The 蜜柚直播 Interscholastic Conference on Thursday gave the 4A Conference what it wanted, approving a proposal to have those schools removed from consideration for the Open Division high school football playoffs.
The decision by the AIA鈥檚 Executive Board will take effect this season, leaving only schools from 5A and 6A 鈥 the two biggest school conferences 鈥 eligible for the Open, which takes the top eight teams in the state at the end of the regular season into a separate playoff bracket.
Since 2019, when the Open began, the AIA has made 6A, 5A and 4A teams eligible for that bracket if they ranked high enough. However, the inclusion of 4A teams has proven controversial, with some teams saying it can pull the best 4A team away from a chance to win its conference championship only to get routed by a top 6A team in the Open.
Last year, Oro Valley鈥檚 Canyon del Oro, a 4A team, was receiving a high AIA ranking during the regular season that placed them among the top eight, which would have had them face state 6A powers such as Liberty, Centennial, Basha, Hamilton or Chandler. Then-CDO coach Dustin Peace was outspoken for several weeks during the second half of the season about the situation. In the end, the Dorados fell back into the 4A bracket and ran the table to that conference鈥檚 title.
People are also reading…
Mica Mountain鈥檚 head coach Pat Nugent relays his plans to quarterback Jayden Thoreson (2) in the third quarter of their victory at Sabino on Sept. 13. Seemingly a 4A state championship contender in 2024, the Thunderbolts won鈥檛 have to wonder if they play too good that they might end up facing 5A or 6A teams in the 蜜柚直播 鈥淥pen鈥 playoffs after an AIA decision Thursday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that needed to be done when the Open started,鈥 said 蜜柚直播 Mica Mountain coach Pat Nugent, whose 4A team is 5-0 and figures to gain one of the top two spots in the 4A bracket with a chance to win a championship. 鈥淐ommon sense is that no 4A teams should be playing the 6A powerhouses for safety purposes.
鈥淭he depth of 4A teams due to enrollment is just not equal. The great news for us since we saw it last year with CDO is that we no longer have to worry about the Open and can focus on the 4A championship. No one wants to be in that 10th game worrying about whether you should win or lose.鈥
The 4A Conference expedited this move ahead of next week鈥檚 first AIA rankings for each conference and the Open. The conference met Monday and forwarded a proposal to the AIA.
The conversation to keep 4A schools out of the Open actually started in 2021, when Glendale Cactus and ALA Queen Creek both made the Open out of 4A. Cactus put together a 10-0 record before getting thumped by eventual state Open champion Scottsdale Saguaro, 42-21 in the first round. ALA Queen Creek also made a quick exit, losing to Chandler Hamilton 38-14.
Above: Canyon del Oro鈥檚 players celebrate with the fans after defeating Yuma Catholic in Tempe for the 蜜柚直播 Class 4A State High School Football Championship on Dec. 1, 2023. CDO flirted with possibly earning an 鈥淥pen鈥 bracket invitation last year, but the Dorados were instead assigned to their rightful spot in the 4A tournament. Below: Mica Mountain鈥檚 head coach Pat Nugent relays his plans to quarterback Jayden Thoreson (2) in the third quarter of their victory at Sabino on Sept. 13. Seemingly a 4A state championship contender in 2024, the Thunderbolts won鈥檛 have to wonder if they play too well that they might end up facing 5A or 6A teams in the 蜜柚直播 鈥淥pen鈥 playoffs after an AIA decision Thursday.
Then-Cactus coach Joseph Ortiz, now leading Gilbert Perry, was outspoken about the format then. He had said during the season his team would have rather played in the 4A brackets, where there was a good chance that Cactus and ALA Queen Creek would have met for the championship.
According to the AIA, the conversation to keep 4A schools from being considered for the Open gained momentum last month among 4A schools. In a survey, 68% of the schools stated they did not want to be considered for the Open Division in football.
The issue became more apparent after the AIA began promoting top programs up a conference each year, making it less viable for remaining 4A teams. Saguaro, now in 6A, was moved up a conference twice since 2019. Centennial also moved up from 5A to 6A, and ALA Queen Creek gradually was elevated to 6A.
An argument could be made that the top eight teams in the state right now are from 6A, although 5A Marana (5-0) did beat a solid 6A team in 蜜柚直播 Salpointe Catholic to open the season.
Competitive games between 5A and 6A teams aren鈥檛 unusual, but teams generally play most of their schedule within their conference. Two-time defending 5A champion Gilbert Higley (4-1), which lost its only game to Marana, does not play a 6A team. Scottsdale Desert Mountain (5-0), which got into the Open out of 5A last year, plays only one 6A team, Scottsdale Chaparral, which it beat 18-7.
鈥淭he process that we have had for the last many years has worked, and the teams that needed to move up have been successful after being moved up,鈥 AIA Executive Director David Hines said in a release. 鈥淏ut as we anticipated about six years ago, we are starting to get to that saturation point. We don鈥檛 have a dominant team now. Those 4A teams should be competing within their conference now.鈥
The Open Division concept was added to boys and girls basketball in 4A, 5A and 6A, but there, the bracket is 32 teams and a team that loses in its opening game reverts back to its conference tournament with a chance to still win a championship.
The AIA announced late last year the concept would expand to include an Open basketball tournament for small-school conferences and winter soccer.
Marana HS football really good 鈥 perhaps too good for own good | Greg Hansen's NotebookFrom Greg Hansen's Notebook:聽Marana High School football (5-0) looks the part. But if the Tigers end up in the AIA's "open" playoffs, erasing an ongoing state championship drought will be daunting.
