It may be a little later than usual but the postseason has arrived for area high school athletes.
1A Boys basketball and 2A basketball play-in games are set for Friday. 3A soccer and 1A girls basketball games on are the schedule for Saturday.
The Fort Thomas boys snagged the final playoff spot. They finished the regular season in the #21 spot but the 1A leadership voted to take the top 3 teams in each region regardless of ranking. The Fort finished #3 in their region. They will travel to take on #1 North Valley Christian on Friday at 7pm.
The Lions finished the season at 15-1. Their lone loss came in game 1 against Rancho Salano Prep by one point. The Apaches are the defending 1A state champs and defeated NVC 62-46 in last year’s title game.
The Fort Thomas girls are the #2 seed and will host #15 Salome on Saturday night at 5:30pm. The Lady Apaches are on an 8 game winning streak with a 16-2 record on the season. The Lady Frogs are 6-6 on the season. This game will be broadcast live on KATO 1230 AM in the Gila Valley.
Both the Pima boys and girls teams earned a 2A Play-In round bye with their regular season finish in the top 8. The girls finished #1 and the boys #3.
After the Play-In round the teams will be reseeded and the bracket will be released on Saturday morning. Pima girls and boys will host a game on March 10th.
The #12 Morenci girls will host #21 Trivium Prep on Friday night at 5:00pm. The #13 boys squad will host #20 River Valley at 7:00pm on Friday as the 2nd game of the double header.
On the soccer pitch, 3 area teams will be involved in the postseason.
The Thatcher boys secured the 8th seed with a 3-2 overtime with over Gilbert Christian on the final day of the regular season. The will await an opponent on March 9th for a home game.
The #11 Safford girls will host #22 American Leadership Academy – Ironwood on Saturday at 2pm. The #13 Thatcher girls will host #20 Arizona College Prep on Saturday at 2pm.