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Arizona high school football 2-a-days: 4A Gila, Kino regions

richard obert, arizona republic
·3 min read

This is part of the countdown to the opening week of the Arizona Interscholastic Association high school football season with two region previews a day.

The schools in 1A, 2A and 3A opened their seasons on Aug. 17-19. The 6A, 5A and 4A schools open on Aug. 25.

We call these 2-a-days.

More 2-a-days: 1A South, East regions | 2A San Pedro, Agua Fria regions | 2A Verde, Salt regions | 2A Gila Region, 3A South Region | 3A East, North regions | 3A West, Metro West regions | 4A Desert Sky, East Sky regions | 4A Southwest, Copper Sky regions | 4A West Valley, Skyline regions

4A Gila Region

The teams: Amphitheater, Cholla, Douglas, Empire, Rincon, Rio Rico and Sahuarita.

The favorite: Amphitheater. High hopes for the Panthers with nine starters back on offense and eight on defense and strong line play.

The challenger: Rio Rico. This is coach Jeff Scurran’s 50th year as a head coach (his second at the Southern Arizona school) and he wants to make this one to remember.

The dark horse: Douglas. With the return of impact athlete Emiliano Berthely, they could be a surprise team.

Predicted order of finish: 1. Amphitheater; 2. Rio Rico; 3. Douglas; 4. Empire; 5. Rincon; 6. Cholla; 7. Sahuarita.

Key players: Damian Padilla, Rio Rico, QB/DB, Jr.; Uriel Rivas, Rio Rico, RB/DB, Sr.; Jordan Naveunxay, Empire, RB, Sr.; Alec Weissenberger, Empire, WR, Sr.; Emiliano Berthely, Douglas, RB/DB, Sr.; Isaac Higuera, Douglas, DE, Sr.; Rocco Sotelo, Cholla, RB, Sr.; Jacob Espinoza, Amphitheater, FB/LB, Jr; Imanol Silva, Amphitheater, QB/FS, So.; Marco Martinez, Amphitheater, OL/DL, Sr.; Jaime Charles, Amphitheater, OL/DL, Sr.; Fausto Sinohui, Amphitheater, OL/DE, Sr.; Rudy Rios, Amphitheater, WR/S, Sr.; Miguel Estrada, Amphitheater, WR/DB, Jr.

Key date: Sept. 15 – It could be either a wake-up call or an awakening when Amphi plays host to one of the top 4A teams in Canyon del Oro.

4A Kino Region

The teams: Canyon del Oro, Catalina Foothills, Mica Mountain, Pueblo, Sahuaro and Walden Grove.

The favorite: Canyon del Oro. This team is stacked top to bottom to make a serious run to a 4A title.

The challenger: Walden Grove. Went 8-2 last year and is hungry after being left out of the playoffs.

The dark horse: Mica Mountain. Returns 38 players who have a chip on their shoulders after winning the league and not qualifying for the playoffs.

Predicted order of finish: 1. Canyon del Oro; 2. Walden Grove; 3. Mica Mountain; 4. Catalina Foothills; 5. Pueblo; 6. Sahuaro.

Key players: Tristen McClelland, Canyon del Oro, QB, Sr.; Ryan Madsen, Canyon del Oro, TE/LB, Sr.; Evan Greer, Canyon del Oro, DL, Jr.; Gabriel Smith, Walden Grove, QB, Sr.; Robert Cash III, Walden Grove, RB, Jr.; Paul Guy, Walden Grove, WR, Sr.; Carlos Montoya Jr., Walden Grove, LB, Jr.; Vincenzo Orlando, Sahuaro, Athlete, Sr.; Kayden Hunt, Sahuaro, LB, Jr.; Savion Covington, Sahuaro, DE, Sr.; Samuel Delgado, Catalina Foothills, RB, Sr.; Boden Crane, Catalina Foothills, DB, Sr.; Anthony Skinner, Pueblo, QB, Sr.; Azaizol Espinoza, Pueblo, WR/DB, Sr.; Max Espinoza, Pueblo, WR/DB, Sr.; Dylan Carrillo, Pueblo, RB/LB, Sr.; Jayden Thoreson, Mica Mountain, QB, Jr.; Devin Hayward, Mica Mountain, WR/S, Sr.; Jimmy Leon, Mica Mountain, TE/DE, Jr.; Xavior Johnson, Mica Mountain, WR/CB, Sr.; Jonah Garcia, Mica Mountain, WR/S, Sr.; K.J. Ellsworth, Mica Mountain, OL/DL, Sr.; Sakylee Woodard, Canyon del Oro, OL/DL, Sr.; Chase Laux, Canyon del Oro, DB/WR, Sr.; Vijay King, Canyon del Oro, LB/RB, Sr.; Kayden Luke, Canyon del Oro, LB/RB, Sr.; Joe Alba, Canyon del Oro, DB/RB, Sr.; Chance Cassel, Canyon del Oro, DB/WR, Sr.

Key date: Oct. 13 – By then, Canyon del Oro could be undefeated and getting its first major region test at home against Mica Mountain, a young school on the rise under coach Pat Nugent.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona high school football 2-a-days: 4A Gila, Kino region previews