PHOENIX — The 2023 Arizona high school football season is now in the books.
All of the games in Friday Night Fever's 34th season have been played. All of the regions have champions. All of the playoffs have seen their brackets played out and nine state champions have now been crowned.
It started with Campo Verde (5A) and Mountain View (6A) winning the first-ever state titles for girls flag football, Hayden claiming the 1A tackle football title, Scottsdale Christian winning the 2A tackle football title, Sabino winning the 3A state championship, Canyon Del Oro winning the title in 4A, Higley winning their second straight 5A state title and Saguaro winning the state title in 6A.
And now, there is a new king of Arizona high school football as the #1 Liberty Lions claimed the top prize in Arizona high school football, the Open Division state championship, after beating rival Centennial, 33-21, at ASU's Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Saturday.
The Lions opened the scoring less than five minutes into the first quarter on Saturday when quarterback Navi Bruzon found wide receiver Ryan Jezorio for a 20-yard touchdown. The Lions extra point attempt was blocked, resulting a 6-0 lead for Liberty.
Centennial would respond and grab a 7-6 lead about six minutes later when Owen Renosa ran in for a one-yard touchdown.
The Coyotes would extend their lead in the second quarter when QB Kainan Manna found Kenny Worthy III for a 44-yard touchdown to make it 14-6. That was the largest deficit Liberty had faced all season, but the Lions would prove they could overcome it.
That started about three minutes after Worthy's touchdown, when Liberty had an explosive touchdown of their own when Bruzon found Jezorio once again, this time for a 50-yard touchdown. However, the Lions' two-point attempt failed and the Coyotes would keep the lead, 14-12.
But, just a couple of minutes after that, the story would change.
Liberty blocked a Centennial punt and got the ball at the Coyote 29-yard line. A couple of plays later, Bruzon ran in for a four-yard touchdown giving the Lions the lead, 19-14, which would be score at halftime.
In the third quarter, Liberty's lead grew as they capped a 12-play, 85-yard drive with a five-yard TD run by Jon Wilson to take a 26-14 lead. That would prove to be the game and title-winning score.
In the fourth quarter, Wilson scored once again to give Liberty a 33-14 lead. Centennial would keep fighting, as they added a six-yard TD pass from Manna to Angelo Matamoros, but Liberty hung on to win 33-21.
Here is a look at the final Open Division playoff bracket.
This is the second state championship in the history of Liberty High School. The other came in 2019, when the Lions won the 6A state championship.
Liberty and Centennial have now split their matchups in state championship games. The Coyotes beat the Lions in the 2014 Division II state title game.
Liberty beat every Arizona team they played this season. The Lions started the season with wins over Hamilton, O'Connor, Queen Creek and Sunrise Mountain before their lone loss of the season, which came to Centennial from Corona, California.
That was followed by wins over Pinnacle, Salpointe Catholic, Saguaro, Chaparral and their crosstown rival, Centennial.
Liberty earned the top seed in the Open Division for the second straight season. They beat #8 Hamilton in the quarterfinals and #5 Highland in the semifinals before beating #3 Centennial the Open Division state championship.
This is the first time a team from the West Valley has won the Open Division championship.
The previous titles have been won by Chandler, Saguaro and Basha.
Highlights
=================================
Next Saturday, Friday Night Fever's 34th season will wrap up when the ninth and final high school football state championship is awarded to what the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) deems the 'true state champion,' the winner of the Open Division.
And for the first time in the five years of the Open's existence, the title will go to a team from the West Valley.
The Open Division semifinals were held on Saturday and here is a look at the results.
