The development of the Gilbert Christian 8-man football team has been anything but gradual.

The program is in its fourth season and the No. 4 Knights will make their second semifinal appearance on Saturday when they take on top-seeded and defending champion Bagdad.

"It's all about the players and their dedication and the desire to get better," said Gilbert Christian coach Larry Cain, who is in his third year after Jeff Cook ran the program the first year. "We came into this trying to get better each year and it's been a good formula."

It's led to a rematch with Bagdad (9-0) in the semis for the Knights (9-1) at 6 p.m. In fact, both semifinals this weekend at North Canyon High are rematches from last season, as No. 2 Mogollon (Heber) (8-0) and No. 3 Pima (8-1) meet again at 2 p.m.

See the AIA Division VI playoff bracket embedded at the end of the story

Last year Mogollon beat Pima 58-48 and Bagdad ended Gilbert Christian's season with a 66-34 win before Bagdad beat Mogollon 44-20 in the title game.

Cain said the Knights will be better prepared this time around.

"They got a lead on us (14-0 after the first quarter) and we never got back into it," Cain said. "It was our first time and now we have that experience. We should be more equipped to handle it this time around.".

The Knights are clearly the newcomers out of the final four, as the other three have combined for 28 trips to the state championship game with 12 titles between them. Pima and Mogollon have acquired the most hardware, as Mogollon has made 17 appearances and won eight championships while Pima, which has three state titles, is one win away from appearing in its 10th title game.

"They have the history and we are trying to make some," Cain said. "We have some good leaders and we are playing pretty good right now."

Senior captain Colton Kelly, who plays offensive line and linebacker, and junior two-way lineman Seth Lanzel were singled as leaders while the rushing attack, which averages 266.3 yards a game, is led by Tanner Conover (745 yards, 13 TDs) and Logan Pinkerton (554 yards, 5 TDs) while Caleb Young (40 catches, 14 TDs) has been the main target in the passing game.

The defense has some youth to it, as freshmen Trent Welch and Chandler Kruse have combined for 26 tackles for loss while Lanzel has 11.5.

The Knights know it isn't going to be easy taking on Bagdad, which looks to make its third appearance in the title game with a win. Bagdad has traditionally been a baseball school but football is on a pretty good run right now.

And coach Dalton Mills is ready for the challenge to keep it going.

"To win in football and kind of turn that tide a little bit," Mills told the Arizona Republic. "It was pretty neat."

Now Gilbert Christian is trying to turn tide in its favor.

"We have an opportunity in front of us," Cain said. "I don't know if we will win but we will be ready. We want to take that next step."


Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothills News staff writer, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.