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ALA West Foothills, Pusch Ridge in 3A final; Pima, Scottsdale Christian in 2A

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ALA West Foothills, Pusch Ridge in 3A final; Pima, Scottsdale Christian in 2A


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With 18 of their 22 suspended players back for the 2A semifinals, the 12th-seeded Scottsdale Christian Eagles pulled the biggest upset of the small-school state football playoffs Saturday.

They avenged their season-opening loss to No. 1-seed Gilbert San Tan Charter with a 34-21 victory at Mesa Westwood High School.

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Scottsdale Christian (9-4) will face No. 3 Pima (12-1), which stunned No. 2 Tonopah Valley 40-34 in the earlier semifinal on Saturday.

SCA and Pima will play next Saturday at Glendale Mountain Ridge High School at 2 p.m. It is a rematch of last year’s state championship game that Scottsdale Christian won 41-22. The teams met in Week 7 this year with Pima winning 20-17.

Scottsdale Christian had 22 players suspended for leaving the sideline in the final minute of its first-round upset of No. 5 Eloy Santa Cruz, after a fight broke out.

The Eagles were able to escape Phoenix Veritas Prep 26-24 with a depleted roster, before getting most of their players back for San Tan Charter, a powerful team led by Arizona State-bound Uriah Neloms, a wide receiver who played quarterback in his final high school season.

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SCA quarterback Sean Helgeson passed for three touchdowns, including a 70-yarder to Lawson Lavallee that broke a 14-14 tie late in the third quarter. Midway through the final quarter, Caleb Randall, a top small-schools linebacker who added running back duties this season, scored on a 2-yard run to give the Eagles a 27-14 lead.

On STC’s ensuing possession, sophomore Caleb Murphy intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards for a score, sealing the win.

“This time we just concentrated on us,” SCA coach Mike Sheahan said. “We have had so much adversity the last couple of weeks and, honestly, all season, that we had to slow down and just do our thing.

“All attention was inward and the opponent just happened to be 12-0 and the No. 1 seed. These boys played for each other and the SCA community with heart.”

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In the August loss to San Tan Charter (12-1), SCA was without its best player, Randall. He’s been a difference maker since returning from an injury that caused him to miss the first three games.

3A final set

The 3A football championship game is set between No. 2 ALA West Foothills of Waddell and No. 4 Tucson Pusch Ridge at 6 p.m., Saturday at Mountain Ridge. This is the American Leadership Academy school’s first trip to the championship in only its third year.

ALA West Foothills has been The Arizona Republic’s No. 1-ranked 3A team since preseason. Coach Chad Mitton’s team got past No. 3 Thatcher 34-22 in Saturday’s semifinal at Mesa High. But the Guardians will be without their best player, two-way star J.J. Brutus, who suffered a broken leg in the final quarter. Brutus, a running back/edge rusher, had two first-half rushing TDs. He also had a fumble recovery.

The Guardians (13-0) led by as much as 27-9, before Thatcher (10-3) scored two touchdowns to become the first team to score more than three touchdowns against ALA West Foothills this season.

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Pusch Ridge (12-1) avenged its only loss this season to Benjamin Franklin Queen Creek with a 24-13 win.

Since losing to Benjamin Franklin 31-7 on Sept. 6, Pusch Ridge has reeled off 11 wins, giving up no more than two touchdowns in any of those games.

Pusch Ridge led 14-0, before Talan Speir scored on a 16-yard run with five minutes left in the third quarter to cut it to 14-7. In the final minute of the quarter, Pusch Ridge increased its lead to 21-7 on Blake Reed’s 4-yard scoring run.

After Benjamin Franklin (11-2) scored with a minute to play, Pusch Ridge recovered the on-side kick and ate up the remaining time.

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert

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No. 2 Arizona tops Iowa State to win outright Big 12 title

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No. 2 Arizona tops Iowa State to win outright Big 12 title


TUCSON, Ariz. — Jaden Bradley scored 17 points, Motiejus Krivas had 13 and No. 2 Arizona clinched the outright Big 12 regular-season title with a 73-57 win over No. 6 Iowa State on Monday night.

The Wildcats (28-2, 15-2) secured at least a share of the conference crown by using big runs in each half to beat No. 14 Kansas 84-61 on Saturday.

Arizona earned it outright by smothering Iowa State defensively to give Tommy Lloyd his 140th victory, most in NCAA history in a coach’s first five seasons.

“The Big 12 is the best basketball conference in the country,” Lloyd said while addressing the home crowd after the game, “and to win it by a couple of games, it’s pretty impressive. So take your hats off to these guys right here.”

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Coming off their first home loss of the season, the Cyclones (24-6, 11-6) labored against Arizona’s physical defense, shooting 29% from the field, including 7-of-30 from 3-point range.

During his postgame news conference, Lloyd called out the narrative surrounding his team when discussing the Wildcats’ toughness and physicality.

