Arizona’s High School Football Showdown: The Open Division Semifinals Heat Up!

PHOENIX — The quarterfinals of the Open Division featured high-stakes competitions this past Friday, setting the stage for the semifinals in Arizona’s top high school football playoffs.

In a dramatic display, the eight top teams from the 5A and 6A classifications competed for advancement. The results revealed some surprising upsets, particularly No. 8 Hamilton’s victory over top-seed Marana with a final score of 31-22.

In other games, No. 2 Basha defeated No. 7 Horizon 36-14, while No. 3 ALA-Queen Creek edged out No. 6 Desert Mountain 20-14. A lopsided match saw No. 4 Liberty triumph over No. 5 Higley, finishing 64-26. As a result, all 5A teams have now been eliminated.

The upcoming semifinal matchups are set for next Saturday. Hamilton will face Liberty, while Basha will take on ALA-Queen Creek. Liberty holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series against Hamilton, having previously defeated them twice this season. Both Hamilton and Liberty, each with a record of 10-1 this year, seek to secure a spot in the state championship game.

In the other semifinal, Basha, also with a 10-1 record, looks to maintain its perfect record against ALA-Queen Creek, whom it has bested in their last two playoff encounters.

These semifinal games will kick off at 6 p.m. at Mountain Pointe High School and Dobson High School. The winners will advance to the sixth Open Division State Championship Game scheduled for Saturday, December 7, at Arizona State University’s Mountain America Stadium.

Liberty aims to replicate their success from last year, with hopes of becoming only the second team to win back-to-back Open Division titles.