5A FOOTBALL: Cienega & Notre Dame preview
November 16, 2017 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365
5A CONFERENCE
SEMIFINALS: Friday, Nov. 17
No. 1 Cienega (12-0) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (12-0), 7 p.m.
(Mountain View High School)
The Bobcats and Saints are the last two remaining undefeated teams in the 5A ranks but that will end for one team come Friday night when both square off in a 5A semifinal game scheduled for Marana Mountain View at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network via azpreps365.com.
Cienega claimed the top seed in 2016 but the Bobcats were stopped in the semifinal round by Centennial while Notre Dame was on probation and missed the playoffs. The Bobcats went 4-6 in 2015 and missed the playoffs but the program finished that year off with three straight wins and it sparked a 27-1 run that includes three wins over Salpointe, three wins over Marana, two wins over Ironwood Ridge, two wins over Mountain View Marana and two wins over Fairfax.
The Bobcats best finish was a Division II runner-up spot against Chaparral in 2011.
Notre Dame was bumped from the 2015 Division III playoffs with a 6-4 record due to Tempe (6-4) winning the Section I title that year. The Saints made the playoffs in 2012 but the last postseason victory, prior to this year, came in 2011. The Saints are on a 17-0 streak, including back-to-back wins over Chaparral.
Notre Dame had back-to-back 4A-II state championships in 2007 and 2008.
The Bobcats will come at you with University of Arizona QB commit Jamarye Joiner (2,090 yards passing with 24 TDs and 1,274 yards rushing with 17 TDs.). Joiner collected 567 yards of offense against Marana last week.
Geo Owens, Devin Garrett, Terrell Hayward and Thomas Webb, Jr. have combined for 1,241 yards rushing with 15 TDS between them. Hayward has also pulled down 941 yards receiving, Jerry White has 401 and Rodney Rodgers, II has 291.
On defense, Diego Rivas has 68 tackles, Zach Mattas has 64, Steven Harshman has 63, Dylan Hoose has 59 and Nathan Amico has 58. Webb has four interceptions.
Kylan Weisser leads the Saints with 1,817 yards passing with 25 TDs and 333 yards rushing. Cole Fisher has 1,234 yards rushing with 20 TDs, Jake Smith has 951 yards rushing and 11 TDs while Dominick Mastro has 243 yards rushing.
Smith also has 951 yards receiving with 14 TDs, Blake Storey has 400 yards receiving with six TDs and Harrison Copoloff has 287 with five TDs. Vincent Elrod leads the defense with 102 tackles, Joey Jaquint has 89, Ricky Manning has 86, Joseph de la Vara has 84 and Kyle White has 76, including 9.5 sacks. Justin Maschek has six interceptions.