AIA, NMAA releases state brackets
Special to the Times | Reginald Chee
Tuba City sophomore Charles Bright III (16) runs in a touchdown score against the Holbrook Roadrunners on Friday night as the Warriors posted a 20-18 win. Tuba City earned the No. 18 seed for the AIA 2A football playoffs as the Warriors will play at No. 16 Morenci on Friday night.
WINDOW ROCK
The 2025 fall prep playoffs is upon us.
Over the weekend the New Mexico Activities Association and the Arizona Interscholastic Association released some state brackets.
In Arizona, the Tuba City Warriors garnered the highest seed among area teams in 2A football as Tuba was awarded the No. 18 seed in the 24-team state bracket.
The Warriors (7-3) travels to No. 15 Morenci (6-4) on Friday night with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. (MST). The winner of that contest will play at No. 2 Scottsdale Christian Academy on Nov. 7.
“Our goal was to make postseason,” Tuba City coach Kalani Simeona said. “The boys thought it was possible to go undefeated and we had a good chance to do so, but we made sure we stuck with our goal. I wanted to make sure that the senior that we have now go out with a great experience.”
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Miyamura junior midfielder Kamryn Jones (1) eyes the soccer as she is looking to score against the Gallup Lady Bengals in this file photo. The Lady Patriots were seeded No. 6 in the New Mexico Class 4A bracket as the Patriots will host No. 11 Albuquerque Highland High School on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Angelo DiPaolo Stadium in Gallup.
And although the two teams did not meet during the regular season, the two teams have one common opponent: Pima.
“Pima played them tight so we kind of have an expectation of how they’re going to be and what type of football team they’re going to be,” Simeona said. “The teams down south are really good, and they run a single-wing and a double-wing type of offense, so you need to stop the run if you want to beat them.”
The 2A bracket also includes No. 20 Alchesay and No. 23 Holbrook. The Falcons of Alchesay travels to No. 13 Chandler Prep while Holbrook makes the trip to No. 10 Pima. Those two games are also scheduled for 7 p.m. (MST).
In New Mexico, the Miyamura Lady Patriots was the highest seeded team that made the soccer playoffs. Miyamura earned the No. 6 seed, and they will host No. 11 Albuquerque Highland at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night at Angelo DiPaolo Stadium in Gallup.
“We wanted a seed that was up there so we could host a first-round playoff game, so No. 6 is great,” Miyamura coach Russell Jamison said.
Miyamura enters the playoffs with a 17-3-1 record, which includes winning the District 1-4A championship with a 7-1 mark. As for Highland, the Hornets own a 13-7 mark as they finished second in District 2-4A with a 6-2 mark behind third-seeded St. Pius.
“I’m still doing research on them and there is no video to be found on them,” Jamison said of Highland. “It’s not helping but Albuquerque teams play a little different style of play. We’re gonna have to be ready for that.”
The Patriots are coming off a 2-1 loss in their regular season finale to Bloomfield, which earned the No. 9 seed for the tournament. The Lady Bobcats will travel to No. 8 Aztec on Tuesday night with that game scheduled for 6 p.m.
In 5A, the eighth-seeded Farmington Lady Scorps will host No. 9 Gadsden for a 12 p.m. matchup at Hutchinson Stadium on Tuesday.
In the A-3A bracket, the Rehoboth Christian girls will take on top seed Cottonwood Classical Prep on Friday afternoon at Mesa del Sol Soccer facility in Albuquerque at 2:30 p.m.
In boys soccer, Bloomfield earned the No. 10 seed as the Bobcats travel to No. 7 Lovington on Wednesday. That game is slated for 4 p.m.
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