Division football playoff races enter final two weeks

October 18, 2011 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Most football teams positioned in the top 10 of their respective divisions can breathe normally with two games left in the regular season as far as playoff berths are concerned. If you're sitting 11-20 the anxiety the final two weeks is annoying and uncomfortable.

The battle for qualifying becomes a litlte more intense this week as Divisions I-V hone in on locking up or holding on to a berth. Here's a glance at each of the divisions and the outlook using a special crystal ball for final two Fridays.

DIVISION I  1-10: Hamilton, Brophy, Pinnacle, Desert Vista, Desert Ridge, Basha, Chandler, Valley Vista, Red Mountain and Sunnyside. DIVISION I 11-19: Westview, Boulder Creek, North Canyon, Cibola, Tucson, Corona del Sol, Mesquite, Gilbert and Mountain Pointe. OUTLOOK: Teams fnishing with seven wins are locks to qualify. The teams currently in the top 10 have reached seven wins or will over the next two weeks. Same goes for No. 11 Westview and No. 14 Cibola. That leaves four spots for seven teams. Boulder Creek, North Canyon, Tucson and Mountain Pointe are the most likely to finish 6-4. The toughest road to berths belongs to Corona (Mesquite and Hamilton), Gilbert (Chandler and Dobson) and Mesquite (Corona del Sol and Deer Valley). Mesquite even winning out would be 5-5 and only its very tough schedule would give the Wildcats a shot to qualify.

DIVISION II 1-10: Chaparral, Deer Valley, Cienega, Salpointe, Ironwood Ridge, Centennial, Gila Ridge, Marcos de Niza, Lake Havasu, Perry. DIVISION II 11-20: Ironwood, Apollo, Canyon del  Oro, Sahuaro, Willow Canyon, Horizon, Millennium, Fairfax, Catalina Foothills and Cesar Chavez. OUTLOOK: The 1-10 teams are locks to win at least seven games (seven already have). No. 12 Apollo should finish 8-2, No. 13 CDO conclude at 7-3 and No. 14 Sahuaro should finish at least 7-3. No. 11 Ironwood will need to pull off an upset to finish better than 6-4, but a tough schedule may still qualify the Eaglles. No. 17 Millennium  has a very good chance of finishing 7-3 and leap-frogging No. 15 Willow Canyon and No. 16 Horizon. Willow Canyon and Horizon need a win each to finish 6-4 and stay close. One team that may fall short of the playoffs despite winning seven games is No. 20 Cesar Chavez. If the Champions beat Sierra Linda and upset Marcos de Niza an 8-2 finish changes their outlook.

DIVISION III 1-10: Liberty, Saguaro, Sabino, Queen Creek, Arcadia, Williams Field, Cactus, Nogales, Douglas, Sunrise Mountain. DIVISION III 11-20: Poston Butte, Thunderbird, Peoria, Sahuarita, Agua Fria, Higley, Campo Verde, Paradise Valley, Desert Edge and Greenway. OUTLOOK: Not only are the top 10 teams going to win seven games or more, but most likely 11 through 15 will as well. That leaves Higley (5-3), Campo Verde (5-3), Desert Edge (5-3), Paradise Valley (4-4) and Greenway (4-4) battling for the final spot. That final spot is too close to call this week. Maybe next week with one game to gio.

DIVISION IV 1-10: Blue Ridge, Show Low, Snowflake, Seton, Winslow, Buckeye, Florence, Fountain Hills, River Valley, Monument Valley. DIVISION IV 11-18: Mingus, Chinle, Empire, Alchesay, Window Rock, Coolidge, Parker and Ganado. OUTLOOK: The current top 13 are going to qualify, each winning at least six games. It's basically teams 14-18 competing for the final three spots. No. 14 Alchesay (4-4) faces St. Johns and Show Low, which liklely knocks them out. No. 16 Coolidge (5-3) is playing D-III Maricopa and Coronado the next two weeks. No. 15 Window Rock (5-3) finishes with Hopi and Monument Valley.

DIVISION V 1-10: Northwest Christian, Yuma Catholic, Thatcher, Camp Verde, Willcox, San Tan Foothills, St. Johns, Tempe Prep, San Manuel, Arizona Lutheran. DIVISION V 11-18: Round Valley, Scottsdale Christian, Bisbee, Pinon, Tonopah Valley, Williams, Phoenix Christian, Morenci. OUTLOOK: Not much to be decided here barring upsets among 11-14. The final spot or two is up for grabs among No. 15 Tonopah Valley, No. 16 Williams and No. 17 Phoenix Christian. Tonopah Valley should be able to secure a split of its final two games with Yuma Catholic and Westwind Prep. Williams faces Sedona Red Rock and Tuba City. Should Williams stumble in one of those, Phoenix Christian is poised to move up a slot with its final two games against San Carlos and Tanque Verde.