Bringing in new coaches often doesn't produce a quick turnaround. Not so for Tucson High and Corona del Sol football teams in 2011.

Tucson, which has qualified for postseason only once in the new millennium (2008), is 6-3 heading to its regular-season finale on Friday against Flowing Wells. Coach Justin Argraves has the Badgers on the cusp of a playoff berth at 6-3 and a current power ranking of 12th in Divsion I. The Badgers were 2-8 last year and finished under .500  in 2008 (5-6). Like Corona, they have been tamed by solid teams like Ironwood Ridge, Salpointe and Canyon del Oro. They've beaten teams at or below their ability and that's often the difference in qualifying or not for postseason for a non-powerhouse.

Corona del Sol, under veteran coach Tom Joseph iin his first year with the Aztecs is 5-4 after posting a mild upset of Mesquite last week. The Aztecs were 1-10 last year and lost their opener to Basha this year by 45 points. They've been beaten handily by four of Division I's top teams (Chandler, Desert Vista, Mountain Pointe and Basha). They face tough odds this week in trying to upend Hamilton and its nation-best 49-game winning streak.

Still, Corona has beaten three teams it lost close games or routs to last season. The Aztecs defeated Highalnd, Dobson going away and reversed a 38-0 loss to Mesquite with is 36-33 triumph last week. Having something approaching a winning record would have been a shot in the arm for the Aztecs and their fans, but to be in the playoff chase to the final Friday is quite a feat.

Tucson is in a much better position to qualify when all is said and done Friday night. A win puts the Badgers in for sure at 7-3 and a loss likely won't shelve them at 6-4. Corona's fate rests -- barring a monumental upset of Hamilton -- on how Sunnyside, North Canyon and Mountain Pointe fare on Friday. Sunnyside faces Buena , North Canyon takes on North and Mountain Pointe takes on Westwood, teams they should beat. With Sunnyside, North Canyon and Mountain Pointe wins and a loss by Corona, the Aztecs liklely will  fall short.

Regardless of how things play out in terms of postseason, improving from 2-8 to 6-3 (Tucson) and advancing from 1-10 to 5-4 (Corona) makes for promise and hope. These were 26th and 27th, respecitively, in power rankings last season among the 31 5A-I schools. The trick will be to do it again next year. When of course, expectations will rise.