Cimarron-Memorial hopes to put dent in Mojave run

Four football teams have separated themselves from the pack in the Northwest Division, opening the season with 4-0 league records.

Those four have clinched playoff berths, which is nothing new for Cimarron-Memorial, Palo Verde or Cheyenne. But the group of league-title contenders has a newcomer: Mojave.

The fifth-ranked Rattlers

(7-0, 4-0 Northwest) clinched the first playoff berth in school history last week. Now Mojave will try to prove it belongs in that group when it plays at eighth-ranked Cimarron (6-1, 4-0) at 6 tonight.

The Rattlers never have beaten the Spartans.

"They’re probably like, ‘Mojave’s never beaten us before, why should this year be any different?’ " Mojave senior fullback Reggie Powers said.

But Justin Armstrong, another Rattlers senior fullback, said this year has been different for the Rattlers.

"We just keep fighting this year and we never give up," Armstrong said.

Mojave coach Tyrone Armstrong said that might be a product of having many players in their third year playing on the varsity.

"They’ve been in this league for three years now, they took their lumps and bruises, and they’ve got a little bit different mental toughness about them," the coach said.

Mojave is 7-0, but Armstrong said close ballgames have kept his players from becoming overconfident. Four of the wins have come by six points or fewer.

"We’re not of such stature that we’re going to run away from anybody," the coach said. "But we’re going to play tough football, and we’re going to try to make as few mistakes as possible.

"And in the end, when the dust settles, we figure we’ll be on top."

In the past, Mojave has focused on just making it to the postseason, but the Rattlers have loftier goals this season.

"We want to go to state," Tyrone Armstrong said.

And the coach noted that setting that lofty goal has helped the team get over the initial hurdle of making it to the playoffs.

"I think it was big. We don’t downplay it," Tyrone Armstrong said of clinching the postseason berth. "We just didn’t make that our primary goal.

"And I think in years past, that’s probably what hurt us. We made that our primary goal, and we’ve always come up just a little short."

With the playoff berth already in the bag, Tyrone Armstrong sees no reason why his team can’t beat a traditional power like Cimarron-Memorial.

"We’ve done a few things this year that we’ve never done before," Tyrone Armstrong said. "I look at it like this: It’s a year to make history."

Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4587.