Canyon del Oro Completes a Perfect Season with the 2023 4A Title
Tempe, Arizona — December 1, 2023
Canyon del Oro finished exactly how it started — undefeated. The Dorados capped a perfect 14-0 season by defeating Yuma Catholic 35-27 in the 2023 AIA 4A football state championship on December 1, holding on in the final seconds when Yuma Catholic came up short on a fourth-down conversion attempt that would have extended the game.
The eight-point margin undersold just how competitive the game was throughout, with Yuma Catholic pushing Canyon del Oro deep into the fourth quarter and giving itself a real chance to pull off the upset in the closing moments. Canyon del Oro's defense made the stop it needed when it mattered most, preserving both the win and the unbeaten season.
Finishing a season without a loss is difficult in any classification, and doing it with a championship-clinching stop on fourth down against a Yuma Catholic team playing its best football of the year made the achievement that much sweeter for the Tucson-area program.
For Yuma Catholic, the near-miss was a heartbreaking way to end a season that had otherwise established the program as one of the top contenders in the 4A ranks, falling just a few yards short of forcing a different outcome.