Cienega's 2011 football team has made no missteps in its first 12 games this season. What's been the tricky part  is getting past that 13th contest. (semifinals) the last couple of seasons.

Cienega's opponent, Ironwood Ridge,  has faced similar peril when it comes to breaching the title-game door.  One of the teams will break through in this year's semifinal as they battle one another on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Tucson High. The winner gets a shot at either defending champion Chaparral or Centennial in the Division II championship game on Nov. 26.

Cienega snared its second one-point victory of the season last week with a 22-21 quarterfinal win over Marcos de Niza. The Bobcats benefitted from a three-touchdown night from quarterback  Michael Archie, who passed for two and ran for a third. Archie was pivotal as was some late running by Daniel Gonzales and Manny Vera in a clock-killing drive that sealed the outcome.

Cienega, which has dropped semifinal games to Canyon del Oro in 4A-I each of the last two seasons, owns a 7-1 advantage over Ironwood Ridge since the schools opened and began playing each other in 2002. Cienega has won the last seven meetings, several of which have been close.

"We don't want to be in a shootout with the," Ironwood Ridge coach Matt Johnson said. "We've got a workhorse (Fischer) and we're blessed with good linemen. This is a team with a senior class that has come a long way. They were 1-7 as (JV) sophomores. It's a testament to them that we're in this position."

Ironwood Ridge's closest brush with a title-game appearance came last year with a loss to Centennial in the semis. The Night Hawks are led by senior running back Mitch Fischer, a durable back who has rushed for 540 yards in two postseason games so far. He piled up 309 yards on 32 carries and scored all three TDs last week to help eliminate Notre Dame Prep. Fischer, who rushed for 1,500 yards last year, has tallied 1,901 yards this year and leads the team in receptions with 23. The Night Hawks also have another 1,000-yard rusher in quarterback Tyler Williams.

"(Ironwood Ridge) is huge, the biggest team we've faced," Cienega coach Nemer Hassey said. "We rely on our quickness. They have a running back and quarterback that are hard to tackle. They'd like to control the game with the run. They are capable of doing it."

Cienega likes to be balanced, but has been slightly slanted to the run this season. Last week its rushing attack was limited to 136 yards -- well below the 300-plus yards it averaged in the previous 11 games. Archie's accuracy (9-of-10 for 110 yards) made up for low rushing output. He found 6-5 senior Edgar Poe (33 catches for 602 yards and 10 TDs), the team's leading receiver for one score. Senior Jalen Rogers is a solid complement wtih 24 receptions for 433 yards.

"((Archie) threw one incompletion, had a great night" Hassey said. "We're built on speed, and like to have balance. We can get into trouble if we end up one-dimensional."

Johnson realizes how explosive Cienega can be as its 43-point-a-game average suggests.

"We have to be able to defend everything they have," Johnson said. "They have a lot of different looks. If we try and take away one thing, it can be a tough situation the other way."