Casa Grande enters the top 10 for the first time after being on the outside looking in to start the 2026 Arizona high school flag football season, as the dust continues to settle in the third week and hierarchies begin to form. Vote in our poll for the team you think should be No. 1. Poll closes at noon MST on Friday, Oct. 9. (Print readers can find the poll online with this story at azcentral.com/sports/high-schools
).Here are the updated Arizona Republic top 10 rankings, as of Oct. 5, 2026.
The Republic's top 10 high school flag football rankings
1. Gilbert Highland (4-0)
Highland continues to make its case as the team to beat in Arizona, coming off a 55-6 rout of No. 4 Glendale Mountain Ridge. The team is starting to receive national attention — ranked No. 9 in the country by USA TODAY and now enters
the MaxPreps rankings at No. 20.
2. Gilbert Campo Verde (3-1)
Since the season-opening loss to No. 1 Highland, Campo Verde has outscored teams 196-0. Faces a huge test this week with a trip to California against the No. 1 team in the nation, JSerra Catholic.
3. Chandler Basha (4-0)
Idle last week. It’s all West Valley this week for Basha, with road trips to No. 7 Peoria Liberty and Goodyear Millennium.
4. Glendale Mountain Ridge (4-1)
The team responded well to the tough loss to No. 1 Highland, beating Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor 28-7.
5. Gilbert (3-1)
Easily beat Mesa Skyline 42-0 in its only game of the week. Will also be traveling to California for a game, taking on Oxnard Channel Islands on Oct. 10.
6. Tempe Corona del Sol (5-1)
Bounced back from the loss to No. 5 Gilbert with a 19-0 win over Phoenix Mountain Pointe. The team now has sophomore Victoria Beakes eligible at quarterback after her transfer from Basha.
7. Peoria Liberty (4-0)
Liberty had one forfeit win, against Phoenix Camelback, and then breezed past Avondale West Point 31-2. This week will be much more difficult, with games against Phoenix Pinnacle (5-1) and No. 3 Basha.
8. Marana (5-1)
Another perfect week for Marana with shutout wins over Phoenix Sunnyslope (28-0) and Tucson (44-0), as sophomore quarterback Izzy Garcia continues to light up the stat sheet.
9. Casa Grande (4-0)
Makes its way into the top 10 for the first time this season after a 23-0 win over Sierra Vista Buena.
10. Tucson Salpointe Catholic (5-0)
Salpointe is on a blistering start to open the year, beating opponents by a combined score of 274-0.
On the bubble: Anthem Boulder Creek, Chandler Hamilton, Phoenix Pinnacle, Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor, Prescott, Queen Creek, Queen Creek Casteel, Chandler, Gilbert Mesquite, Scottsdale Christian Academy.
Vote: Who's No. 1?
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@RLSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Vote for Arizona Republic's Top 10 flag football teams, Oct. 5
