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After dominant regular seasons, Mica Mountain has earned another week of play in the 4A semifinals while Pusch Ridge Christian Academy competes in the 3A championship game.

Mica Mountain hasn’t lost since November 2023 and while Pusch Ridge did take a loss in the regular season, 31-7 to Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin, the Lions beat Franklin 24-13 last week in the semifinals.

After the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ area went without a football state championship from 2015 to 2022, Mica Mountain and Pusch Ridge look to add a couple more titles.

Friday

4A state semifinals (7 p.m.)

No. 4 Mica Mountain (12-0) at No. 1 Yuma Catholic (11-1)

Location: 2100 W. 28th Street, Yuma

Mica Mountain’s road to their first state championship game goes through Yuma.

The Thunderbolts will face top seeded Yuma Catholic in their second straight semifinals appearance. Mica Mountain has made it to the final four in both of their playoff appearances.

Yuma Catholic should be a familiar school to Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ football fans. On Sept. 6 the Shamrocks beat Catalina Foothills 54-13 and last week in the quarterfinals they beat Walden Grove 28-13.

Last year, Yuma Catholic, a Diocese of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ school, fell to Canyon del Oro 35-27 in the 4A state championship game.

Yuma Catholic won the West Valley Region, where Phoenix Thunderbird, which Mica Mountain beat 38-14, finished second. During the regular season the Shamrocks beat Thunderbird 45-14.

Friday’s game will be the last at home for Yuma Catholic head coach Rhett Stallworth. He has gone 176-30 over 16 seasons, won three state championships and finished runner up five times.

Yuma Catholic’s three state titles came in 2011, 2013 and 2014, all at the Division V level, which is comparable to 2A. From 2011 to 2015, the AIA dropped the familiar 3A, 4A etc. classification in favor of divisions, where I was the biggest and VI smallest.

Yuma Catholic (enrollment of 517) is in the 3A conference in other sports and was moved up to 4A due to the success on the football field, much like Salpointe Catholic playing in 6A with a 4A sized enrollment.

Yuma Catholic moved up to 4A after losing to Snowflake 10-3 in the 3A state championship game in 2021. In 2022, they reached the quarterfinals.

Mica Mountain comes into the game having won 12 straight since they lost to CDO in the state semifinals last year. Yuma Catholic has won seven straight.

Saturday

3A state championship (6 p.m.)

No. 4 Pusch Ridge (12-1) vs. No. 2 Waddell ALA — West Foothills (13-0)

Location: 22800 N. 67th Ave., Glendale

Pusch Ridge’s quest for another title comes against a familiar foe.

In 2022, Pusch Ridge played ALA — West Foothills at home to open the season and won 37-7. Then they met in the first round of the state tournament and the Lions won again, this time 35-0.

This season, the Guardians boast a perfect record, which included a 28-0 win over 2023 3A champ Sabino on Oct. 18.

Since a loss to Benjamin Franklin, the Lions have been on a tear, winning 11 in a row. During that span, the schedule makers sacrificed two No. 1s to the Lions, Thatcher, who Pusch Ridge beat 22-7 on the road, and Benjamin Franklin last week.

Pusch Ridge previously reached the final in 2015 and 2017. ALA — West Foothills, who started playing varsity in 2022, has not reached one.

Pusch Ridge’s first state title came in 2015 at Division IV.

ALA stands for American Leadership Academy, a group of charter schools. ALA has franchises in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The high school football playing ALAs in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ are Queen Creek ALA — Queen Creek in 6A; Gilbert ALA — Gilbert North in 5A; Queen Creek ALA — Ironwood, ALA — West Foothills and Mesa ALA — Mesa North in 3A; and Florence ALA — Anthem South in 2A.

The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Republic reported that ALA — West Foothills will be without senior defensive end/linebacker J.J. Brutus in the last quarter of the semifinal game against Thatcher.

He leads the Guardians with 17.5 sacks and rushing with 701 yards, 9.5 yards per carry.

Pusch Ridge head coach and former ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Icecat Kent Middleton is the third Pusch Ridge coach to lead the Lions to the state championship game after Troy Copp won the state title and Jerry Harris finished second in the 3A.

The game is at Glendale Mountain Ridge. Waddell is west of Glendale, about half an hour away from Mountain Ridge, where the 2A state championship game will precede the PRCA/ALA matchup.