Florence survived the first half of its 3A quarterfinal matchup Saturday night with Round Valley thanks to two big plays on offense.
The Gophers thrived in the second half on takeaways and controlling the line of scrimmage.
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The bruising ground game was there. So was decent defense. But turnovers nearly foiled Blue Ridge and its bid to reach the 3A quarterfinals Saturday night at Desert Ridge High School.
With a shift in emphasis to the running game late this season due to an injury to quarterback Parker Rasmussen, Desert Ridge ran headlong into Chandler High in the first round of the 5A-I playoffs Friday night and ended up running all the way to the second round.
The Jaguars spread-run offense cranked out 462 yards rushing and the defense made a goal-line stand in the final 40 seconds to preserve a 38-35 upset win over the host Wolves.
High school in Laveen carries on legacy of late administrator and coach.
An all-White Mountain 3A semifinal? It has happened before. Could happen again.
That scenario is as much up to Winslow, Coolidge, Florence and Fountain HIlls as it is to Show Low, Snowflake, Round Valley and Blue Ridge as 3A quarterfinal matchups come to the East Valley on Saturday afternoon and evening.
The 5A-II state football playoffs are similar to 5A-I in that there is a prohibitive favorite in defending champion and top-seed Chaparral.
Beyond that the 5A-II opening-round games do not look anything like their 5A-I counterparts. The matchups ffigure to run like clockwork according to the seeds with perhaps the usual exceptions in a 9-8 or 10-7 matchup. And rather than one rematch of a regular-season meeting, there are four of eight in the initial battles for 2010 5A-II supremacy.
The 5A-I state football playoffs offers some suspense in the early going. Perhaps more so than in recent years so fans should rejoice in that aspect.
Hamilton (5A-I) is the prohibitive favorite to be sure with an unbeaten record and defending state-champion status. And it is a bit of an odd year when Mesa Mountain View and Brophy are double-digit rather than single-digit seeds and qualify with .500 records.
Winning a fourth straight 5A-I volleyball title looked as though it would be a walk in the park for Xavier after t
Desert Edge senior set two records in the state meet, considering possible Olympic bid in 2012.
Behind Madison Kingdon\\\'s powerful performance, Vikings dispatch Prescott to win third straight 4A-I title.
Sentinels record three-game sweep of Liberty.
Both teams feature a strong running game. Saguaro, Peoria looming in the background.
Liberty, Notre Dame, Mingus are capable of advancing as playoffs begin.
Top two seeds, Northwest Christian and Yuma Catholic, will be difficult to beat.
Joseph City won 2009 title, but Mogollon won North Region game earlier this season.
Outside hitters lead the way -- Madison Kingdon for Sunnyslope, Haley Lawless for Seton.
Team defeats region rival Window Rock to earn third straight Class 3A championship.
Phoenix school defeats St. David in three games.
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