Badgers, Bears, Playoff Ready

Photo: 18 James Hefferin is one of two Badger quarterbacks with 7 Braylon Johnson

After receiving first round byes, the Prescott Badgers and the Bradshaw Mountain Bears now know who they will host in the second round of the Division 4A state playoffs.

Prescott will host the Gila Ridge Hawks from Tucson. The Hawks had to come back in the final minute to pull out a 31-28 win over Sahuaro.

The Badgers will face the top rusher in D4 Isaac Soliz who has thrown for 2342 yards in the first ten games with 23 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Kanai Hongo has 1037 yards in reception yardage and 12 of his 13 touchdowns have come via the air. Jack Hayes is the second go to receiver with 780 yards and 9 TDs.

The Badgers can move the ball by committee either through the air or on the ground. Look for that to stay the same against the Hawks. Individual numbers are not all that impressive but as a team is where the overall strength is. A two quarterback system has worked well with Bryce Coston leading the team with 622 yards on the ground and with James Hefferin leading through the air with 849 yards passing. Nick Phillips is the top receiver with 492 yards but Eli Allen and Colton Sunshine are also big threats. 

The challenge for Prescott is the defensive secondary staying glued to the receivers and making the plays when opportunity arises. Pressure off the edge by Rutger Funk along with Menno Dow should make Soliz uncomfortable in the pocket. Also minimizing self-inflictive wounds by the Badgers would insure a trip to quarterfinals.

Photo: Quarterback Taye Evans is only a sophomore leading the Bears

Bradshaw Mountain will host the Maryvale Panthers who shutout ALA-West Foothills 35-0. The Panthers finished first in the Copper Sky Region with their only loss of the season coming in a 30-28 at home versus Mesquite. Maryvale has won eight straight since.

The Panthers are led by quarterback Marcus Escobedo Jr. who has thrown for nearly 2000 yards with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His favorite receiver is Miles Woods with 47 receptions for 1054 yards and 18 touchdowns. Dionte Brandon leads the ground attack with 1124 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The Bears lost leading rusher Jon’te Jones but still have some players that can step up and make the plays needed for the Bears to advance. Quarterback Taye Evans is a dual threat with 1671 passing yards and has 5 rushing TDs. Caden Dabney is the go to target with 37 receptions for 706 yards and 8 touchdowns. Dabney also continues to add to his school record of 39 straight extra points. Kyler Ross-centers and Andrew Van Dell are also good targets for Evans. Sebastian Witkowski has stepped up into the leading rusher role and will be relied upon to take some of the pressure off of Evans. Middle linebacker Christian Kelly is leading the team with 99 tackles.

The Bears got burned in the passing game down the stretch against the Badgers. The question  is can Bradshaw Mountain play solid defense in the secondary against a good passing quarterback? The Bears will need to control the game on the ground to minimize how many times Maryvale gets the ball. If they can do that and put pressure and contain the Panthers QB, they will advance to the quarterfinals.

The other two Grand Canyon Region teams to make the playoffs Coconino and Lee Williams won their first round games to advance.

DIVISION 4A FIRST ROUND SCORES

Coconino 47, Sahuarita 26

Lee Williams 44, Estrella Foothills 21

Arcadia 42, Pueblo 6

Eastmark 23, Marcos de Niza 21

Gila Ridge 31, Sahuaro 28

Maryvale 35, ALA-West Foothills 0

Sierra Linda 37, Buckeye 19

Thunderbird 26, Youngker 14

SECOND ROUND- All games Friday, November 13 at 7pm 

#14 Gila Ridge (10-2) at #3 Prescott (10-0)

#13 Maryvale (10-1) at #4 Bradshaw Mountain (7-3)

#16 Coconino (5-6) at #1 Snowflake (10-0)

#9 Arcadia (8-3) at #8 Peoria (7-3)

#21 Sierra Linda (10-1) at #5 Northwest Christian (8-2)

#11 Eastmark (7-4) at #6 Walden Grove (8-2)

#10 Lee Williams (9-2) at #7 St. Mary’s (8-2)

#15 Thunderbird at #2 Mica Mountain (9-1)

Flag Football

Photo: Quarterback Rylee Hart has thrown for 2320 yards and 29 touchdowns during her sophomore season

The Prescott Badgers finished the regular season in fourth place in the Grand Canyon Region and will be an #8 seed hosting the #9 St. Mary’s Knights in a rematch in which the Badgers beat the Knights 17-3 to start the season.

The Badgers closed out the regular season with a 7-6 loss at Flagstaff snapping a four game winning streak. St. Mary’s has won six in a row. The Badgers lead the series 2-1 with the only loss coming in the 2024 championship game.