Highlights from Week 11 of high school football
Here’s a look at what happened during Week 11 of the high school football season.
WHAT WE LEARNED
1. You do not want to play a postseason road game in Overton. Moapa Valley proved that Friday night by beating No. 4 Desert Pines, 13-12, to move into the Division I-A state semifinals.
The win earned the Pirates another home game in next week’s Division I-A state semifinals against Elko.
“We’ve never lost a playoff game on this field, and kept continuously preaching that we didn’t plan on losing,” Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis said. “That wasn’t even in our thoughts. We were going to give everything we had to Desert Pines, and I thought we did.”
2. Paul Nihipali has guts. The Chaparral coach went for 2 with 53 seconds to play after the Cowboys had scored a touchdown to pull within a point of ninth-ranked Faith Lutheran at 20-19.
The move paid off in a big way, as quarterback Andrew Solis rolled to his right and hit Jacob Ford with a 2-point pass for a 21-20 victory.
Solis completed a 20-yard TD pass to Richard Nelson on fourth-and-10 to set up the winning conversion.
3. Winning touchdowns come in many varieties, but Silverado may have found the strangest on Friday. The Skyhawks beat visiting Canyon Springs 7-0, and the only touchdown came on Silverado’s own punt, which didn’t make it back to the line of scrimmage.
Punter Devion Clayton’s kick went straight up in the air, and took a bounce just behind the line of scrimmage. Neither team reacted right away, and Clayton grabbed the ball in stride and ran 41 yards for a touchdown. With the win, the Skyhawks secured a home game in the first round of the Sunrise Region playoffs.
UPSET OF THE WEEK
Moapa Valley 13, Desert Pines 12 — When these teams met in the regular season, Desert Pines won 34-20, though the Jaguars had to forfeit that win for using an ineligible player.
This time, R.J. Hubert scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard run with 1:29 left to give the Pirates the win and move into the Division I-A state semifinals.
Desert Pines lost leading rusher Isaiah Morris to an ankle injury in the second quarter, and Morris had minus-5 yards on five carries.
Hubert, meanwhile, rushed for 84 yards and two TDs to lead the Pirates.
TOP PERFORMERS
Passing
Jamaal Evans, Centennial — 17-28 passing, 238 yards, 4 TDs
Kenyon Oblad, Liberty — 12-20 passing, 227 yards, 3 TDs
A.J. Amelburu, Green Valley — 16-24 passing, 168 yards, 1 TD
Aeneas McAllister, Basic — 8-15 passing, 147 yards
Diquan Spiller, Spring Mountain — 8-13 passing, 145 yards, 5 TDs
Devon Mueller, Foothill — 6-22 passing, 144 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing
Biaggio Ali Walsh, Bishop Gorman — 9 carries, 209 yards, 3 TDs
Curtis Jones, Arbor View — 18 carries, 156 yards, 3 TDs
Christian Bell, Palo Verde — 14 carries, 127 yards
Jamaree Earl, Tonopah — 11 carries, 105 yards, 1 TD
Ty’shun McClinton, Desert Oasis — 25 carries, 102 yards, 3 TDs
Kawika Jones, Green Valley — 13 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD
Christian Marshall, Faith Lutheran — 20 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Savon Scarver, Centennial — 4 catches, 119 yards, 3 TDs
Brandon Hargis, Foothill — 2 catches, 111 yards, 2 TDs
Brayon Williams — 6 catches, 94 yards, 1 TD
Deondre Ishman, Basic — 2 catches, 80 yards
Christian Marshall, Faith Lutheran — 9 catches, 78 yards
Bryan Roland, Liberty — 4 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD
QUOTABLE
“I really kind of felt like we weren’t getting the respect we deserved. Everyone was handing Desert Pines the trophy, and no way in hell were our kids just going to hand them the trophy. We were going to make them earn it.”
— Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis after his team edged Desert Pines, 13-12, to move into the Division I-A state semifinals
“I liked it. They’re not OK with going to overtime; they wanted to go for the win. I was with them. And after Jacob caught it, I was excited. We really did it, we pulled it off.”
— Chaparral quarterback Andrew Solis after the team’s coaches decided to go for a 2-point conversion with 53 seconds to play. Solis hit Jacob Ford with the 2-point pass, and the Cowboys topped Faith Lutheran, 21-20.
“It feels great. I just want to cry. We never had a game like this in school history. No one in Desert Oasis history has got a playoff win but us. It feels great because I’m a senior, and I’m not going to be playing here next year. I just wanted to get that win for my boys.”
— Desert Oasis running back Ty’shun McClinton, who ran for 102 yards and three TDs in a 34-12 win over Palo Verde in the Sunset Region quarterfinals.
“It absolutely means something. We want to have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. We’ve preached how important that is.”
— Liberty coach Rich Muraco after the Patriots beat Las Vegas 54-14 to secure the Northeast League title.
“Our defense has been playing solid all year. They started off the year kind of slow. They shut that offense down tonight, they did a great job.”
— Centennial coach Leon Evans after his team forced five turnovers in a 41-7 win over Legacy in the Sunset Region quarterfinals.
“The (offensive) line was pretty much dominating most of the night. We just got the defense confused and overpowered. So when we got the holes, I just hit them.”
— Green Valley quarterback A.J. Amelburu, who rushed for 80 yards and two TDs, and passed for 168 yards and a touchdown in a 49-26 win at Foothill.
HOW THEY FARED
A look at how the top 10 teams in the Southern Nevada Football Coaches Poll fared in Week 10.
1. Bishop Gorman (11-0) beat Cimarron-Memorial, 63-7. Next: vs. No. 5 Centennial, Friday.
2. Liberty (8-1) beat Las Vegas, 54-14. Next: vs. Coronado, Friday.
3. Arbor View (9-1) beat Shadow Ridge, 35-0. Next: vs. Desert Oasis, Friday.
4. Desert Pines (8-3) lost to No. 7 Moapa Valley, 13-12. Next: season over.
5. Centennial (8-2) beat Legacy, 41-7. Next: at No. 1 Bishop Gorman, Friday.
6. Basic (8-1) beat Coronado, 25-13. Next: vs. Canyon Springs, Friday.
7. Moapa Valley (10-1) beat No. 4 Desert Pines, 13-12. Next:
8. Foothill (6-3) lost to No. 10 Green Valley, 49-26. Next: at Silverado, Friday.
9. Faith Lutheran (9-2) lost to Chaparral, 21-20. Next: season over.
10. Green Valley (5-4) beat No. 8 Foothill, 49-26. Next: vs. Las Vegas, Friday.
For complete coverage of all of the games from Week 11, visit nevadapreps.com.
