No. 2 seed Joy Christian has cruised through its season.

For the most part, No. 1 seed Benson also has dominated.  

Are the teams heading toward a Nov. 28 showdown in the state championship game at Chaparral? The road figures to get a bit tougher for the two beginning with their quarterfinal matchups.

D-V quarterfinal games

No. 8 seed Miami (9-2) vs. No. 1 Benson (11-0): Led by junior running back Keegan Graff’s 15 TDs, seven players on the team have each scored four touchdowns or more for Benson. “The reason why we have been successful is that everyone understands their role and where they fit on the team,” said 13-year coach Chris Determan about his Benson team. “The kids do not care who gets the yards or the touchdowns. The goal is to win and it does not matter who gets the credit for scoring.” Senior quarterback Nick Hernandez has completed 56 percent of his passes and has thrown only three interceptions. Benson’s defense has recorded six shutouts. Seventeen starters returned from last year’s 8-3 Benson team. Benson is two wins away from reaching its first state title game since 1978. Miami and Benson met in Week 3, with Benson winning 47-12. But Miami’s defense, which hasn’t given up more than 20 points in a game in the past five weeks, has improved. Miami also has a different quarterback under center, sophomore Zabriel Saenz (13 passing TD, 8 rushing TDs), who took over in Week 4. Joseph Radke (6-4, 215) leads the team in rushing (907 yards, 13 TDs), receiving and sacks (14 ½). But Saenz, Eugene Tackett and Gabe Gomez (1,676 combined rushing yards) also can slip by defenders. Junior outside linebacker Joe Castaneda is averaging 14.1 tackles per game and has 13 sacks.

  

No. 12 Santa Cruz Valley (9-2) vs. No. 4 American Leadership (10-1): The revival of the once moribund Santa Cruz Valley football program continued this year, and don’t expect it to end next year. Santa Cruz’s junior class is loaded. But for the only seniors on the team, Rome Silva, Hector Hermosillo, Marcos Castillo and Anthony Ibarra, there is no next year. Santa Cruz lost its two games by a combined three points. It almost lost another close game five weeks ago, when it defeated American Leadership 14-12. Devin Neal capped a Santa Cruz 56-yard second quarter drive with a 6-yard touchdown run for Santa Cruz’s first touchdown. It added another rushing touchdown in the third quarter to complete a 40-yard drive. American Leadership missed an extra point and botched a two-point conversion in the second half. Senior middle linebacker Matt Pensky led American Leadership with 12 tackles and scored a rushing touchdown in that game. Santa Cruz doesn’t have a stat person, but coach Rishard Davis said that junior linemen Alijay June, Ryan Gonzales, Eduardo Gaspar, Armando Munoz, and Jesus Rivera are some of the team’s unsung heroes. Santa Cruz was 3-6 last year. “The commitment is probably at its highest it has ever been at Santa Cruz,” Davis said. “Players have been in the weight room since January, trying to improve their skill and strength.” The quick rise of American Leadership is just as intriguing as the revival of Santa Cruz. American Leadership is a charter school but has won 19 of its first 22 games out of the gate. Coach Rich Edwards’ story also is interesting. The former building contractor’s only previous coaching gig was as a Pop Warner coach. But Edwards, 51, now also the school’s athletic director, surrounded himself with a good staff, including Max Hall, the former Mesa Mountain View standout whom Edwards gave a second chance after a misstep or two. Jeremiah Boyd has rushed for more than 2,500 yards and scored 35 touchdowns in the last two years running behind a stout line that features guard Mason Ferrin. Quarterback Dallin Edwards has thrown 21 touchdowns and rushed for nine this season. 

No. 11 Tempe Prep (8-3) vs. No. 3 Round Valley (9-2): When these two play, it’s hard-nosed, small school football at its best. The programs lost a bevy of talent last year, but only a few programs in the state can regroup after losing so much, and Tempe Prep and Round Valley are two of those programs. Tempe Prep’s strength, its offensive line, is entirely new. But tight ends Herman Flores and Jose Urias, tackle Alexi Reboulet, guard Nicholas Bellavia, center Bradley Spiker have been very “physical and consistent.” Tempe Prep also is starting a new quarterback, sophomore Max Rich, “who is showing great poise.”

Tempe Prep's unsung heroes on defense are safety Joseph Swingle, linebacker Brendan Phelan, defensive end Nathan Stough, and corner Jacob Brown. Tempe Prep did return a few key players from last year’s state runner-up season, Jesse Boaz Cozens, Isaiah Brittain (773 rushing yards, 16 TDs, 7 tackles per game), Connor Woltz, Gabriel LeBeau and Christian Gaylor. Those are the players Round Valley will need to stop. “We are not yet a great team as our Game 10 loss to American Leadership made painfully evident,” Tempe Prep coach Tommy Brittain said. “But the players are figuring things out at the right time. We have been blessed with great health all season. (I’m) making fewer stupid decisions, and the players are starting to believe.”      

For Round Valley, you might as well call Oscar Perez Superman, because he does it all. Punter, place kicker, linebacker, slot receiver, fullback. There is likely no other player in the state that gets as much out his 140-pound frame as Cortez does. “Our team has come together,” coach Marcus Bell said. “We are a young team with only four senior starters. They get along with one another, and they’re willing to take the coaching and work together. That’s made us better throughout the year.” Bell’s boys are averaging 313.5 rushing yards per game. Juniors Kyron Woolf (1,198 rushing yards) and Sullivan Udall (1,007 rushing yards) are Round Valley’s rushing yard gobblers.

No. 7 Bisbee (8-2) vs. No. 2 Joy Christian: The last time Bisbee won eight games was when coach Christopher Vertrees took over in 2010. Bisbee’s only losses this season came to a team in a higher division, Pusch Ridge Christian, and a six-point defeat to No. 1 seed Benson. Bisbee’s Spencer Schuller is ranked fourth in the state with 1,318 receiving yards and first with a new Class 2A state record 23 TD catches. Fifty-three of senior quarterback Danny Barrow’s 83 completions have gone to Schuller. Tony Chavez (5-6, 155) has rushed for 1,423 yards and 14 TDs for Bisbee. One of the key matchups in this game will feature Schuller and whichever tall and athletic corner Joy Christian picks to cover Schuller. Like most opponents, Bisbee might run into trouble covering Joy Christian’s speed on the outside. Nineteen of the 39 passes Dujuan Lawrence has caught so far have ended with him scoring. Isaiah Goodspeed (638 receiving yards) can also leave defenders in his wake. The heart and soul of Joy Christian is senior quarterback Matt Mitchell, who’s been asked to run more this year (team-high 672 rushing yards) as well as continue to produce when he drops back. Mitchell’s accuracy (75.8 completion percentage, 34 TDs, 2 INTs) has improved despite the added responsibilities this season. Outside linebacker Riley Renner has 21 career sacks for Joy Christian.

“We get a lot of attention because we score so many points, but the reality is the (first team) defense has really only been scored on by two teams all year,” Joy Christian coach Brian Cole said. 

(A free state program, with D-I-V state quarterfinal breakdowns and preview of the D-VI title game, is available for fans.)