Local teams gear up for the postseason

Six local teams are set to embark on their respective postseason journeys over the next two days, with a variety of teams split up between home and road contests as the winter athletic season comes to a close.

BOYS SOCCER No. 18 Kofa at No. 15 South Mountain, 5A Play-in, Thursday, 6 p.m.

The No. 18 Kings head to South Phoenix to take on the Jaguars in the Playin Round of the 5A Tournament. Both teams finished their seasons with 8-4 records, with identical 5-1 region records to boot. Both teams won their respective regions.

Despite a higher seeding than he might’ve hoped for, Kofa head coach Jamie Nicewander is optimistic about his squad’s opportunity.

“You want to be playing your best soccer at this time of year,” Nicewander said. “We feel like we are doing that and feel good about the way we finished things out... South Mountain is a competitive team. They’re quick and they move the ball well, so we are excited to face them and get it going.”

The two sides faced in last year’s regular season finale, resulting in a 3-1 Kofa win.

No. 14 Cibola vs. No. 19 Gilbert, 6A Play-in, Thursday, 6 p.m.

The No. 14 Raiders take on the No. 19 Tigers of Gilbert in their Play-in match on Thursday. Cibola finished the year with a 6-5-1 record, going 2-2 in region play, good enough for second place in the 6A Desert Southwest Region behind No. 6 overall seed San Luis. Cibola beat Carl Hayden 2-1 in its regular season finale.

Gilbert, another second place team went 6-6 overall with a 3-2 record in the 6A Central region. They suffered a 3-0 loss to regional champ and No. 3 overall seed Highland in its final game of the season.

GIRLS SOCCER No. 14 Gila Ridge vs. No. 19 Marana at Arizona Western College, 6A Play-in, Thursday, 6 p.m.

No. 14 Gila Ridge plays host to No. 19 Marana on Thursday night at Arizona Western. The Hawks went 11-2 on the year, finishing first in their region with a perfect 4-0 record. They went on a five-game winning streak to finish the regular season, capped off by a 5-1 win over San Luis.

The No. 19 Marana Tigers on the other hand, went 5-7 in 2022-23. The Tigers finished second in the 6A South, behind the No. 7 overall Tucson Badgers. Marana won its last two games against Sunnyside and Rincon/university.

GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 30 Gila Ridge at No. 15 Highland, 6A Play-in, Thursday, 6 p.m.

The No. 30 Gila Ridge Hawks will play the No. 15 Highland Hawks on Thursday in Gilbert. The Hawks just made the cut

as the final seed in the Play-in. Gila Ridge finished its season at 8-8, with a 2-2 record in region play for second place behind No. 17 Cibola. The Hawks beat Tolleson 4934 in their regular season finale.

At 11-7, the No. 15 Highland Hawks finished fourth in their division, but all three competitors above Highland finished the season ranked in the Top 14, good enough to qualify for the Open playoffs, thrusting Highland, with a 4-6 region record, into the 6A Play-in.

No. 17 Cibola vs. No. 28 Queen Creek, 6A Play-in, Thursday, 7 p.m

No. 17 Cibola hosts No. 28 Queen Creek on Thursday in the 6A Play-in after finishing first in the 6A Desert Southwest with a perfect 4-0 record. Cibola went 12-6 over the course

of its season, winning its last two games over San Luis and Kofa 78-10 and 78-19, respectively.

Queen Creek, another 6A Central participant, went 4-13 on the year, finishing with a winless 0-10 record in region play in an extremely deep field of competition. The Bulldogs beat Cibola’s region foe, Gila Ridge, 50-29 on Dec. 12. Cibola beat Gila Ridge twice this season, 67-10 and 62-37.

BOYS BASKETBALL No. 21 Cibola vs. No. 22 Red Mountain, 6A Play-in, Friday, 7 p.m.

The only boys basketball team so far to reach the postseason from the Yuma are with Yuma Catholic yet to be seeded in 3A, the No. 21 Cibola Raiders host No. 22 Red Mountain on Friday night.

Cibola’s squad went 13-5 on the year with a perfect 4-0 record in 6A Desert Southwest play.

Red Mountain went 10-8, with a 5-5 record in the 6A East Valley, good enough for third in the region behind Mesa Mountain View and Mesa High.

The two sides have several common opponents. Cibola lost to Dobson 56-55 on Nov. 29, a region opponent for Red Mountain who the Lions beat twice during the regular season. Cibola lost to Chandler 64-57 on Nov. 30, a team Red Mountain beat 4742 on Dec. 9. Both teams defeated Gila Ridge and both teams lost to Mesa Mountain View. Against Red Mountain’s region opponent Westwood, a team the Lions beat split the season series with, Cibola won on Jan. 12, defeating the Warriors 57-54.

For the other playoff teams in Yuma such as San Luis boys soccer and Yuma Catholic boys and girls basketball, more details will be announced in the coming days.