Unofficial Northeast League title game headlines Friday’s high school games to watch

Canyon Springs (5-1) at Las Vegas (4-1) – The Pioneers and Wildcats are a combined 9-2. The rest of the Northeast League is 2-15. So barring some major unforeseen circumstances, one of these two teams will be the eventual champion, and it very well could be Friday’s winner. Canyon Springs is No. 7 in this week’s coaches’ poll, and the Pioneers picked up an impressive overtime victory against Basic two weeks ago. At the start of the year, No. 8 Las Vegas’ non-league schedule looked a lot more impressive, but disappointing years from Palo Verde, Cimarron-Memorial and Centennial take the feather out of the Wildcats’ cap a bit. This could be the unofficial Northeast League title game and Friday’s loser will have a large hole to climb out of.

Arbor View (4-1) at Centennial (2-3) – The No. 9 Bulldogs came into the year with high expectations, but have failed to live up to them so far. Jamaal Evans has done his part, as the senior quarterback has thrown for 1,314 yards and 13 touchdowns, and has rushed for 369 yards and eight more scores. But when the defense has allowed at least 24 points in every game but one, it’s hard to stay on top. The Bulldogs almost need to beat the No. 3 Aggies to stay afloat in the Northwest, but that’s no small task. All of Arbor View’s wins have been by at least 19 points, and its loss was by four to nationally ranked Liberty. Some added intrigue: Arbor View star defender Greg Rogers transferred from Centennial.

Silverado at Green Valley – Both are over .500, but both fell last week in the first games of league play. The No. 10 Skyhawks were dealt their first loss by Basic last week after rolling through the non-league part of their schedule. The Gators fell to Liberty, but the issue for both teams is how brutally competitive the Southeast League is. Two losses in league this early could be a death sentence for their playoff hopes. Silverado will look to running back Keikiokalani Misipeka to build on his 11 touchdowns this season, while Green Valley quarterback Kalyja Waialae will need to continue his sharpshooter-like precision in the passing game: a 67.72 completion percentage, best among 4A quarterbacks with at least 20 passes.

Virgin Valley (5-1) at Del Sol (4-2) – Only two Class 3A Sunrise League teams made it through the season’s first six weeks with a winning record and they meet Friday night. The Bulldogs dropped their opening game to a Utah school and have not lost in their home state, including a 24-20 win over Class 4A Spring Valley two weeks ago. Virgin Valley also boasts Southern Nevada’s No. 3 running back by rushing yards in Jayden Perkins’ 726, but the Dragons will counter with the leader in that category, Taariq Flowers, who has 886 yards this season.

Legacy (5-0) at Faith Lutheran (2-3) – The No. 4 Longhorns are just one of four Class 4A teams to remain undefeated, and the only one outside of the Southwest League. While their showdown with Arbor View is next week, they cannot afford to look past the Crusaders. Faith Lutheran has already lost more games this season than all of last year and have had issues stopping the run. If the Crusaders are to win Friday, they would need to buck that trend against Legacy stud Samuel Turner.

Justin Emerson can be reached at jemerson@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @J15Emerson