5 Las Vegas Valley football games to watch Friday

By Jason Orts Las Vegas Review-Journal

5 years ago

Bishop Gorman's Micah Bowens (1) runs the ball against Orem during the second half of a footbal ... — Bishop Gorman’s Micah Bowens (1) runs the ball against Orem during the second half of a football game at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Bishop Gorman’s running back Cam Barfield runs the ball against Orem during the second half of a football game at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Bishop Gorman’s Rome Odunze (4) runs the ball after losing his helmet during the second half of a football game against Orem at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Bishop Gorman’s Ikaika Ragsdale is stopped by Orem’s Joe Smith (9) during the second half of a football game at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Bishop Gorman’s Micah Bowens (1) motions to teammates during the first half of a football game against Orem at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

It’s a full slate of games for valley football teams Friday. Let’s take a look at five of the top matchups:

Bishop Gorman at St. Louis (Hawaii), 10 p.m.

Gorman has won 10 straight Class 4A state championships. St. Louis is gunning for its fourth in a row in Hawaii’s top division.

Both teams are ranked in USA Today’s Super 25, with St. Louis 12th and Gorman 13th. The Gaels’ main focus will be slowing the passing of Jayden de Laura, who has 541 yards and six touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 2-0 start. Gorman had a 27-0 first-quarter lead against Orem (Utah) last week and cruised to a 40-7 victory.

Liberty at Mililani (Hawaii), 10 p.m.

Liberty coach Rich Muraco has shown he’s not afraid to schedule tough opponents, and this season is no exception.

After playing three-time defending Arizona state champion Chandler, the Patriots meet a Mililani team that is widely regarded as the second best in Hawaii behind St. Louis. Mililani has the advantage of having played three games, all wins. Kanyon Stoenking threw for 345 yards for Liberty last week, but the Patriots couldn’t overcome four turnovers.

Bishop Manogue at Desert Pines, 7 p.m.

It’s the season opener for both teams and figures to be an early measuring stick.

Bishop Manogue reached the state championship game last year, but it must replace the state-record 3,143 yards rushing and 45 touchdowns that graduated with Peyton Dixon. Quarterback Drew Scolari threw for 2,077 yards and 27 TD passes last season, so the deep, talented and experienced Desert Pines defensive line will need to keep him under constant pressure.

American Fork (Utah) at Arbor View, 7 p.m.

American Fork likes to throw the ball and has done so on 62 percent of its plays in its two games. Sophomore QB Maddog Madsen has 478 yards passing and five TDs. Arbor View relies on its ground game. The Aggies rushed for 373 yards, with Daniel Mitchell leading the way with 135 yards and two scores, and threw four passes in a 42-0 win over Basic last week.

Clark vs. Rancho (at Durango), 7 p.m.

Two teams without a home this season meet with completely different objectives.

For Rancho, the goal is to build on the momentum from a 31-0 win over Western in which it jumped to a 13-0 first-quarter lead and added one touchdown in each of the final three periods. Clark hopes to make progress after an offensive struggle in a 21-7 loss to Virgin Valley. The Chargers completed 6 of 30 passes.

More preps: Follow at reviewjournal.com/nevadapreps and @NevadaPreps on Twitter.

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.