Save two minor “upsets” from the first round, the 5A quarterfinals are comprised of teams many expected to be here from the beginning. Let’s take a look at the four matchups taking place this Friday night across The Valley and the Old Pueblo with Cienega taking the spotlight:

 

No. 9 Marana (9-2) at No. 1 Cienega (11-0)

Some call this game, “The Rematch,” but it’s another in a long line of high-level games that has defined this season for both teams. The Bobcats are riding a 26-1 win streak dating back to Oct. 9 of 2015 and that streak incudes three wins over Salpointe, two wins over Ironwood Ridge, two wins over Mountain View Marana and two wins over Marana. In short, this is one of the best runs to ever come out of Southern Arizona and the Bobcats would like to solidify that statement with a state championship.

Likewise, the Tigers have experienced success that has escaped two generations. The program had three state titles in the 1960s, with the last coming in 1968, and this current team has owned the 5A Sonoran Region with back-to-back championships. Granted, not quite the same level of success, but you can’t take anything away from this squad.

Cienega started out the season with an epic 57-50 win at Marana with University of Arizona commit Jamarye Joiner scoring with 26 seconds left to secure the victory for the Bobcats. Joiner ran for five touchdowns in the game, including a 50-yard dash, and he threw for two more and connected on two two-point conversions. Marana standout QB Trenton Bourguet was equally impressive with five TD passes.

Fast-forward and Joiner has 1,768 yards passing, 1,029 yards rushing and 38 TDs and Bourguet has thrown for 2,702 yards, rushed for 292 and has 40 TDs.

Other players often overlooked in this rivalry from are Cienega WR Terrell Hayward (769 yards, 10 TDs), Jr. RB Geo Owens (520) and Jr. RB Thomas Webb, Jr. (7 TDs). Jr. LB Diego Rivas has 61 tackles for the Bobcats and Jr. DE Zach Mattas recorded 60. Marana is led on the ground by Jr. Rene Valenzuela (789 rushing, 7 TDs) and Sr. Zach Roberts (491 and 12 TDs). The Tigers have a trio of receivers with over 600 yards: Jesus Valenzuela (681), Teon Simmons (662) and Diego Miranda (601). Jr. T.J. Cephers has a remarkable 104 tackles on the year and Trey Peterson has 69.

 

No, 10 Chaparral (7-4) at No. 2 Centennial (9-1)

Chaparral beat No. 7 Williams Field 17-14 in the first round to advance to the quarterfinal round. The Firebirds are used to playing at this level with six state championships, including three in a row from 2009 to 2011, but very few had the squad getting to this point against Centennial. The Coyotes took second place to Williams Field last year and most were expecting another “rematch” this week but Chaparral changed those plans.

Centennial won state titles in 2014 and 2015 and the Coyotes are hoping to reach the final for the fourth year in a row.  Firebird So. Jack Miller has 1,544 yards passing, So. Davon Hubbard has 487 yards rushing, So. Tommy Christakos has 540 yards receiving and So. Deavon Crawford has 539.  Jr. Zien Tessler has 116 tackles. Ruben A Beltran, III has 853 yards passing to lead the Coyotes, Zidane Thomas has 1,348 yards rushing and So. Jaydin Young has 74 tackles.

 

No. 6 Ironwood Ridge (8-3) at No. 3 Liberty (10-1)

The Lions lost to Centennial in the 2014 D-II state championship game and it would be understandable if the program looked past the Nighthawks, hoping for a rivalry rematch in the semifinals, but first things first.

The Lions beat Centennial 21-19 to secure the Northwest Region and that was one of the games that helped propel Cienega to the top of the rankings. Sr. Ryan Bendle has 1,433 yards passing and 607 yards rushing for Liberty while Nighthawk Sr. Heath Beemiller has 1,467 yards passing and Sr. Nick Brahler has 1,796 yards rushing.  Expect some offense in this game.

 

No. 5 Queen Creek (10-1) at No. 4 Notre Dame (11-0)

The Saints are one of two (Cienega) teams in the 5A Conference still undefeated but the game against Queen Creek will be the most contested for the Saints since a 28-23 win at Chaparral on Sept. 28. The Bulldogs fell out of the undefeated ranks when Williams Field came in and beat them 26-7 to end the regular season.

Jr. Devin Larsen leads Queen Creek with 2,089 yards passing, and Jr. Dylan Borja has 1,275 yards rushing. The two have combined for 35 TDs. Sr. Garrett Duke has 721 yards receiving and 12 TDs and Sr. Jon Matuzak has 106 tackles and Dante Coleman has 96. The Saints are led by Sr. Kylan Weisser with 1,695 yards passing and Sr. Cole Fisher has 1,193 yards rushing. Jr. Jake Smith added 929 yards on the ground and 903 receiving. Sr. Vincent Elrod has 92 tackles.