TUCSON - Pusch Ridge Christian qualified for its 3A semifinals under fifth-year coach Kent Middleton, while Paradise Honors' follow up to a runner up ended in the quarterfinals.

The No. 4 Lions defeated No. 12 Paradise Honors 38-6 on Friday night at Pusch Ridge, setting up a rematch with top-seeded Queen Creek Franklin on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Mesa High School.

“We’ve just got to play our game; that’s it,” said senior receiver/cornerback Elliot Lovett, who had two interceptions and caught four passes for 55 yards with a touchdown in the win over Paradise Honors.

Three sets of teams under Middleton have played their game and reached the semifinals in 2020, 2022 and now 2024.

The Lions keep regenerating their success.

The one constant is Middleton and some of his assistants who are longtime friends and allegiances — offensive assistant Lamar Lovett(father of Evan and Elliot and former Arizona receiver along with brother Lamont, the Arizona Wildcats’ radio analyst), associate head coach/special teams coach Calvin Knox and offensive coordinator Brent Bartz.

“There may have been the thought out there that when the Ways, the Mustains and all the high-profile players left, there would be a little bit of a dip here,” said Middleton, who is 45-12 in his five years at Pusch Ridge. “We’ve got good players … we’ve got really, really good football players.

“A tribute to them (the former players) being here, other kids said, ‘Hey, I want to play football there,'” and that’s been a constant. We’ve got really, really good football players.”

The present wave of “really, really good football players,” includes quarterback/safety Jacob Newborn, Elliot Lovett, running back/linebacker Blake Reed, running back/linebacker Sawyer Allen, defensive ends Charles Palmer and Aaron Kenworthy, linebacker Tyler Shoaff, and wide receiver/linebacker Noah Miller.

Newborn once again was highly effective against Paradise Honors with his arm and legs as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state.

He completed 12 of 19 passes for 154 yards with two touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 43 yards.

Reed was dominant out of the backfield, running nine times for 87 yards, 47 of them on a touchdown run that opened the scoring with 5:23 left in the first quarter.

After Pusch Ridge’s defense forced a three-and-out, the Lions immediately scored again on a 22-yard pass from Newborn to Erik Rafacz with 1:41 remaining in the first quarter, putting the Lions ahead 14-0. A 17-yard pass from Newborn to Elliot Lovett helped keep that drive going.

Lovett then stopped Paradise Honors’ next possession with an interception. His two interceptions in the game gives him four for this season.

“Basically, it was the coach’s game plan; he put me in the right position and I got the picks,” he said.

His first interception gave Pusch Ridge the ball at the Paradise Honors 12. Five plays later, Reed scored again on a 2-yard run with 11:12 left in the second quarter to increase the lead to 21-0.

A gamble for Paradise Honors on its next possession, faking a punt on fourth-and-10 at its own 44, paid off with Nolan Rau completing a 36-yard pass to Preston Brown.

The Panthers, who ended their season at 7-5, ultimately turned the ball over on downs at the Pusch Ridge 3.

The Lions’ defensive front harassed Rau all game and limited Paradise Honors to 21 yards rushing and 170 overall.

Pusch Ridge has actually outscored its 10 opponents 427-34 since allowing 31 to Ben Franklin in its lone loss two months ago.

“They’re always a well-coached team,” Paradise Honors coach Josh Goodloe said of Pusch Ridge. “They’re disciplined, they’re physical, they get to where they they need to be. (Middleton) does a great job coaching them up every year, with the kids he gets.

“I wish him luck, and I know they’ll go do good things next week.”

The Lions, utilizing some of their reserves late in the fourth quarter, nearly pitched a shutout against Paradise Honors but the Panthers scored as time expired on a 10-yard pass from Rau to his brother Caeden Rau.

Paradise Honors can take solace and some momentum into next season by knowing it made the postseason despite losing a large senior class from last season’s team that advanced to the 3A state championship game and lost to Sabino in a shootout by a score of 68-46.

“This team put a lot of hard work in this year,” Goodloe said. “I’m proud of them and their effort. A lot of people didn’t think we would even make it back because we graduated so many kids last year. It’s testament to these guys and their hard work and everything they’ve done this year.

“When I became the coach five years ago, they were coming off of four wins in two years. Since then, we’ve been to two quarterfinals and a state championship game. It’s just a testament to these kids who bought in and believed in the culture and everything we built. I’m proud of them and everything we’ve done here with this program.”

Javier Morales and his brother, Andy, are the foremost sportswriters in Tucson. Read their work on AllSports Tucson