Palo Verde bumps up, several others move down a division to highlight realignments for 2023 football season
Both CIF and AIA release next season's conference alignments
YUMA, Ariz., (KYMA, KECY) - Each year, one of the things to always keep an eye on in the football offseason is what each conference or division will look like in the following season.
Well now, fall of 2023 can't come soon enough with the field all set in both southern California and across Arizona.
The CIF announced its realignments on Monday - featuring Palo Verde making the jump from Division Four to Division Three after being crowned the Division Four champs at the end of November, capping off back-to-back title runs.
The Yellow Jackets have dominated the CIF with their lethal rushing attack over the last two years - amassing over 4,000 rushing yards as a team in their 13 wins en route to their 2022 title. Now two years removed from dominating Division Five, Wally Grant's squad finds themselves in a tougher battle heading into the 2023 season.
Other changes to happen locally include the Holtville Vikings and Southwest Eagles each dropping down from Division Four to Division Five.
The Vikings started out 2022 at 3-0, including a big win against Southwest, before dropping six of the last seven. They did end the year on a positive note though, beating Calipatria in the Axe Game to finish the year.
The 2022 season was a tough road for the Eagles, finishing 1-10 on the year. The lone win coming against Kofa (1-9) on the last day of September.
Meanwhile, the AIA also made several conference adjustments affecting just two local teams. Cibola and Kofa will both move down for the 2023 campaign.
Cibola falling to 5A from 6A after a 2-8 finish with first-year head coach Kasey Koepplin, while Kofa falls from 4A to 3A after a 1-9 season.
There was one bright spot in it all for Kofa who secured their first win in five years in a thrilling comeback win over Alhambra on October 7th. The Kings battled through the whole season in midst of an early season coaching change that led Pablo Cota to taking over the head coaching role, leading Kofa to its first win since October 2017.
