PHOENIX — The final whistle has blown on the regular season on Friday Night Fever, Arizona's No. 1 and longest-running high school football show, and we now know all of the teams that will chase a state championship this season.
On Saturday, the Arizona Interscholastic Association released the playoff brackets for the Open Division, 6A football, 5A football, 4A football, 6A flag football, 5A flag football and 4A flag football.
The playoffs have already begun in 3A football, 2A football and 1A football.
And before we break down the 4A bracket, here's a reminder of how the playoffs work in Arizona.
1A plays a 12-team bracket, where the top four seeds received byes to the quarterfinals. That is the only conference where teams receive byes. The 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A conferences all play a 16-team bracket. The Open Division is an eight-team bracket made up of the top eight teams in 5A and 6A, as ranked by the AIA.
In flag football, all three conferences play 16-team brackets.
Now, let's break down the 4A bracket, starting with a look at the overall seeds.
2024 4A High School Football Playoff Seeds
*Note: For the first time since the Open Division's inception in 2019, 4A teams were not included.
- Yuma Catholic Shamrocks (9-1, 5-0) 4A West Valley region champions
- AZ College Prep Knights (9-1, 5-0) 4A Desert Sky region champions
- Snowflake Lobos (10-0, 4-0) 4A East Sky region champions
- Mica Mountain Thunderbolts (10-0, 5-0) 4A Kino region champions
- Thunderbird Titans (9-1, 4-1) 2nd place in 4A West Valley region
- Prescott Badgers (9-1, 5-0) 4A Grand Canyon region champions
- Arcadia Titans (9-1, 4-1) 2nd place in 4A Desert Sky region
- Northwest Christian Crusaders (7-3, 3-2) 3rd place in 4A West Valley region
- Walden Grove Red Wolves (7-3, 4-1) 2nd place in 4A Kino region
- Seton Catholic Prep Sentinels (8-2, 4-0) 4A Southwest region champions
- Vista Grande Spartans (7-3, 3-2) 3rd place in 4A Desert Sky region
- Bradshaw Mountain Bears (7-3, 4-1) 2nd place in 4A Grand Canyon region
- Coconino Panthers (6-4, 3-2) 3rd place in 4A Grand Canyon region
- Canyon Del Oro Dorados (6-4, 3-2) 3rd place in 4A Kino region
- Estrella Foothills Wolves (8-2, 5-0) 4A Copper Sky region champions
- Combs Coyotes (6-4, 2-3) 4th place in 4A Desert Sky region
*4A Skyline region champion Peoria finished 20th in the AIA's 4A rankings and did not make the playoffs
*4A Gila region champion Sahuarita finished 25th in the AIA's 4A rankings and did not make the playoffs
2024 4A Playoffs First Round (Round of 16) Matchups
- No. 1 Yuma Catholic will host No. 16 Combs
- This will be the first-ever meeting between Yuma Catholic and Combs in football, according to MaxPreps.
- No. 2 AZ College Prep will host No. 15 Estrella Foothills
- This will be the third meeting between ACP and Estrella Foothills, and the second this season, according to MaxPreps. ACP is 2-0 against the Wolves won their game on Sept. 13, 62-28.
- No. 3 Snowflake will host No. 14 Canyon Del Oro
- This will be the second-ever meeting between Snowflake and Canyon del Oro, according to MaxPreps. In their only other game, Snowflake beat CDO, 16-13, in the semifinals of the 4A playoffs in 2022.
- No. 4 Mica Mountain will host No. 13 Coconino
- This will be the first-ever football game between Mica Mountain and Coconino, according to MaxPreps.
- No. 5 Thunderbird will host No. 12 Bradshaw Mountain
- This will be the fourth time that Thunderbird will play Bradshaw Mountain, according to MaxPreps. Bradshaw Mountain leads the series 2-1, but Thunderbird won the most recent game, 17-16, in the first round of the 4A playoffs last year.
- No. 6 Prescott will host No. 11 Vista Grande
- This will be the third game, and second this season, between Prescott and Vista Grande, according to MaxPreps. The schools have split the two previous games with Vista Grande winning 41-19 last season and Prescott winning 31-26 earlier this season.
- No. 7 Arcadia will host No. 10 Seton Catholic
- This will be the ninth time Arcadia will play Seton Catholic, according to MaxPreps. The Titans lead the series 5-3 and won the most recent game 20-0 in 2022.
- No. 8 Northwest Christian will host No. 9 Walden Grove
- This will be the fourth time, and the second time this season, that Northwest Christian will play a football game against Walden Grove, according to MaxPreps. The Crusaders are 3-0 against the Red Wolves and won their game earlier this season 21-16.
The full 4A bracket is below.
All eight first round games are scheduled to be played on Friday, Nov. 15 and each game will be hosted by the higher-seeded school.
The 4A State Championship game is scheduled to be played at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 at Arizona State's Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.
Canyon Del Oro will be looking to defend their 4A title from 2023. The Dorados beat Yuma Catholic in last year's championship game, 35-27. The last time there was a repeat champion in 4A was 2019-20 when Mesquite won two straight state titles.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
Friday Night Fever on YouTube
Catch up on the latest Arizona high school football news and action on the 12News YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe!
