Division III Quarterfinals

 

No. 8 Catalina Foothills at No. 1 Paradise Valley

Catalina Foothills (9-2) plays with a balanced attack with junior quarterback Rhett Rodriguez averaging just under 200 yards passing a game while a crew of about four rushers (including Rodriguez) puts up similar numbers.

Head coach Jeff Scurran guided Sabino to three state championships (1990, 1992, 1998) and has appeared in seven title games. Catalina Foothills is the fourth Southern Arizona team he has guided to a state playoff berth.

Paradise Valley (11-0) is making it's second straight quarterfinal appearance but this time in D-III. The Trojans made the second round last year in D-II under first year head coach Greg Davis but the team had to face top-seeded Liberty and lost 42-13.

This year the tables are turned, the Trojans are top seed and they will be hosting Catalina Foothills. Sr. QB Daniel BridgeGadd has thrown for over 3,000 yards and has collected 35 touchdowns while Jr. RB Jared Beamon has rushed for over 1,000 yards.

 

No. 12 Bradshaw Mountain at No. 4 Sunnyslope

This is Bradshaw Mountain's (8-3) first appearance in the quarterfinal round in five years. The Bears, under David Moran, are led by Jr. QB Gunner Bundrick and Sr. RB Justin Castro.

The Bears upset No. 5 Arcadia in the first round 21-15 after opening up their season with a 35-14 loss to the same team. The win displayed the mental toughness an underdog team needs to have but the Bears will need more of it if they plan on advancing to the semifinals.

Sunnyslope (10-1) lost at Paradise Valley on Sept. 11 haven't lost since, reeling off eight wins in row including a 35-8 pounding of Vista Grande in the first round of the playoffs.

Damon Pieri has coached the Vikings to at least ten wins three years in a row including an 11-1 campaign last year in D-II when the team reached the quarterfinals. But the Vikings are in D-III now and only a couple of major upsets will prevent them from playing Paradise Valley in the semifinal round this year.
Sr. QB Max Hallford has thrown for almost 1,500 yards and SR. RB Jeff Goebel has rushed for 1,728 more.

 

No. 11 Cesar Chavez at No. 3 Desert Edge

Cesar Chavez (11-1) is five points away from a perfect regular season. A 37-33 opening night loss at Higley has been followed by ten straight victories including a 37-12 win at Sabino in the first round. That 25-point win the closest game for the Champions this year under Jim Rattay since the opening loss.

Sr. QB Daniel Lerma has thrown for just over 1,000 yards but SR. RB Pavone Meyers has rushed for over 1,500 with 26 TDs. Meyers has scored in every game with 10 of his touchdowns coming in the last month alone.

Desert Edge (9-2) has gone 44-6 over the last four years and the Scorpions are hoping for their fifth 10-win season in six years under Rich Wellbrock.

Jr. Tehran Thomas has rushed for 1,161 yards and 22 TDs and he has thrown for over 800 yards more. So. RB Rocky Perez has gained almost 1,000 yards on the ground. In all, the Scorpions average over 380 yards rushing a game.

 

No. 7 Verrado at 2 Sunrise Mountain

Verrado (9-1) had their undefeated season spoiled by Desert Edge on Oct. 30 but the Vipers are in the playoffs for the second year in a row under Derek Wahlstrom.

Sr. QB Lathon Lax has thrown for just under 2,000 yards this year with 20 TDs and So. RB Ja'Tai Jenkins has rushed for 773 yards with 11 TDs. The Vipers squeaked past No. 10 Mingus Union 20-14 in the first round at home.

Sunrise Mountain (11-0) has not been tested this year under James Carter. The 50-6 win over Cactus in the first round is one of the closest games of the year for the Mustangs.

The high-powered offense is run by Jr. QB Chase Cord with 2,861 yards passing and an incredible 51 TDs. Cord has also rushed for 941 yards with 12 TDs on the ground. Jr. Garret Veldhuizen leads the team with 947 yards rushing and 18 Tds.