The drumbeat for the 4A conference dropping out of the football Open Division and adopting a 24-team format began in 2022 and has been nearly a weekly talking point for Jacob Seliga and I this fall.

With only 16 playoff spots in a 53-team division and no automatic bids for 4A's nine region champions, it's no surprise that four region champs didn't get a playoff game last Thursday.

Estrella Foothills and Amphitheater (how many Valley residents ever realize the Panthers won their region?) were the more anonymous two. Most of the attention, including by myself, was on 8-2 Independence somehow dropping from #15 to #20 despite a 39-point win and undefeated record in the games the AIA scheduled for it.

Or the spotlight was on 5-5 Moon Valley at #23, who staged the biggest in-season turnaround from 2-4 to 5-5 while beating other region teams with playoff hopes in Glendale and Youngker, and even a Peoria team that got in at #16.

But Estrella Foothills was #24 and would have been the next to last team in if all region champs got in, with Amphitheater taking the last spot and knocking out Catalina Foothills. In the south of Goodyear, new coach Michael Spencer and a junior-heavy roster reversing the Wolves fortunes from 1-9 to 7-3.

“Everyone was excited in spring ball and coming into camp. We wanted to flip the script,” senior Elijah Alvarado said.

Derek Wahlstrom left as coach to Valley Vista after the 2020 team was the #13 seed in the expanded 4A playoffs. Two 1-9 seasons followed under Mike Welch, as the Class of 2025 gained experience with a small senior classes trying to hold things together.

Spencer arrived in 2022 as a lead assistant after a successful run coaching Trivium Prep.

“We had a lot of guys that were tired of coming out on the wrong end of the outcomes. We don’t have many seniors but the seniors that stuck around are loyal. They did a good job of rallying the underclassmen and saying, ‘Hey, there’s going to be something different this year.’ Our motto all year has been ‘Play hard, play smart, play together.’ We’re living and breathing that and it has paid off dividends,” Spencer said.

Like Amphitheater and Independence, Estrella Foothills was saddled with a region that was so weak that the Wolves (and Panthers and Patriots) needed to win all but one of their non-region games to have a legitimate playoff shot.

Spencer's team came closer than it appears. But a 23-20 opening loss to Youngker and 21-14 home defeat by eventual #10 seed Arizona College Prep effectively ended their playoff chances after three weeks.

“I get the most out of when we lose. The Youngker game for me was a big one. Learning how to comeback from losing, because it sets your morale down and you learn how to fight through adversity,” said senior linebacker Simione Koroush.

Arizona College Prep was arguably the Wolves' best performance of the season.

Buckeye beat Estrella Foothills 31-17 and the Wolves would beat Seton Catholic 22-20 the next week for a 2-3 non-league schedule.

“ACP is a great program and we were tied at 14 early in the fourth quarter. Our goal early on was to try to close the gap with those good programs and get better. Then make sure we go we get a good run in region,” Spencer said.

Our goal was to be competitive in every game,” Spencer said. “When they figured out they could play four quarters, then we just had to learn to finish. Mingus, going up and shutting them out – a tough, physical team, I think they realized that we might be all right. After that practices started changing and the swag showed up. That’s when they really believed this year is going to be different.”

Four straight region routs followed of teams ranked #50, #51, #48 and #53 in 4A, only dragging their ranking down.

At least the Wolves finished their season with a rebuilding Deer Valley team in a similar boat. The sophomore-dominated Skyhawks also brought a 6-3 record to Goodyear.

Junior back Anthony Horne ran for 138 yards and junior quarterback Hone Wray added 88 yards. Alvarado finished his career with six tackles and an 88-yard kickoff return touchdown to put away a 28-20 victory that will hang a banner.

“This was the biggest game I, and the team, played in for a long time,” Alvarado said.

Also, like Independence and Moon Valley, Estrella Foothills has a lot of talent coming back next year.

Alvarado and Koroush are the only senior starters on defense, and all the skill position players will return.

“That definitely started with our offensive line coach (Richard) Helepiko getting those o-line guys ready. Our two senior o-line guys, Blake Kellar and Damien Lopez, have really took this line on their shoulders. They decided they wanted to push some people around,” Spencer said. “Defensively, we’ve got some big boys in Chris Braker and Devin Medina, two big guys in the interior. I don’t think they know how good they are yet.”

Wray, Horne, Braker, receiver P.J. Bailey and cornerback Landyn DeBoard are all back and will be first-year starters.

24-team bracket or no, Estrella Foothills is unlikely to be denied a playoff bid in 2024.

“Hone Wray has been a dawg all season. He’s improved drastically,” Koroush said.