Highlights from Week 9 of high school football in southern Nevada
Here’s a look at what happened during Week 9 of the high school football season.
What we learned
1. Liberty’s Crishaun Lappin is a monster.
The 6-foot, 245-pound senior defensive lineman had 5½ sacks on Friday as the Patriots rolled to a 42-0 road win over Silverado. Lappin now has 8½ sacks.
He’s also become a dangerous offensive weapon for Liberty. He had four carries for 45 yards and a touchdown on Friday, giving him five rushing TDs on just 14 carries this season.
2. Basic and Canyon Springs will meet again this season in the opening round of the Sunrise Region playoffs.
Let’s hope we don’t get a repeat of the “pepper spray” game from Sept. 15. The Wolves and Pioneers got into a brawl following that game, and a school district police officer ended the fight by using pepper spray.
Basic is locked into the Southeast League’s No. 4 seed, and Canyon Springs clinched the Northeast League title, so the Pioneers will host the Wolves on Nov. 3.
3. For a four-team league, the Class 3A Sunrise still has some interesting playoff scenarios.
All four teams are guaranteed to make the postseason, but just where they’re all seeded will come down to Thursday’s game between Virgin Valley and Del Sol.
Chaparral and Moapa Valley have ended their league seasons at 2-1. Virgin Valley is 1-1, and can either be the No. 1 or No. 4 seed (but not No. 2 or 3).
Moapa Valley is the only team to have clinched a home playoff game, as the Pirates are guaranteed either the No. 1 or 2 seed. Chaparral will be either No. 2 or No. 3.
If Virgin Valley beats Del Sol, the Bulldogs get the top seed, with Moapa Valley No. 2 and Chaparral No. 3.
If Del Sol wins, Moapa Valley would be the top seed, followed by Chaparral, Del Sol and Virgin Valley.
— —
Upset of the week
Palo Verde 55, Shadow Ridge 22 — For the second straight year, Palo Verde got off to an atrocius start. But for the second straight year appear to have gotten hot at the right time. The Panthers lost four of five games at one point, and were 2-4 at one point.
But after Chamere Thomas ran for 147 yards an three touchdowns to lead Palo Verde over ninth-ranked Shadow Ridge, the Panthers now can earn a playoff berth again this season. If Legacy beats Shadow Ridge next week, Palo Verde is in the playoffs.
If Shadow Ridge and Palo Verde both win, there would be a three-way tie with Legacy for third in the Northwest League. It all could come down to point differential at that point, and there are possibilities for the Panthers to be either the No. 3 seed, No. 4 seed or miss the playoffs.
It should make for an interesting final week.
— —
Standout performances
Passing
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Bishop Gorman — 9-9 passing, 275 yards, 5 TDs
Dillan Otteson, Tonopah — 13-24 passing, 224 yards, 3 TDs
Kenyon Oblad, Liberty — 11-20 passing, 218 yards, 4 TDs
Joshua Rose, Cheyenne — 11-17 passing, 213 yards
Koy Riggin, Foothill — 14-25 passing, 206 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing
Elijah Hicks, Las Vegas — 19 carries, 216 yards, 4 TDs
Aubrey Washington, Legacy — 10 carries, 195 yards, 4 TDs
Tawee Walker, Mojave — 16 carries, 189 yards, 3 TDs
Thorston Balmer, Boulder City — 26 carries, 179 yards, 2 TDs
Landen Smith, Lincoln County — 11 carries, 178 yards, 2 TDs
Julian Hulse, Green Valley — 25 carries, 166 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Jayvion Puch, Canyon Springs — 2 catches, 111 yards, 1 TD
Marquez Powell, Liberty — 4 catches, 110 yards, 2 TDs
Brevin Jordan, Bishop Gorman — 3 catches, 105 yards, 2 TDs
Zack Grismanauskas, Basic — 6 catches, 103 yards
Anthony Walker, Cheyenne — 5 catches, 102 yards
— —
Quotable
“We knew that they’re always tough. It’s always a close game when we play. I thought we controlled most of the game. I wish we would have pulled away further than we did, but we had a few touchdowns called back, so it was a good win for our team.”
— Foothill coach Marty Redmond after his team’s 29-21 road win at Basic.
“We had never lost that game. They were aware of the history. They didn’t want to be the first team. They wanted to keep the pick home … There was a lot of emotion, and the kids came out and played smart.”
— Desert Pines coach Tico Rodriguez after his team’s 35-7 home win over Sunrise Mountain in the “Pick Game.”
“It was a lot of fun out there tonight. This game was very important to us, the students, facility and alumni of Las Vegas High. We wanted to keep the Bone where it belongs.”
— Las Vegas High senior Elijah Hicks after his team’s 47-0 victory over Rancho in the annual “Bone Game.”
