Casa Grande captured the 4A Kino Region crown Friday night with a 28-6 victory at Canyon del Oro but the bigger prize might be unwrapped on Tuesday when the new set of AIA power-rankings are released for 4A-6A football. Ranked No. 5 in the 4A Conference coming in, the Cougars moved to 8-0 on the year and the rankings might reflect enough points to stay near the top of the conference which means the possibility of hosting the first round of the playoffs and, possibly, the quarterfinal and semifinal round.

Canyon del Oro (5-4) is ranked No. 15 this week and the Dorados are hoping to stay ranked in the top 18 of the 4A Conference with No. 1 Cactus (8-0) and No. 2 ALA-QC (8-1) currently slated for a bump up to the Open Division, although Cactus could take a major hit in the rankings with the last two opponents on the schedule having a combined record of 4-12.

The Cougars played steady with a balanced run and passing game with senior QB Angel Flores (6-2, 205) throwing for 174 yards on 16 of 21 attempts to go along with 76 yards rushing on 15 attempts. Sr. RB RJ Keeton led the Cougars with 119 yards rushing on 17 attempts and Keeton put the Cougars up 7-0 on a 7-yard scoring run in the final minutes of the first quarter.

Flores followed that up with a 14-yard throw to Demetrius Garrett to make it 14-0 with 6:33 left in the half. The Dorados had difficulty moving the ball and the team finished with 71 yards rushing and 40 yards passing and an 8-yard scoring run from Flores with 2:56 left in the third put the game out of reach at 21-0.

So. Kayden Luke was the bright spot for the Dorados and the sophomore gained 48 yards on 12 carries including a 3-yard score to cut the Cougar lead down to 21-6 with 3:28 left. Keeton added a short scoring run with 3.6 seconds left in the game for the 28-6 final.

The Cougars fumbled twice in the game with Jose Zazueta covering both for the Dorados. One of those turnovers led to the score by Canyon del Oro but it was the only flaw in a dominant run game that erased several long third down situations for the Cougars.

A region title in the 4A Conference does not guarantee a playoff spot but a region championship at the 2A level does and the 2A Rillito Region will come down to power rankings to decide the automatic qualifier in what could be a high stakes decision for three teams including the defending 2A state champion Santa Cruz.

Tune in to the AZPreps365 Saturday Morning Show from 8-10 a.m. at 1580 The Fanatic for the 2A and 3A football playoff brackets plus the 1A volleyball bracket!