“I think the narrative that we were soft is lazy. I mean, look at our stats, look at our analytics — we’ve always been a great rebounding team, we’ve always pounded the paint,” Lloyd said. “If you want to just be lazy and not pay attention and say we’re soft because we’re on the West Coast, be lazy, and I’d love to play against you.”

Tamin Lipsey led Iowa State with 17 points, but leading scorer Milan Momcilovic was held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting. The nation’s best 3-point shooter at 51%, Momcilovic went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.

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Neither team could make much of anything, due to good defense and poor shooting.

Iowa State shot 9-of-33 from the field and 4-of-20 from 3 in the first half.

Arizona labored most of the half as the Cyclones focused on defending the paint before the Wildcats closed on a 15-3 run to lead 37-25 at halftime.

It only got worse for Iowa State to start the second half. The Cyclones missed their first eight shots as Arizona stretched the lead to 16.

Iowa State briefly found an offensive rhythm, using a 10-1 run to pull to within 44-37, but didn’t hit a field goal for more than five minutes as Arizona stretched the lead back to 15.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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Arizona NAACP responds to ‘Simon Says’ case, calls for police accountability

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Arizona NAACP responds to ‘Simon Says’ case, calls for police accountability


PHOENIX — The Arizona NAACP is responding to the violent arrest of Israel Devoe, a Phoenix man who was acquitted of all charges stemming from a 2024 traffic stop in which officers punched, kneed, and elbowed him.

Sarah Tyree, president of the Arizona NAACP State Conference, said the case is part of a broader and familiar pattern.

“What happened here reflects a pattern our communities know all too well. Time and again, we see policing tactics that are dangerous and deeply harmful to civilians, yet are later justified as ‘within policy’ through carefully crafted reports and the broad protections afforded under Graham v. Connor,” Tyree wrote in an emailed statement following an ABC15 investigation.

RELATEDPhoenix man to file lawsuit after dangerous game of ‘Simon Says’ with police

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Phoenix police officials found all four officers involved in Devoe’s arrest to have acted within policy, records show.

After a two-day trial, jurors unanimously found Devoe not guilty on all four of the felony charges against him — including aggravated assault on officers and resisting arrest.

In her statement, Tyree said true accountability is not possible without changing state law.

“Accountability remains out of reach in Arizona because the Peace Officers’ Bill of Rights continues to insulate misconduct from meaningful oversight, too often shifting blame onto the very communities most impacted by these encounters,” she wrote. “We also encourage Arizona voters to engage their state legislators and advocate for the repeal or amendment of the Peace Officers’ Bill of Rights to ensure systems of public safety are truly accountable to the public they serve.”

Devoe’s case again highlights problems with policing in Phoenix, which has been under scrutiny following a Department of Justice investigation that found the city had a pattern and practice of using excessive force, discrimination, and weak oversight.

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ABC15 is committed to finding the answers you need and holding those accountable.

Submit your news tip to Investigators@abc15.com

The push for federal oversight ended in 2025 after the Trump administration ended such efforts across the country.

Devoe’s civil attorney, Jesse Showalter, also represents Tyron McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy who was violently arrested by Phoenix officers in July 2024. Showalter has said both cases reflect what he described as an accepted norm of extreme violence within the Phoenix Police Department.

A Phoenix police spokesperson said the department declines to comment because Devoe is set to file a lawsuit against the city.

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This digital article was produced with the assistance of AI and converted to this platform based on the broadcast story written and reported by ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing (Dave@abc15.com). Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. 





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Arizona Lottery Pick 3, Fantasy 5 results for March 1, 2026

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Arizona Lottery Pick 3, Fantasy 5 results for March 1, 2026


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The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Sunday, March 1, 2026 results for each game:

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Winning Pick 3 numbers

6-4-2

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers

01-07-11-18-28

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Triple Twist numbers

12-17-23-31-37-42

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Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results

What time is the Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?

In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.

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How to play the Powerball

To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.

You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers.

To win, match one of the 9 Ways to Win:

  • 5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize.
  • 5 white balls = $1 million.
  • 4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000.
  • 4 white balls = $100.
  • 3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100.
  • 3 white balls = $7.
  • 2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7.
  • 1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4.
  • 1 red Powerball = $4.

There’s a chance to have your winnings increased two, three, four, five and 10 times through the Power Play for an additional $1 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot wins up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Arizona Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $100 and may redeem winnings up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Arizona Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to P.O. Box 2913, Phoenix, AZ 85062.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID to any of these locations:

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Phoenix Arizona Lottery Office: 4740 E. University Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4400. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Tucson Arizona Lottery Office: 2955 E. Grant Road, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-628-5107. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Phoenix Sky Harbor Lottery Office: Terminal 4 Baggage Claim, 3400 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4424. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Kingman Arizona Lottery Office: Inside Walmart, 3396 Stockton Hill Road, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-753-8808. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

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Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://www.arizonalottery.com/.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arizona Republic editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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