The opportunity is there for 16 teams. Flags will be adorned. Whistles blown.

By Tuesday the field is filtered down to eight. Left just three wins away. Then it’s down to four before it becomes two, and eventually one.

The Arizona 5A flag football state championship is 12 days of attrition; something every team wanted to be part of back in August when tryouts began.

Come Nov. 21, it will be known which team was able to navigate through the four games it takes to win a state championship. The title game is played at Corona del Sol at 4 p.m.

There are the usual candidates, some highly anticipated matchups and there will be more than a few upsets, but the team that holds up the trophy at the end of the event will know it was a long road to get there.

“Deep postseason runs come down to two things: health and execution,” Campo Verde coach Brian Coger said. “If you can remain healthy without any injuries and illnesses with the weather changes while still executing at a high level, your chances of going deep into the postseason increases greatly.”

Coger and his Coyotes know how the script goes and usually play a main character, winning state titles in 2023 and 2025 and lost in the state semifinals in 2024.

The program is one of the elite in Arizona and it in no different in 2026 and is the No. 1 seed this year. The Coyotes two defeats came against 6A favorite Highland and one of California’s top teams – JSerra Catholic – but also won the Fiesta Bowl tournament with ease, topping Highland and Salpointe Catholic, the 4A favorite, along the way.

Second-seeded Casa Grande, which went 10-0 in conference games and 14-1 overall, losing only to Salpointe Catholic, is ready to take the next step.

The two teams seem to be on clear path to the title game, but there will be other teams attempting to disrupt the path to Tempe.

Third-seeded Canyon View (9-2 in conference) is always a player and has faced Campo Verde in the postseason every year winning the semifinal game in 2024 and the state title; No. 4 Horizon (9-2) has produced its best team and could be a top four seed, while No. 5 North (9-0) has made the postseason every year and looks to get past the quarterfinals for the first time.

"For us to make a deep run in the playoffs this season, we have to keep improving our football IQ, and execute the small details at a high level," Canyon View coach Muhammad Oliver said. "We are exactly where the coaching staff and I predicted we would be once we completed tryouts and saw the level of young talent that also comes with inexperience."

Sixth-seeded Desert Mountain (9-3) is in the for the third straight year and No. 9 Chaparral (8-2) was the state runner-up last season with many of the same players back this season.

Casa Grande qualified for the fourth straight year, and it appears to have its best team. Anything less than a championship appearance seems to be a wasted opportunity in the careers of wide receiver/defensive back Kayla Tucker, quarterback Sarah Mountz, both of whom are seniors.

Mountz is nearing 10,000 yards passing with 141 touchdowns and just 27 interceptions, while Tacker has 280 career catches for 4,116 yards and 65 touchdowns.

“We started this program, and we've worked so hard to build it into what it is today,” Tacker told Azpreps365 before the season. “We've made history, but we haven't won a state title yet—and that's what we're chasing this year. To leave this program as state champions would mean everything to me.”

Campo Verde counters with two of the state’s very best in senior quarterback Amaya Moreno and sophomore wide receiver Jaiyana Bogan-Jacobs.

Moreno, who has 12,066 passing yards, 195 touchdowns, 2,483 yards rushing with 32 touchdowns in her career, has been one of best in the state, and the nation, for four years and looks to win a second state title after transferring from Mountain Pointe, while Bogan-Jacobs had a huge year with 95 catches, 1,654 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Moreno is a difference maker on her own, but adding the athleticism of the 5-11 Bogan-Jacobs, a top recruit in basketball, creates two incredibly difficult match ups to worry about as defense.   

“In order to make the deep playoff run it will be health and executing assignments while not getting complacent,” Coger said. “We need to remember the task at hand for each day and give all our effort into that task.”

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