“What can you say? The kid’s a beast. He’s got grades, he’s got everything and I really hope that people start recognizing that so he can get some offers. He’s a sleeper, jumping up as a senior.”
— Legacy coach John Isola on senior running back Aubrey Washington, who rushed for 195 yards and four TDs on 10 carries in a 35-0 home win over Cimarron-Memorial.
“He did a great job. He’s kind of the hot hand right now. We have some other guys who ran the ball pretty well too, but we rode the hot hand tonight.”
— Green Valley coach Brian Castro on senior running back Julian Hulse, who rushed for 166 yards in a 24-7 win over Coronado.
“When he is on, our offense clicks and we’re hard to stop. Most of his unsuccessful passes tonight were due to drops more than anything else. He just gives us such a good chance to win.”
— Liberty coach Rich Muraco on senior quarterback Kenyon Oblad, who passed for 218 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-0 road win over Silverado.
“The only thing that was going through my mind was I gotta get to the touchdown. I just gotta get to the touchdown so we can win this game. Because if we win this game and the next one we’re going to the playoffs.”
— Palo Verde running back Chamere Thomas on his 50-yard TD catch during the Panthers’ 55-22 home win over Shadow Ridge.
— —
How they fared
A look at how the teams in the Review-Journal rankings fared in Week 9.
Class 4A
1. Bishop Gorman (7-2) beat Durango, 55-0. Next: vs. No. 7 Sierra Vista, Thursday.
2. Liberty (7-1) beat Silverado, 42-0. Next: vs. Basic, Thursday.
3. Arbor View (7-0) was idle. Next: at Cimarron-Memorial, Thursday.
4. Green Valley (7-1) beat Coronado, 24-7. Next: at No. 5 Foothill, Thursday.
5. Foothill (7-1) beat Basic, 29-21. Next: vs. No. 4 Green Valley, Thursday.
6. Faith Lutheran (5-3) beat Centennial, 36-20. Next: Sunset Region playoffs.
7. Sierra Vista (6-1) was idle. Next: at No. 1 Bishop Gorman, Thursday.
8. Legacy (5-3) beat Cimarron-Memorial, 35-0. Next: at No. 9 Shadow Ridge, Thursday.
9. Shadow Ridge (5-3) lost to Palo Verde, 55-22. Next: vs. No. 8 Legacy, Thursday.
10. Canyon Springs (4-4) beat Eldorado, 49-0. Next: vs. Rancho, Thursday.
Class 3A
1. Desert Pines (5-2) beat Sunrise Mountain, 35-7. Next: at Western, Thursday.
2. Mojave (6-2) beat Cheyenne, 40-6. Next: vs. Pahrump Valley, Thursday.
3. Virgin Valley (5-3) lost to No. 5 Chaparral, 14-12. Next: vs. Del Sol, Thursday.
4. Moapa Valley (6-2) beat Del Sol, 34-26. Next: Class 3A Southern Region playoffs.
5. Chaparral (7-2) beat No. 3 Virgin Valley, 14-12. Next: Class 3A Southern Region playoffs.
Class 2A
1. Needles (8-0) beat No. 5 The Meadows, 60-6. Next: vs. Laughlin, Thursday.
2. Lincoln County (6-3) beat Mountain View, 51-0. Next: vs. No. 3 Democracy Prep, Thursday.
3. Democracy Prep (4-3) lost to No. 4 Lake Mead, 27-0. Next: at No. 2 Lincoln County, Thursday.
4. Lake Mead (5-2) beat No. 3 Democracy Prep, 27-0. Next: at No. 5 The Meadows, Thursday.
5. The Meadows (3-5) lost to No. 1 Needles, 60-6. Next: vs. No. 4 Lake Mead, Thursday.
Class 1A
1. Pahranagat Valley (8-0) beat Beaver Dam, 52-0. Next: at No. 3 Beatty, Thursday.
2. Spring Mountain (5-2) beat No. 3 Beatty, 30-25. Next: at No. 4 Tonopah, Thursday.
3. Beatty (5-1) lost to No. 2 Spring Mountain, 30-25. Next: vs. No. 1 Pahranagat Valley, Thursday.
4. Tonopah (5-4) beat Round Mounain, 60-14. Next: vs. No. 2 Spring Mountain, Thursday.
5. Indian Springs (1-6) was idle. Next: at Beaver Dam, Thursday.
— —
Video coverage
Foothill sets tone early, knocks off Basic 29-21
Speedster Devin McGee lifts Desert Pines past Sunrise Mountain
Elijah Hicks, las Vegas High roll past Rancho in annual Bone Game
Roundup: Washington’s ‘sick’ moves help Legacy roll past Cimarron
