Arizona high school football at midseason: 1A storylines, surprises, title favorites, coach and player of the year candidates

We’ve passed the halfway point of the regular season in Arizona high school football, and this week we’ll be examining where things stand in each of the state’s six conferences — including the top storylines, surprises, championship contenders and individual awards candidates. Here’s our capsule look at the 1A conference.

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Storylines

We now know how the state playoffs will run for the eight-man conference. The top two teams in each region advance if they have played a minimum of six games and played a full region schedule.

These requirements currently have both potential South Region teams in a bind. St. David (5-0, 3-0) was scheduled to play Fort Thomas (1-3, 1-1) this week, but the Apaches are in COVID-19 quarantine. San Manuel (3-1, 3-1) also will need to pick up another game after finishing its current schedule this week against Superior.

If the Tigers and Miners can meet the qualification criteria, they would join the two East Region qualifiers — champion Superior and runner-up Tempe Prep — and Mogollon, which has clinched the North title, in the field. That leaves three playoff spots up for grabs.

The West Region’s two berths depend on the outcome of Friday’s Bagdad-Salome matchup. A Sultans victory would give them the title and make Anthem Prep the runner-up, while a Frogs victory would create a three-way tie. According to the AIA guidelines, the 1A regional chairs would vote to break the tie.

Surprises

El Capitan has never had a winning season in its previous five campaigns and had won four games once before this year, but the Eagles find themselves controlling their playoff destiny this week. Their challenge — defeat defending champion Williams to clinch the North Region’s No. 2 playoff spot. They’ve relied on conference rushing leader Isiah Bradshaw to propel them to their 4-1 start.

Its last two years as an 11-man program, Tempe Prep went a combined 4-17 as it battled low numbers and injuries, prompting a drop to eight-man. The switch has paid dividends for the Knights, who started the season with three consecutive wins before falling to Superior. They beat Cicero Prep 45-33 last week to secure their first playoff spot since 2017.

Burning question

Will the defending champion make the postseason?

Even if Williams wins Friday at El Capitan, the Vikings are not guaranteed a playoff berth. The playoff criteria require teams to play six games including all regional opponents, and when their Oct. 23 game against Mayer was canceled, that left them short on both counts. They have time to reschedule the contest, which athletic director Phillip Echeverria expressed optimism could happen.

Title favorites

Three teams remain unbeaten entering what is scheduled as the final week of the 1A season — Mogollon, Superior and St. David. The Mustangs haven’t won a title since 2014 but easily dispatched Williams 48-8 last week — they’ve outscored opponents 254-24. The Panthers (287-31) and Tigers (248-26) also have rolled through their schedules.

Offensive player of the year candidates

Isaiah Bradshaw, QB, El Capitan

The Eagles junior not only leads the conference with 1,086 rushing yards (9.9 per carry) and 19 touchdowns, he’s also thrown for 687 yards and 11 scores.

Diego Foster, QB, Tempe Prep

Coach Larry Cain entered the season thinking he’d split quarterbacking duties between Foster and Hayden Sampson, but after Sampson injured himself in Week 1, Foster seized the job and won’t relinquish it even when Sampson returns. Foster leads the conference with 1,246 passing yards, completing nearly 55% of his passes with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Rocky Sandoval, QB, Bagdad

Sandoval has led the Sultans to first place in the West Region entering this week’s finale, passing for 1,115 yards (second to Foster in 1A) and a conference-best 18 touchdowns. He hasn’t thrown an interception since a Week 1 loss to Williams and has completed nearly 59% of his passes (60 for 102).

Defensive player of the year candidates

Ridley Diez de Medina, LB, Tempe Prep

The senior ranks among the conference leaders in tackles per game (10) and tackles for loss (seven) in helping lead the Knights’ turnaround.

Marc Mendoza, DE, Superior

The senior shares the team lead for tackles with 36 and has a team-high six sacks as the Panthers seek a fourth consecutive trip to the state final.

Garrett Reeves, DE, Bagdad

The junior leads the conference with nine sacks, including a five-sack game in Week 3 against Anthem Prep, and he leads the Sultans with 35 tackles.

Coach of the year candidates

Larry Cain, Tempe Prep

Cain cut his coaching teeth getting Gilbert Christian’s program off the ground as an eight-man team, leading the Knights to the playoffs in each of his four seasons, so it’s no surprise he’s had success helping Tempe Prep transition from 11-man to eight-man this fall.

Braden Davis, St. David

Davis got the Tigers back into the playoffs last season after a two-year absence. He has them poised to go even further this year.

Mitch Jessop, El Capitan

Jessop has the Eagles one win from qualifying for the conference playoffs for the first time in program history.

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