Pusch Ridge advances to the first semifinal game in school history thanks to an improbable flurry of plays and penalties that turned an average encounter into a game that will be long remembered.
That's what the Marcos de Niza coaching staff told their players after they knocked off Ironwood Ridge 35-15 Friday night in an important Division II quarterfinal match. The win pushed the Padres' record to 11-2 heading into their semifinal game against Skyline (12-0) next Friday night.
No. 4 Ironwood Ridge outlasted No. 13 Sunnyside 34-30 Friday night to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Division II state playoffs where the Nighthawks (9-2) will host No.5 Marcos de Niza (10-2).
Ironwood Ridge defeated Marcos de Niza 35-24 on the Padres' home field on Oct. 16. Prior to this season, Marcos de Niza knocked Ironwood Ridge out of the 2013 playoffs in the first round.
The Division VI state playoffs got underway Saturday night with very little drama in the first round. No. 9 Glendale Prep beat No. 8 Salome 42-36 in a slight upset but the other three games went according to seed.
No. 6 Gilbert Christian beat 11 Ajo 64-22, No. 7 Mogollon got past No. 10 Williams 14-12 and No. 5 St. David defeated No. 12 Joseph City 58-14.
Salpointe was 2-4 at one point. A lot of experts offered to perform last rites for the Lancers, forgetting the first avenue to the playoffs comes through a section championship and the second option involves power points.
Sunnyside takes control of the section with Tucson getting upset by Cienega 10-7. Tucson and Salpointe still in the hunt for the section title though. Sunnyside would have to lose last two games though.