The 6A playoff bracket, alongside the 4A, 5A and Open Division brackets, was released over the weekend and not a single game is a repeat from earlier this season.
Below is a breakdown of each of the teams in the 6A postseason bracket, including their round one matchups and players to keep an eye on as games get started.
No. 16 Mountain Pointe at No. 1 Highland
Highland had arguably the toughest schedule in the state this year with all 10 games against teams that made the playoffs, including the top three teams in the state: Hamilton, Chandler and Basha.
Highland holds wins over No. 7 O’Connor, No. 8 Desert Vista, No. 9 Casteel, No. 10 Pinnacle, No. 12 Desert Ridge, No. 14 Boulder Creek and No. 15 Perry. The Hawks, led by senior quarterback Gage Dayley, have gone 7-3 on the year. Dayley has thrown for 1,735 yards and 17 touchdowns in 9 games. Senior running back Steven Trujillo leads the team in rushing with 716 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The Hawks are a team who knows exactly how they’re going to win games and they consistently get the job done.
On the flip side, Mountain Pointe has struggled to maintain an identity throughout the season, but has quality wins over No. 5 Brophy and Cesar Chavez. The Pride are 4-6 entering the postseason, but every loss has come to a playoff team.
Junior quarterback Chris Arviso has 1,577 yards passing on the year along with 9 touchdowns. Senior athlete Amier Boyd-Matthews has done it all for the Pride this season racking up 320 yards passing, 224 yards rushing and 268 yards receiving to go along with 4 touchdowns. Boyd-Matthews also has 44 tackles and 2 interceptions on the year.
The senior athlete recently earned an offer from Nevada.
No. 9 Casteel at No. 8 Desert Vista
Desert Vista enters the postseason with a 5-5 record, including a win last week over cross-town rival No. 16 Mountain Pointe.
The Thunder are led by senior running back Devon Grubbs, who is committed to Northern Arizona. Grubbs has 519 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns in 4 games played. He averages 8.1 yards per carry. Defensively, junior linebacker Antonio Delgado leads the team in total tackles with 51 as well as 15 tackles for loss. Delgado also has 5 sacks and a fumble recovery on the year.
At 4-6, the Casteel Colts are led by sophomore athlete Jeremiah Newcombe, who has 547 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns as well as 23 tackles and 4 interceptions. Senior running back AJ Murphy has 815 yards and 8 touchdowns in 7 games played.
The Colts also have two division one commits on their roster in senior defensive back Connor Clinton, who is committed to Army, and senior outside linebacker Shakaun Bowser, who is committed to Colorado. Clinton has 29 total tackles and 1 tackle for loss in 7 games. Bowser has 23 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks.
No. 12 Desert Ridge at No. 5 Brophy Prep
Brophy, coming in at 6-4, has quality wins over No. 2 Chaparral and No. 10 Pinnacle. Senior quarterback Elijah Warner is 3rd among the 6A conference in passing yards with 2,356 to go along with 23 touchdowns. Warner holds 8 scholarship offers.
Taj Hughes, a senior athlete for the Broncos, leads the team in all-purpose yards with 1,010. Sophomore defensive lineman Mardale Rowe has had a standout season putting up 49 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 6 sacks. The Broncos have three division one commits: Defensive back Benjamin Morrison, who is committed to Notre Dame, Defensive lineman Zac Swanson, who is committed to Texas, and tight-end Tyler Powell, who is committed to Arizona.
Over at Desert Ridge, the Jaguars (4-6) have their own share of division one talent. Committed to Washington, defensive lineman Lance Holtzclaw has 45 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks, as well as 266 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior athlete KJ Miniefield Jr, who holds offers from Air Force and Nevada, has put up 29 total tackles and 3 interceptions in 10 games. Keiyon Turner, another senior defensive back, has 4 interceptions on the year as well as 31 total tackles.
Leading the offense is senior running back Jordan Wilson, who is second in the 6A conference when it comes to rushing yards, with 1,128 and 11 touchdowns.
No. 13 Centennial at No. 4 Red Mountain
Red Mountain (9-2) has quality wins over No. 6 Mountain View and Open Division No. 7 Queen Creek.
The Mountain Lions are led by 4-star junior wide-receiver Ja'Kobi Lane, who holds 5 offers. Lane has 855 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in addition to an interception. Junior athlete Lenox Lawson leads the team in rushing with 633 yards and 7 touchdowns. On defense, senior linebacker Parker McClure is 4th in 6A for total tackles with 116. McClure also has a sack and an interception. Another senior linebacker, Skylar Edmonds, has 72 tackles, 2 sacks, and 5 interceptions, good for 4th in 6A.
Centennial (3-7) holds its best win over No. 3 Williams Field. Offensively, the Coyotes have a stable of running backs, with the senior James Scott rushing for 517 yards and 4 touchdowns, as well as junior Kavaughn Clark with 423 yards and 7 touchdowns. Senior corner Marvaun Green has 21 tackles and 5 interceptions in 8 games this season.
No. 14 Boulder Creek at No. 3 Williams Field
Williams Field (8-2) finished the year strong, rattling off five straight wins, four of which were against playoff teams.