Open Division Semifinal Results
- #1 Liberty beat #5 Highland, 54-12
- After losing in the Open Division semifinals the last three years, Liberty will get a shot at the Open state title for the first time
- This will be Liberty's third appearance in a state title game
- Liberty lost the 2014 Division II state title game and won the 2019 6A state title
- Liberty has beaten every Arizona team they have played so far this season
- Their wins have come by an average of 38.5 points
- Liberty's closest game against an Arizona school was against #8 Hamilton in the Open Division quarterfinals when the Lions won by 12
- Liberty's lone loss this year came by seven points to Centennial from Corona, California
- Highlight
- #3 Centennial beat #2 Basha, 35-27
- Centennial's win clinched a rematch with their crosstown rival for the state championship
- Basha was the defending Open Division state champion
- This will be Centennial's first appearance in the Open Division state championship game, previously they had never advanced past the Open Division quarterfinals
- This will be Centennial's 12th appearance in a state championship game and first since 2018
- The Coyotes have won seven state championships
- 2006 (5A Division II)
- 2007 (5A Division II)
- 2008 (5A Division II)
- 2014 (Division II)
- 2015 (Division II)
- 2017 (5A)
- 2018 (5A)
- The Coyotes' only loss this season came to Liberty, 36-17, on Nov. 3
- Centennial's 11 wins have come by an average of 25.5 points, with the closest being a one-point victory over Chandler on Oct. 6
- Highlight
Open Division State Championship Matchup
- #1 Liberty (11-1) vs. #3 Centennial (11-1)
The Lions and Coyotes have faced off for a state championship once before. In 2014, Centennial beat Liberty, 26-14, to win the Division II state championship.
Here is a look at the updated bracket:
The Open Division state championship game will be held on Saturday, December 2 at 5 p.m. at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.
=================================
Friday Night Fever's 34th season has hit the playoffs! The quarterfinals were held in 4A, 5A, 6A and the Open Division on Friday night, and here's a look at the results in the Open Division!
But first, as a reminder, 2A and 3A will play their semifinal games on Saturday. The 3A games will be played at Mesa High School and the 2A games will be played at Westwood High School in Mesa.
Open Division Quarterfinal Results
- #1 Liberty beat #8 Hamilton, 39-27
- #2 Basha beat #7 ALA-Queen Creek, 38-31
- #3 Centennial beat #6 Desert Mountain, 24-3
- #5 Highland beat #4 Chandler, 19-14
Open Division Semifinal Matchups
- #1 Liberty vs. #5 Highland
- #2 Basha vs. #3 Centennial
Here's a look at the updated bracket:
The Open Division semifinal games will be played on Saturday, November 25 at 6 p.m. Liberty will play Highland at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale and Basha will play Centennial at Dobson High School in Mesa.
The Open Division state championship game will be held on Saturday, December 2 at 5 p.m. at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.
================================
The regular season of Friday Night Fever's 34th season is officially complete and all of the playoff brackets have now been revealed by the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA)!
Here’s at the top eight teams that made the Open Division playoffs and will compete for the top prize in Arizona high school football.
As a reminder, 16 teams make the playoffs in 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A as opposed to eight in the Open Division and 12 in the 1A Playoffs.
Here are the teams that made it into the Open (Bold = Region Champion).
- Liberty Lions (9-1, 4-0 6A Northeast Valley region)
- Basha Bears (9-1, 4-0 6A Premier region)
- Centennial Coyotes (9-1, 3-1 6A Northeast Valley region)
- Chandler Wolves (8-2, 3-1 6A Premier region)
- Highland Hawks (8-2, 4-0 6A East Valley region)
- Desert Mountain Wolves (9-1, 4-1 5A Northeast Valley region)
- ALA-Queen Creek Patriots (8-2, 3-1 6A East Valley region)
- Hamilton Huskies (7-3, 2-2 6A Premier region)
Here are the matchups for the Open Division quarterfinals:
- #1 Liberty vs. #8 Hamilton
- #2 Basha vs. #7 ALA-Queen Creek
- #3 Centennial vs. #6 Desert Mountain
- #4 Chandler vs. #5 Highland
The Open Division will take this week off and then will begin play on Friday, November 17. All of the games will be played at 7 p.m. at the higher-seeded school. You can take a look at the full bracket below.
The Open Division state championship game will be held on Saturday, December 2 at 5 p.m. at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.
The winner will take home a different trophy than the 'golden football' trophy the winners of the 6A-1A state championships will receive. The trophy resembles the trophies national champions receive in college sports.
Here's a look at every Open Division state champion since it was created in 2019:
- 2019: Chandler
- 2020: Chandler
- 2021: Saguaro
- 2022: Basha
Friday Night Fever on YouTube
Find all of this year's highlights from Friday Night Fever on the 12News YouTube channel and be sure to subscribe!