesting to see which would win. Would Hamilton's withering offensive line wear down the Firebirds and control the clock, or would Firebirds stars Davonte Neal, Connor Brewer and Co. make too many big plays for the Huskies to overcome?
We'll never know, so we'll just enjoy the sight of these two teams on the same field — in back-to-back championships games Dec. 13 at University of Phoenix Stadium. Given the way the Arizona Cardinals have played on that turf this season, it will be a nice change to watch some good football.
Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 18 years. He currently serves as the Phoenix correspondent for CBSSports.com, covering the Arizona Cardinals and other local teams. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at craigsmorgan@gmail.com.
