Las Vegas High School wide receiver Chris Kelly throws the ball around Sam Boyd Stadium during practice Friday in preparation for today’s Class 4A state championship game against Galena. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.

A month ago it looked as though Galena's football team was about to turn in its equipment.

The Grizzlies lost their final two regular-season games to fall to third place in the High Desert League, then trailed 14-12 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening round of the playoffs.

But a fumble recovery helped turn the game into an 18-14 victory over North Valleys, and a pair of fourth-quarter field goals avenged the two late-season losses to give Galena its first Northern Regional title.

Now, after a 35-0 drubbing of Palo Verde in the state semifinals, Galena is one of two teams left standing. The Grizzlies (10-3) face defending state champion Las Vegas (11-2) in the Class 4A state title game at 12:30 p.m. today at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"We were kind of on the fringe for a while of not knowing if we were going to turn in our uniforms and our equipment after the first round of the playoffs," Galena coach Steve Struzyk said. "But we had a real close first-round game against North Valleys. We ended up getting a fumble late in that game and ended up winning by four points. And I think that kind of gave us some confidence and showed one another that this is a group that will battle back."

The Grizzlies had never won more than one playoff game before this season. The school, which opened in 1992, has seven playoff wins in its history, four coming this season.

By contrast, Las Vegas has won eight playoff games in the last two seasons. The Wildcats are making their fourth consecutive appearance in the state title game, and their fifth in six seasons.

"It's really cool. It's nice to actually start making history and start making a name for our school," Galena senior running back Jimmy Sargent said.

While Galena was struggling at the end of the regular season, Las Vegas was on a roll. The Wildcats started the season 1-2 after back-to-back losses to Madera, Calif., and Skyline, Utah. The team has won 10 straight games since then, and won all three playoff games by more than 30 points.

"We're playing better than we've played all year, by far," Las Vegas coach Chris Faircloth said. "I think that has to do with the experience -- the kids' and the coaches' understanding of what it takes to be good.

"We don't get too wrapped up in the wins and losses during the season, even though we try and do the right things as far as playing hard."

In fact, the two early losses might have helped. Faircloth said he intentionally scheduled the tough early games to give the team a challenge and keep it grounded.

"It was better than playing teams in Vegas that we knew we could beat," senior cornerback Mark Brinkman said. "It was just going out and having a challenge and learning from our losses."

Las Vegas has 12 seniors who will be playing in their third state championship game. The Wildcats lost 21-7 to Palo Verde in 2004 and beat Hug 23-0 last season.

While that experience should be to Las Vegas' advantage, Faircloth doesn't want to overlook Galena, especially because the Wildcats lost the 2003 state championship game to a Reno team with five losses.

"That's what the whole thing is about, if you're playing good football at the right time in the season," Faircloth said. "In 2003, Reno had a losing record going into the playoffs and they end up being state champions."

While Las Vegas is no stranger to the championship game, not every player has experienced the thrill of playing in the game.

"It's nothing new, but it's new to (me), because I didn't really get to start last year," Brinkman said. "I'm a senior this year, and I want to go out with a good blast and end on a good note."

But so does Galena's Sargent, who thinks his team can pull the upset.

"Like (assistant) coach (Greg) Sakelaris said before we got down here, every dynasty has an end," Sargent said.