Arcadia starts the year 2026 with work after a state championship attempt

Arcadia varsity football game Bamboo Sports Media

PHOENIX – Arcadia football showed last year that it belonged among Arizona’s best 4A teams.

Now the Titans have to show they can stay in that group.

Arcadia enters 2026 off a 13-1 season that ended one win away from a state championship. The Titans went through a regular season and claimed the No. 1 Seed in the 4A playoffs before losing to Mica Mountain 42-17 in the state championship game.

Even though they lost, Arcadia’s run proved what head coach B.J. Pasquel and his program have built over the years. The Titans have been 35-3 in their three seasons making it to at least the state quarterfinals each year.

That kind of consistency is why Arcadia starts another season as a contender. This season might be different.

The Titans lost players who were key to last season’s offense including quarterback Zach Smith, running back Ryan Jimenez and wide receiver Ian Slater.

Jimenez was the part of Arcadia’s rushing attack finishing his senior year with 1,872 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. Smith threw 33 touchdown passes while Slater averaged 82.7 receiving yards per game.

Filling that gap will be one of Arcadia’s problems.

However, the Titans aren’t starting from scratch.

Senior wide receiver Konnor Kammes comes back after being one of Arcadia’s dangerous offensive players last season. Kammes caught 13 touchdown passes as a junior, the most on the team, and averaged 49.1 receiving yards per game.

Arcadia also brings back players with defensive experience.

Senior linebacker Braden Knaub led the way for the Titans last season with 9.4 tackles per game. Senior Joseph Hala had five sacks while junior defensive back Jordan Barnes tied the team lead with four interceptions.

Junior end Greyson Stauff could also have a bigger role after getting 6 1/2 sacks and three fumble recoveries as a sophomore.

That returning talent might be very important early in the season while Arcadia tries to replace its graduated offensive stars.

Experience has been a part of the Titans’ success.

Before last year's state championship game, Arcadia reached the state semifinals in 2023 and the quarterfinals in 2024. Many of the players on the 2025 team had already played in the postseason before their run to the championship game.

Pasquel said this year that the group’s experience in big games helped make the program successful.

“They have played a lot of football in games and made some big plays, " Pasquel said to AZPreps365 before Arcadia's game against Snowflake last October. "They have a lot of experience. They are football players who like to compete in practice and hold each other accountable.”

The names on the team may change for the 2026 season. The standard stays the same.

Arcadia will be in the 4A Desert Sky Region with Combs, Mesquite, Poston Butte, Eastmark and Snowflake. 

The Titans’ regular season ends on October 30 with a home game against Snowflake, a team they played last season.

Before region play starts Arcadia has chances to build its team. The Titans start the season on August 28 at home against Bradshaw Mountain before playing Camelback, Moon Valley, Deer Valley and ALA-West Foothills.

For Arcadia those early games will show if a new group can carry on where this year's team left off.

The Titans no longer have the quarterback, leading rusher or several of the senior leaders who took them to the state championship game. What they do have is a program that has become used to playing football in November.

After getting close to a championship season Arcadia starts 2026 knowing what it takes to get there.

The question now is whether or not the Titans can finish the job.