Photo: 2024 Prescott Badgers Flag Football Team
The very first AIA Flag Football playoff bracket is set. The Prescott Badgers held the number one spot throughout the regular season, but St. Mary’s Knights snuck in there to claim the top seed after a 28-21 win over #3 Mesquite this past week.
There is one common opponent between the two schools and that was Deer Valley. St Mary’s won 21-0 while Prescott beat the Skyhawks 24-10. Nevertheless, you need four wins to take the championship, and the Badgers are very capable in doing that. Prescott could play the first three rounds at home before a trip to Chandler High School for the championship.
Head Coach Ryan Hart and his staff have built a strong foundation in just their first season. The Badgers average 25 points per game led by Junior quarterback Rianna Aguilar, who is having a good season running the offense with 432 yards rushing, and 833 yards passing, combining for 16 touchdowns.
Her supporting cast has played phenomenal as well. It has truly been a team effort which includes twelve players with catches, and six have even thrown passes. Running back Allana Gilray has only gotten better as the season has progressed averaging 11 yards a carry with seven touchdowns.
Maggie Maneely has 246 rushing yards and 268 passing yards with four touchdowns. Mallory Walsh has 133 yards rushing and leads the team with 27 receptions for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Aubrey Kitahata has the most TD receptions with five.
The defense has given up just 58 points, plus pitching seven shutouts, and has come up with 42 interceptions by 12 different players, led by Maneely with 13, Brandon and Gilray each with 6. Delainey Courtney leads with 91 tackles, that includes 6 sacks, 4 interceptions, and she takes care of the kicking duties, including a 37 yard field goal earlier this season.
First up is the Colorado River Region Champion, Lee Williams Volunteers (7-3) on Wednesday at 6 pm.
4A Division First Round Games-Wednesday, November 13, 6 pm
#16 Arcadia (6-6) at #1 St. Mary’s (10-0)
#9 Eastmark (7-5) at #8 Crismon (9-2)
#12 Deer Valley (8-4) at #5 Scottsdale Christian (10-1)
#13 Flagstaff (7-6) at #4 Heritage Academy Laveen (10-1)
#14 St. John Paul II (8-4) at #3 Mesquite (9-1)
#11 Westview (6-4) at #6 Coconino (10-3)
#10 Mingus (8-4) at #7 Benjamin Franklin (10-2)
#15 Lee Williams (7-3) at #2 Prescott (12-0)
Quarterfinal Round- at Higher Seed, Saturday, November 16, 2pm
Semifinals- at Higher Seed, Wednesday November 20, 6pm
Championship- Saturday, November 23, Noon, at Chandler High School
