Highlights from Week 9 of high school football

WHAT WE LEARNED

1. Cheyenne’s defense is good. The Desert Shields recorded their fourth consecutive shutout on Friday in a 28-0 win over Clark.

It was their fifth shutout of the season, and they’ve allowed a total of six points in the five games since their 40-22 loss to Faith Lutheran.

Cheyenne will find out just how good that defense really is in the opening round of the Division I-A playoffs, when the Desert Shields host Desert Pines.

The Jaguars are averaging 46.8 points.

2. Both League titles in the Sunset Region will come down to one game on Thursday, as a pair of 3-0 teams play in the regular-season finales.

But only one of those games figures to actually be interesting. Bishop Gorman and Palo Verde both bring 3-0 Southwest League records into their matchup, but it’s hard to imagine 4-4 Palo Verde knocking off the mighty Gaels.

The Panthers were the last Nevada team to beat Gorman, but that was in 2008. This year’s Palo Verde team doesn’t have the star power to beat Gorman, even if they are without menacing defensive tackle Haskell Garrett. Garrett recorded three sacks early against Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) Friday, but went down with a shoulder injury and watched the rest of his game with his right arm in a sling.

The Northwest League, on the other hand, should have a really good final game to decide the championship with No. 5 Centennial travelling to No. 4 Arbor View. The Aggies won last year’s matchup, 21-16.

3. Desert Pines’ forfeits sure jumbled the Division I-A playoff matchups. The Jaguars dominated Sunrise Mountain 48-0 Friday in a battle for the Sunrise League’s No. 3 playoff seed. But had Desert Pines not had to forfeit two games for using an ineligible player, the Jaguars would have been undefeated and captured the league title.

Instead of a home playoff game, Desert Pines now travels to Cheyenne (bad news for the Desert Shields, who otherwise would have played Chaparral).

So the Cowboys get a home game against Mojave in a rematch of a game the Rattlers won 25-0 in Week 1.

And the big winner in all of this appears to be Sunset League champion Faith Lutheran, which is on the opposite side of the bracket from Desert Pines and Moapa Valley, the two I-A teams ranked in the top 10 by coaches.

UPSET OF THE WEEK

Basic 42, Foothill 20 — This was another week without a big shocker, and this game wasn’t really an upset, as No. 6 beat No. 7.

But the Wolves went on the road against a rival and scored 35 unanswered points to run away with the win.

Quarterback Aeneas McAllister had his best game of the season for Basic, passing for 269 yards and a touchdown, and adding 89 rushing yards and three TDs.

TOP PERFORMERS

Passing

Anthony McConnico, Cheyenne — 9-16 passing, 284 yards, 4 TDs

Aeneas McAllister, Basic — 20-30 passing, 269 yards, 1 TD

Kenyon Oblad, Liberty — 9-23 passing, 236 yards, 2 TDs

Tanner Otteson, Tonopah — 10-14 passing, 226 yards, 2 TDs

Marckell Grayson, Desert Pines — 12-21 passing, 226 yards, 2 TDs

Tyrell Brooks, Mountain View — 9-24 passing, 209 yards, 2 TDs

Rushing

Biaggio Ali Walsh, Bishop Gorman — 23 carries, 213 yards, 1 TD

Isaiah Morris, Desert Pines — 12 carries, 206 yards, 3 TDs

Derek Wagstaff, Needles — 13 carries, 188 yards, 3 TDs

Budhatt Kolone, Sierra Vista — 18 carries, 184 yards, 2 TDs

Jamaal Evans, Centennial — 23 carries, 182 yards, 4 TDs

Tanner Otteson, Tonopah — 167 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving

Zach Murphy, Boulder City — 11 catches, 136 yards, 1 TD

Deondre Ishman, Basic — 8 catches, 125 yards

Ethan Fridman, The Meadows — 4 catches, 115 yards, 2 TDs

Adam Stacey, Mountain View — 5 catches, 106 yards, 1 TD

Ashton Lawson, Cheyenne — 3 catches, 104 yards, 1 TD

Antony Vazquez, Spring Valley — 7 catches, 103 yards

QUOTABLE

“It’s overwhelming. While coach was talking to us, I teared up. It’s just crazy that we beat so many good teams out of state. We’ve been putting in the work since January, and being able to do this shows hard work pays off, and it’s just overwhelming to me.”

— Bishop Gorman running back Biaggio Ali Walsh, who rushed for 213 yards and a touchdown in Gorman’s 30-16 win over Don Bosco Prep (N.J.). The Gaels moved to 9-0, and are 6-0 against out-of-state opponents.

“We felt like it might be a tough matchup, their (defense) against our (offense). But we felt we definitely had the advantage our defense against their offense. A lot of it’s because of depth. We’re able to rotate a lot of defensive linemen in there and bring a lot of pressure, and they did a great job.

— Liberty coach Rich Muraco after his team held Silverado to minus-69 rushing yards in a 44-6 win.

“He had some good rushes. But I’ve seen him play a lot better. He’s going to have to step it up come playoff time.”

— Centennial coach Leon Evans on son and quarterback Jamaal, who rushed for 182 yards and four TDs in a 42-7 win over Desert Pines.

“The defense really stepped up to the challenge this week. They took the challenge personally, and wanted to send a statement. They bought into what we were trying to do, and it paid off.”

— Palo Verde coach Joe Aznarez after his team held Legacy’s leading rusher, Naim Geeslin, to 29 yards on 13 carries in a 20-7 Palo Verde win.

“It’s really good (to make the playoffs). Everybody doubted us and the odds were against us this season. But we just wanted to win this game to get into the playoffs. We did.”

— Sierra Vista running back Daniel Godfrey after the Mountain Lions beat Pahrump Valley 42-16 to earn the Sunset League’s final berth in the Division I-A playoffs.

“It was important for our personal pride to win our last home game. We had an unfortunate misunderstanding with our season, and we had to forfeit some games. But we are going to come back. It doesn’t matter if it’s home or away, we are going to take the game the same as always because this year it’s unfinished business for us.”

— Desert Pines’ senior Natron Auelua-Naki said after the Jaguars beat Sunrise Mountain 48-0 to earn the Sunrise League’s No. 3 seed for the playoffs. Desert Pines was undefeated on the field, but forfeited two victories for using an ineligible player.

HOW THEY FARED

A look at how the top 10 teams in the Southern Nevada Football Coaches Poll fared in Week 9.

1. Bishop Gorman (9-0) beat Don Bosco Prep (N.J.), 30-16. Next: vs. Palo Verde, Thursday.

2. Liberty (7-1) beat Silverado, 44-6. Next: vs. No. 8 Las Vegas, Friday, Nov. 6.

3. Desert Pines (7-2) beat Sunrise Mountain, 48-0. Next: at Cheyenne, Thursday.

4. Arbor View (7-1) beat Cimarron-Memorial, 55-20. Next: vs. No. 5 Centennial, Thursday.

5. Centennial (7-1) beat Desert Oasis, 42-7. Next: at No. 4 Arbor View, Thursday.

6. Basic (7-1) beat No. 7 Foothill, 42-20. Next: vs. Coronado, Friday, Nov. 6.

7. Foothill (5-2) lost to No. 6 Basic, 42-20. Next: at Coronado, Thursday.

8. Las Vegas (6-1) beat Valley, 49-0. Next: vs. Silverado, Thursday.

9. Moapa Valley (8-1) beat Chaparral, 35-6. Next: vs. Sierra Vista, Thursday.

10. Green Valley (3-4) was idle. Next: vs. Eldorado, Thursday.

For complete coverage of all of the games from Week 9, visit nevadapreps.com.