Friday nights in the desert hit differently when November rolls around. You can feel it in the air—that crisp shift from blistering heat to "football weather" where the stadium lights actually seem brighter. The Arizona high school football playoffs 2024 season wasn't just another year of brackets; it was a total overhaul of what we thought we knew about the hierarchy of the AIA. If you weren't sitting on those metal bleachers in Peoria or Chandler, you missed a masterclass in resilience.
Honestly, the Open Division final felt like a heavyweight title fight that just wouldn't end. Liberty and Basha. Two programs that basically define the modern era of AZ ball. Everyone expected a shootout, but what we got was a defensive clinic in the second half that solidified a dynasty.
The Open Division: Liberty’s Back-to-Back Statement
Most people thought the Open Division would be a toss-up between the top four seeds. It wasn't. Liberty proved that they've built something sustainable in Peoria. Their 35-17 win over Basha at Mountain America Stadium was a statement of intent. They didn't just win; they suffocated one of the most explosive offenses in the state.
Dominic Lombardo was the absolute engine. Three rushing touchdowns. That’s how you win championships—you line up and tell the other team you're running the ball, and then you do it anyway. Basha was missing Gio Richardson, which hurt, but let’s be real: Liberty’s defensive adjustment at halftime was the real story. Holding a team like Basha to just seven points in the second half? That is unheard of.
Coach Colin Thomas has turned that program into a machine. They navigated mid-season hurdles and just got better every single week. By the time they hit the playoffs, they were playing a different brand of football than everyone else.
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Why the 6A Bracket Was Total Chaos
While the Open Division gets the headlines, the 6A bracket was where the real "madness" happened. Look at Centennial. They were the 14-seed. Fourteen! In any other world, a 14-seed is just happy to be there. But this is Arizona, and seeding sometimes doesn't mean squat once the whistle blows.
Centennial went on a tear that felt like a movie script. They knocked off 3-seed Red Mountain. Then they handled 11-seed Casteel. Then they took down 2-seed Queen Creek in a 37-32 thriller during the semifinals. By the time they faced Mountain View Mesa in the final, they had all the momentum in the world.
- Final Score: Centennial 31, Mountain View 21.
- The Hero: It was a collective effort, but the defense held firm when Mountain View tried to mount a late comeback.
- The Takeaway: Never, ever count out a Richard Taylor-coached team, regardless of the number next to their name.
Mountain View Mesa also deserves a shoutout. They were the 4-seed and knocked off the top-seeded Brophy Prep in the semifinals by a single point (28-27). That game was heart-wrenching for the Broncos, but it showed just how thin the margin for error is in 6A.
Small School Glory: Mica Mountain and Desert Edge
If you want to talk about "firsts," we have to talk about Mica Mountain. They brought a title to Southern Arizona by winning the 4-A championship. They beat Arizona College Prep 42-13 in a game that wasn't even as close as the score suggests. It was the school’s first-ever football state title. For a program that is still relatively new, that’s a massive achievement.
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Then you have the 5A division. Desert Edge came in as the 7-seed and absolutely wrecked the bracket. They faced 4-seed Cactus in the final and walked away with a 28-19 victory. It’s funny how the "lower" seeds dominated the 5A and 6A championships this year. It sort of makes you wonder if the AIA power rankings are actually catching the right metrics mid-season.
The Stars That Defined the Season
You can't talk about the Arizona high school football playoffs 2024 without mentioning the individuals who made it happen. Arizona is becoming a massive recruiting hotbed, and this year’s playoff tape is going to be playing in college coaches' offices for months.
Elijah Rushing at Salpointe might be the most physically imposing player I’ve seen in person in years. Even when Salpointe struggled, he was a one-man wrecking crew. And Basha’s Brodie Vehrs? The kid has ice in his veins. Even in the loss to Liberty, his ability to extend plays and find guys like Noah Roberts was elite.
We also saw guys like Dylan Tapley from Desert Mountain and Santana Wilson showing why they are high-level recruits. The speed on the perimeter in the 5A and 6A levels is starting to look like what you see in Texas or Florida.
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What Most People Get Wrong About AZ Playoffs
There's this weird misconception that Arizona football is just "basketball on grass." People think it's all spread offenses and no defense. If you watched the 2024 playoffs, you know that’s a lie.
The most successful teams this year—Liberty, Centennial, Mica Mountain—all won because they could win in the trenches. Liberty’s offensive line was a wall. Centennial’s defensive front was relentless. You can have all the 4-star wide receivers you want, but if you can’t stop the run in November, you're going home early.
Another thing? The Open Division hasn't "ruined" the other brackets. If anything, it’s made the 6A and 5A championships more competitive. It’s given teams like Centennial a chance to have a "Cinderella" run that wouldn't have been possible if they were forced to play the top eight teams in the state in the first round.
How to Prepare for the 2025 Cycle
If you’re a parent or a younger player looking at these results, there are a few things you should take away from how 2024 played out.
- Strength and Conditioning is King: The teams that won were the ones that didn't look tired in the fourth quarter. The AIA schedule is a grind.
- Film Study Matters: You could see the defensive adjustments in the Liberty vs. Basha game. That doesn't happen by accident. It happens in the film room on Monday morning.
- Special Teams are the Secret Weapon: We saw several games turned on a blocked punt or a long return. Don't ignore the "third phase" of the game.
The 2024 season is in the books, but the landscape has changed. Liberty is the king of the hill, and everyone else is playing catch-up. Southern Arizona finally has a seat at the table thanks to Mica Mountain. And the 14-seed is no longer a "gimme" win for anyone.
Your Post-Season Checklist
- Check the Final Rankings: Go back to AZPreps365 and look at the final power ratings to see how strength of schedule impacted the seeds.
- Watch the Replays: Most of these championship games are archived on the NFHS Network. If you want to see how Liberty's defense worked, watch the third quarter of the Open final.
- Track the Seniors: Keep an eye on where these players sign on National Signing Day. The talent pool this year was exceptionally deep.