Top Playoff Matchups (Open Division-4A)

Tomorrow will open up the first week of playoffs for the open division down to 4A. Take a look at some of the state’s top matchups by conference: <em>Open Division:</em> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>#5 Saguaro @ #4 Cactus<img class="size-medium wp-image-64635 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/10/IMG_4613-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></strong></span> Cactus (4A) enters the contest with a perfect 10-0 record as they’ll host a 9-1 Saguaro (5A) squad. Saguaro has been a consistent powerhouse in the state while Cactus has beat up on 9/10 opponents this season, with their closest win coming last week against rival Peoria 29-13. <em>*Prospects to know: </em> <strong><em>Saguaro:</em></strong> [player_tooltip player_id="42795" first="Javen" last="Jacobs"], [player_tooltip player_id="42790" first="Tristan" last="Monday"], [player_tooltip player_id="42794" first="Parker" last="Brailsford"], [player_tooltip player_id="155808" first="Jojo" last="Clark"], [player_tooltip player_id="42806" first="Ridge" last="Docekal"], [player_tooltip player_id="42902" first="Devon" last="Dampier"], [player_tooltip player_id="162038" first="Thomas" last="DeChesaro"], [player_tooltip player_id="115524" first="Jaedon" last="Matthews"], [player_tooltip player_id="42878" first="Junius" last="Marsh"], [player_tooltip player_id="42898" first="John" last="Butler"], [player_tooltip player_id="42952" first="Cole" last="Shivers"], [player_tooltip player_id="161938" first="Myller" last="Terameau"], [player_tooltip player_id="115483" first="Jaci" last="Dickerson"], [player_tooltip player_id="42901" first="Zaccheus" last="Cooper"], <strong>Dajon Hinton</strong> <strong><em>Cactus:</em></strong> [player_tooltip player_id="161945" first="Joseph" last="Lagafuaina"], [player_tooltip player_id="100653" first="Ata" last="Teutupe"], [player_tooltip player_id="110112" first="Damian" last="Jiles"], [player_tooltip player_id="110106" first="Will" last="Galvan"], [player_tooltip player_id="110095" first="Tovia" last="Vito"], [player_tooltip player_id="100654" first="Justin" last="Holmes"], [player_tooltip player_id="100651" first="Mason" last="Cullop"], <strong>Aki Pulu</strong> <hr /> <em>6A:</em> <strong>#10 Pinnacle @ #7 O’Connor</strong> Despite going 3-7, Pinnacle locked up the #10 seed as 4 out of their 7 losses came within one score, as they had one of the toughest schedules in the state with their losses coming against open division, 6A, or 5A playoff teams. O’Connor comes into the contest 6-4 and has also lost some close games to some of the state’s top opponents (Chandler, Basha, Chaparral, and Highland). <em>*Prospects to know: </em> <em><strong>Pinnacle:</strong></em> [player_tooltip player_id="42949" first="Duce" last="Robinson"], [player_tooltip player_id="165887" first="Myles" last="Libman"], [player_tooltip player_id="42943" first="Elijah" last="Paige"], [player_tooltip player_id="42865" first="Zach" last="Wren"], [player_tooltip player_id="210155" first="Ryan" last="Meloche"], [player_tooltip player_id="42950" first="Jacobi" last="Rucker"], <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="162075" first="Carson" last="Tininenko"]</strong> <strong><em>O’Connor:</em> </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="42842" first="Brandon" last="Craddock"], [player_tooltip player_id="100661" first="Brevin" last="Czosnyka"], [player_tooltip player_id="210147" first="Kolten" last="Warner"], [player_tooltip player_id="110091" first="Blake" last="Ware"] <hr /> <em>5A:</em> <strong>#10 Apollo @ #7 Notre Dame Prep </strong> Both teams can be sneaky teams throughout these 5A playoffs, and definitely deserve some more respect put on their names. Apollo enters the matchup 8-2, with their losses coming against Glendale (12-14) and Horizon (21-58). Notre Dame comes into the contest 7-3 with relatively close losses to some solid programs such as Verrado (14-21), Brophy (7-20), and Saguaro (28-42). However, just last week Notre Dame Prep upset Horizon at home 31-28. So a lot can happen in this matchup as both teams have played slightly inconsistent but have flashed strong potential all year. <em>*Prospects to know: </em> <em><strong>Apollo:</strong> </em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="217567" first="Adam" last="Mohammed"]</strong>, <strong>Aiden Estill, </strong><strong>David Viloria</strong> <strong><em>Notre Dame Prep:</em></strong> [player_tooltip player_id="42803" first="Gavin" last="Smith"], [player_tooltip player_id="122246" first="Duke" last="Frye"], <strong>Ben Roberts</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id="162029" first="Braden" last="Wells"], <strong>Andrew Vines</strong> <hr /> [caption id="attachment_230512" align="alignright" width="225"]<img class="wp-image-230512 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/11/IMG_6694-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Bradshaw @ Prescott: Week 9 -Nick Rock</em></span>[/caption] <em>4A:</em> <strong>#9 Bradshaw @ #8 Prescott</strong> For the first time in history, the biggest rivalry in northern AZ will go down for the second time this season. Just two weeks ago, Bradshaw beat Prescott 24-6. Now, they get a chance to duke it out again in the playoffs, and that atmosphere up in Prescott on Friday will be off the charts and rockin all night. Assuming Prescott is as hungry as ever to get another crack at Bradshaw, this game projects to be a 48 minute war between the two programs. <em>*Prospects to know: </em> <strong><em>Bradshaw:</em></strong> [player_tooltip player_id="110136" first="Malachi" last="Stephenson"], <strong>Elijah Acua</strong>, <strong>Kaleb Hill</strong>, <strong>Grady Rose</strong>, <strong>Gabriel Ricketts</strong> <em><strong>Prescott:</strong> </em>[player_tooltip player_id="42932" first="Cody" last="Leopold"], [player_tooltip player_id="193690" first="Cody" last="Hanna"], <strong>Jake Hilton</strong>, <strong>Cervando Vega</strong>, <strong>Landen Francis</strong>, <strong>Landen Aurich</strong>