Highlights from Week 6 of high school football
Here’s a look at what happened during Week 6 of the high school football season.
WHAT WE LEARNED
1. Liberty’s pass rush is scary.
The Patriots hounded Desert Pines quarterback Tyler Williamson all night, sacking him eight times in a 33-6 win. Luke Toomalatai led the way with three sacks, and the senior gets incredible pressure for an interior lineman.
Williamson had no time to wait for plays to develop, and instead had to try to keep plays alive with his legs and hope a receiver got open downfield.
Of course, that pass rush was overshadowed by yet another fight, this one in the third quarter that led to a delay and ejections on both sides. Expect the Southern Nevada Officials Association to take a look at the film to see just how many players left the bench to get involved.
2. The Class 3A Sunset League is pretty interesting again this season, even without Desert Pines and Mojave.
The Jaguars and Rattlers were the top 3A teams in the state last season, but both moved up to Class 4A this season.
Even without those two teams, Cheyenne and Del Sol look to make things interesting in the Sunset. The Desert Shields moved to 5-1 after Majae Madison rushed for 202 yards and four TDs in a 57-13 victory over Valley.
Del Sol destroyed Western 58-0 to win a third consecutive game and improve to 4-2. The Dragons have multiple big-play threats in their offense, and both teams look like contenders.
3. Faith Lutheran may finally be coming around after a 48-7 win over Cimarron-Memorial.
The Crusaders were picked by many to be among the area’s top teams, perhaps challenging Arbor View in the Northwest.
But a 1-3 start that included lopsided losses to Valor Christian (Colorado) and JSerra Catholic (California) put a damper on those expectations.
The start didn’t seem to match the team’s talent, which includes one of the area’s top passer’s in Sagan Gronauer and a defense populated by playmakers.
It will be interesting to see how the Crusaders match up with Centennial and Arbor View in the next two weeks.
UPSET OF THE WEEK
Palo Verde 14, Shadow Ridge 6 — A loss to Palo Verde has helped knock the Mustangs out of the playoffs the last two seasons. Tenth-ranked Shadow Ridge hopes that’s not the case again this season.
Shadow Ridge finished just out of the playoffs the last two seasons while the Panthers have claimed the Northwest League’s No. 4 seed.
And Friday’s win puts Palo Verde in a solid position to open league play. Shadow Ridge started 5-1 the last two seasons before losing its final three games and missing the postseason. Coach Travis Foster has to hope a loss after a 4-1 start this season doesn’t continue the trend.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
Passing
Ja’Shawn Scroggins, Las Vegas — 23-46 passing, 270 yards, 3 TDs
Micah Gayman, Democracy Prep — 9-19 passing, 221 yards, 1 TD
Colton Tenney, Centennial — 14-23 passing, 198 yards, 1 TD
Dawson Yeager, Needles — 7-11 passing, 194 yards, 2 TDs
Luke Bennett, Moapa Valley — 10-12 passing, 192 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing
Noah Smith, Lincoln County — 11 carries, 252 yards, 4 TDs
Majae Madison, Cheyenne — 19 carries, 202 yards, 4 TDs
Bryan LaGrange, Sierra Vista — 11 carries, 201 yards, 3 TDs
Zyrus Fiaseu, Liberty — 12 carries, 191 yards, 2 TDs
Kyle Graham, Arbor View — 12 carries, 180 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving
Tavaris Andrews, Sierra Vista — 5 catches, 157 yards, 3 TDs
Marcus Turner, Needles — 4 catches, 150 yards, 2 TDs
Laquan Macklin, Sunrise Mountain — 5 catches, 125 yards
Marco Godinez, Spring Valley — 5 catches, 119 yards, 2 TDs
Darrin Akau, Las Vegas — 8 catches, 112 yards, 2 TDs
QUOTABLE
“I feel like they had no solution all night. From shutting down the run game early in the first quarter and shutting the pass game down all game.”
— Liberty defensive lineman Luke Toomalatai, who had three sacks in the Patriots’ 33-6 road win over Desert Pines.
“Put a zero up, coach buys us doughnuts. It’s exciting.”
— Durango lineman Jayden Nersinger following the team’s 33-0 win over Silverado.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. That was a pretty big swing game in our league. We knew that coming in. Our kids felt it too.”
— Palo Verde coach Joe Aznarez after his team’s 14-6 win over Shadow Ridge.
“We did not want to give them back the bell this year. I was not going to go to school on Monday if we did.”
— Sierra Vista senior receiver Tavaris Andrews after catching five passes for 157 yards and three TDs in a 54-20 victory over Desert Oasis in the Railroad Rivalry game.
“It’s always good to go into someone else’s backyard and take their lemonade. We thought we would have a win before now, but to open league play with a win is always nice.”
— Spring Valley coach Marcus Teal after his team’s 22-15 road win over Clark.
“We expect a lot of him, put a lot on his shoulders, and he responds,” Fox said. “He certainly isn’t perfect, but he does a lot of things well. We wouldn’t choose anybody else to be our quarterback.”
— Faith Lutheran coach Vernon Fox on quarterback Sagan Gronauer, who threw three touchdown passes in a 48-7 road win over Cimarron-Memorial
HOW THEY FARED
A look at how the teams in the Nevada Preps rankings fared in Week 6.
Class 4A
1. Bishop Gorman (1-3) was idle. Next: at Silverado, Friday.
2. Arbor View (5-1) beat Bonanza, 45-12. Next: vs. Cimarron-Memorial, Friday.
3. Liberty (2-2) beat No. 4 Desert Pines, 33-6. Next: vs. Chaparral, Friday, Oct. 5.
4. Desert Pines (3-1) lost to No. 3 Liberty, 33-6. Next: vs. No. 7 Canyon Springs, Friday.
5. Foothill (5-0) beat Eldorado, 35-0. Next: at Basic, Friday, Oct. 5.
6. Faith Lutheran (2-3) beat Cimarron-Memorial, 48-7. Next: vs. No. 9 Centennial, Friday.
7. Canyon Springs (1-3) lost to Clayton Valley (California), 28-0. Next: at No. 4 Desert Pines, Friday.
8. Green Valley (4-1) was idle. Next: vs. Chaparral, Friday.
9. Centennial (3-2) beat Coronado, 34-0. Next: at No. 6 Faith Lutheran, Friday.
10. Shadow Ridge (4-2) lost to Palo Verde, 14-6. Next: vs. Bonanza, Friday.
Class 3A
1. Virgin Valley (5-1) lost to No. 4 Boulder City, 27-20. Next: at Rancho, Friday.
2. Moapa Valley (5-1) beat Rancho, 55-0. Next: vs. Sunrise Mountain, Friday.
3. Cheyenne (5-1) beat Valley, 57-13. Next: at Pahrump Valley, Friday.
4. Boulder City (4-1) beat No. 1 Virgin Valley, 27-20. Next: at Desert Oasis, Friday.
5. Del Sol (4-2) beat Western, 58-0. Next: vs. Democracy Prep at Rancho, Saturday.
More preps: Follow all of our Nevada Preps coverage online at nevadapreps.com and @NevadaPreps on Twitter.
Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.