Junior quarterback CJ Tiller has thrown for 1,630 yards and 16 touchdowns. Senior running back Kaden Cloud, who is committed to Air Force, has 935 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns. Their main receiving threat is 4-star junior Kyler Kasper, who holds 18 offers including a recent offer from Ohio State. He has 39 receptions for 769 yards and 8 touchdowns. Junior linebacker Fili Snuka has had a breakout season, leading the team in tackles with 98, and also contributing 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.
Boulder Creek enters the postseason 5-5 with a quality win vs. No. 11 Mountain Ridge. The Jaguars have struggled with injuries offensively, but are led by sophomore quarterback and three-sport athlete Rowan McKenzie, who has thrown for 1,366 yards and 9 touchdowns as well as 374 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns.
Jack McFarland, the senior tight-end/wide-receiver with scholarship offers from Moorehead State and Colorado School of Mines, has 600 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on the year. Senior linebacker Carter Cameron has 102 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 3 interceptions, including 2 returned for touchdowns.
No. 11 Mountain Ridge at No. 6 Mountain View
The Mountain View Toros (8-2) are coming off a 42-14 win vs. Cesar Chavez and boast wins vs. No. 8 Desert Vista and No. 16 Mountain Pointe.
The team’s only losses come to No. 4 Red Mountain and Open Division No. 3 Basha. The Toros have run a two-quarterback system this year in senior Willy Roberts and sophomore Jack Germaine. Roberts has 671 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. Germaine has similar numbers with 539 yards and 5 touchdowns. 4-star tight-end Jackson Bowers has 339 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in 7 games played.
What really makes this Mountain View team tick, however, is their defense. Malaki Ta’ase had 40 tackles, 3 sacks and 3 tackles for loss before going down with a knee injury. Isaac Farnsworth, a senior linebacker, has 76 tackles. And with what could be the most impressive stat in the state this year, senior defensive back Cole Standage has 7 interceptions.
Mountain Ridge, on the other hand, is 7-3 with a quality win vs. No. 13 Centennial. The Mountain Lions have put up 70-plus points on two occasions this season. Junior quarterback Brendan Anderson has 2,151 passing yards and 32 touchdowns. Terrance Hall, a junior athlete, has 909 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, making for quite the breakout season. Senior athlete Ryan Finch leads the team in rushing yards with 505 and 6 touchdowns. Saxon Davison leads the team in tackles with 64, as well as 9 tackles for loss.
No. 10 Pinnacle at No. 7 Sandra Day O’Connor
O’Connor enters the postseason with a region title despite a 6-4 record. It boasts wins over No. 11 Mountain Ridge and No. 14 Boulder Creek. The Eagles four losses all come to playoff teams, two of which are in the Open Division (Chandler and Basha) as well as the top two teams in the 6A conference, No. 1 Highland and No. 2 Chaparral.
Quarterback/Punter Jace Snyder has thrown for 1,511 yards and 17 touchdowns. Snyder also averages 45.5 yards per punt. Senior athlete Brian Dominguez-Perez leads the team in rushing with 820 yards and 7 touchdowns, however the team has spread the ball around well in the Eagles’ Wing-T and Spread hybrid offense. On defense, the Eagles have one of the best linebacking corps in the state.
Arizona commit Brandon Craddock has 94 total tackles and 14 tackles for loss. Blake Ware has 74 tackles and 12 tackles for loss. Northern Arizona commit Brevin Czosnyka has 65 tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions.
Pinnacle (3-7) has wins over No. 13 Centennial, 5A No. 2 Salpointe Catholic, and Tolleson Union. All seven losses were to playoff teams, including two Open Division teams in Chandler and Liberty. Senior quarterback Zach Wren has 1,524 passing yards and 13 touchdowns on the year. Five-star tight-end Duce Robinson, who has 24 offers, contributed 744 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 9 games played.
Junior wide-receiver Myles Libman, who holds offers from Arizona, Columbia and Pennsylvania, has 585 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensively, the Pioneers are led by senior linebacker Carson Tininenko, who has 123 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions.
No. 15 Perry at No. 2 Chaparral
The Chaparral Firebirds (6-4) hold quality wins over Open Division No. 5 Saguaro, No. 7 O’Connor, No. 10 Pinnacle, and No. 13 Centennial. Former New Mexico commit Brayten Silbor leads the 6A conference in passing yards with 3,067 to go along with 32 touchdowns. Wide-receiver Grady Hickey has 1,001 receiving yards, good for third in the 6A.
Senior athlete Jamarei Ashby-Phan has 818 all-purpose yards and 7 total touchdowns, proving that he is one of the best all-purpose backs in the state. On defense, 5-star prospect Anthony Lucas has 46 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks. Linebacker CJ Eastwood leads the team in tackles with 84, as well as 19 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.
Perry enters the matchup at 3-7 with wins vs. No. 8 Desert Vista, No. 10 Pinnacle and No. 16 Mountain Pointe. The Pumas have played 9 playoff teams this season, including four Open Division contenders. Perry has opted for a two-quarterback system with a pair of seniors in Gavin Reetz and Colter Brown. Reetz has 741 passing yards and 4 touchdowns along with 260 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. Brown has 531 passing yards and 7 touchdowns.
Sophomore athlete Colton Coleman leads the team in all-purpose yards with 790 and 3 touchdowns. Defensively, Sy Hatch boasts 85 total tackles. Junior outside linebacker/defensive end Aiden Herring, who has two offers from Northern Arizona and Idaho, has 55 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 12 sacks, which places him second in the 6A conference.
