Which league is the most competitive? What are some can’t-miss player matchups? Can anybody upend the Gorman boys and Centennial girls dynasties?
Desert Pines
Here is the 2019 Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada football team.
Senior Jordan Smith has rushed for 1,711 yards and 24 touchdowns and eclipsed the 100-yard mark eight times in helping Centennial reach its first state championship game.
Colton Tenney threw three touchdown passes as Centennial defeated previously unbeaten Desert Pines 20-7 on Saturday in the Mountain Region championship game at Eldorado High.
The Jaguars have dominated their opponents to the tune of 47-9 on average, thanks to a balanced offense and nasty defense littered with Division I talent.
Centennial, which won one game two seasons ago, will play Desert Pines at 4:10 p.m. Saturday at Eldorado High School in the Class 4A state football semifinals.
Eight-time defending Class 4A state basketball champion Bishop Gorman, which finished last season in New York at the GEICO Nationals, opens the season again as the team to beat in Nevada.
Desert Pines quarterback Rjay Tagataese threw for 334 yards and three TDs and rushed for one score as the Jaguars moved into the Class 4A state semifinals.
The Canyon Springs football team’s appeal after it was forced to forfeit all its wins for the season was denied Friday. Arbor View will take its place in the playoffs.
No decision was made Thursday after the Canyon Springs football team’s appeal was heard regarding the use of an ineligible player. A decision is expected Friday morning.
Bishop Gorman and Liberty will meet for the Desert Region championship Friday night. The Mountain Region semifinals match Palo Verde-Centennial and Arbor View-Desert Pines.
Canyon Springs’ football team has been forced to forfeit all of its wins for this season because of its use of an ineligible player.
Desert Pines running back Javontae Barnes, whose grandmother died last weekend, ran for 197 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Jaguars past Faith Lutheran on Friday night.
The Mountain Region playoffs begin Friday, and none of the higher seeds expect an easy quarterfinal matchup — not even the league champions who are facing No. 4 seeds.
Liberty, Gorman look to keep rolling in the Desert Region semifinals, while the Mountain Region playoffs begin with intriguing quarterfinal matchups.