Here are the top five high school state football championship games from the 2000s, as selected by the Review-Journal staff.
Schools
So much has happened, such as surprising teams, fantastic finishes and the opening of Class 4A Southwest League play last week that was quite an appetizer for the rest of the league openers.
Jacob Ceci had 15 kills, 11 digs, nine aces and four blocks Friday to help host Coronado’s boys volleyball team to a 26-28, 25-13, 25-20, 25-14 win over Durango.
Garin MacFarlane had 20 kills and eight digs on Tuesday to help Shadow Ridge’s boys volleyball team outlast visiting Foothill, 20-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-23, 15-13.
Tommie Lindsey scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half on Saturday as Cheyenne’s boys basketball team held on for a 63-59 home victory over Canyon Springs.
Nicholas held off hard-charging Massimiliano Swenson of Bishop Gorman to become Desert Oasis’ first region cross country champion. The Diamondbacks also won the boys region team title, another first in school history.
Audrey Wood had 17 kills and two aces Wednesday to lead Silverado’s girls volleyball team to a 15-25, 25-27, 25-18, 25-22, 15-13 victory over visiting Sierra Vista.
Croix Reganit had 16 kills, 10 digs and one assist Thursday to lead Sierra Vista’s boys volleyball team to a road win at Bishop Gorman, 22-25, 25-16, 13-25, 25-21, 15-13.
Mikayla Berg was 2-for-2 with a three-run home run, and Basic’s softball team scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to get past visiting Silverado on Thursday, 11-9.
Jason Sharman singled home Zac Czerniawski with two outs on the top of the 10th to give the Desert Oasis baseball team a 7-6 road win over Bishop Gorman on Thursday.
James Cobian was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs to lead Chaparral’s baseball team to a 5-3 home win over Clark in the Cowboy Classic semifinals.
Tjaden Giles was 2-1 in singles play, including the match-winning tiebreaker game for Basic’s girls tennis team, as the Wolves picked up a road win against Las Vegas, 10-9.
Mark Thuet and Justin Balconi each went 3-0 in singles play Tuesday as Bonanza’s boys tennis team edged the Arbor View on the road, 10-8.
Arbor View’s Keith Williams won a 3.1-mile race at Palo Verde on Tuesday to lead the Aggies to victory in a seven-team meet.
Sierra Vista eked out a 2-1 victory over host Clark on Tuesday afternoon.