No. 2 Arbor View football works to close the gap on Bishop Gorman
Arbor View returns most of its offensive starters from last season, when it reached its first ever football state championship game.
Several things are different for the Aggies this year, however.
Sam Norris was promoted from offensive line coach to head coach after Marlon Barnett left to become the offensive coordinator at Independence Community College in Kansas. Arbor View also graduated several seniors on defense.
Still, the Aggies enter this season as the top local threat to Bishop Gorman. Arbor View, which opened at No. 2 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, begins its season by hosting Mililani (Hawaii) at 6 p.m. Friday.
“I’m looking forward (to see) if we can live up to that,” Norris said.
The Aggies went 10-2 last season, with their only two losses coming to Bishop Gorman. One of those was a 67-9 defeat to the Gaels in the 5A Division I state title game Nov. 27 at Allegiant Stadium.
Arbor View, under the new points rating system that will determine which Southern Nevada teams make the postseason, is one of the favorites to qualify for the four-team Open Division state tournament, along with Gorman.
Norris said he’s asked his team to focus on consistency this year given there will be more of a target on its back.
“Are you content with just going to Allegiant and being embarrassed like we were last year? Or are we trying to close the gap as a program (to Gorman)?” Norris said. “The only way to close the gap as a program (to) other elite programs in town is not focusing on those other programs. (It’s) focusing on how we do things. We can’t be content with just being in Allegiant. Our goal is to be the champion of Nevada.”
Dynamic offense
One thing fueling the Aggies’ ambitions is its returning core on offense.
Junior quarterback Thaddeus Thatcher, a Utah commit, is back after throwing for 3,271 yards and 34 touchdowns last year. Norris said Thatcher focused this offseason on picking up the details of Arbor View’s offensive system and recognizing defensive tendencies.
“(Thatcher is) the leader of a very explosive offense and not only are you the leader of that offense, but you have an opportunity to develop and showcase some of the things that you’ve improved on this offseason,” Norris said. “Whether it’s the scheme itself, or your actual ability, throwing ability, and being able to move the pocket, running around a little bit. I’m excited to see him perform, starting this week.”
Thatcher has a strong group of weapons in the passing game, led by wide receiver Damani Warren and tight end Zac Fares. The juniors are both four-star recruits. Thatcher’s other targets include senior wide receiver Jayden Williams, a Sacramento State commit, and senior wide receiver Kai Cypher. The Aggies will also feature a running back rotation of Kamareion Bell, Nylen Johnson and Noah Easton.
“Thaddeus has five good options on any given play. … Our scheme, everybody can be the guy and it’s not designed behind one person,” Norris said. “That’s what we kind of pride ourselves on. And our guys are selfless in the fact that they know that any given night can be one of their teammates’ night.”
‘Where we are at this point’
On defense, Arbor View is focusing on getting younger and inexperienced players up to game speed. Wyoming commit Tanielu Ma’afala-Barbasa and Idaho State commit Teddy Johnson are two of the Aggies’ top returners, while Norris said freshman Ryan Hales has been making an impact.
“It’s just an opportunity for guys to really step up and show that they’re deserving in regards to getting those reps,” Norris said. “They have to really push for that. … I’m excited to see them under the lights.”
Arbor View scrimmaged with Gorman last week and Norris said he’s proud with how his team competed. The Aggies will open with three quality out-of-state opponents in Mililani, Millard South (Nebraska) and Lincoln (California) as they attempt to chart a course back to the state title game.
“I’m glad we scheduled it that way,” Norris said. “We got a good opportunity to have a good scrimmage with Gorman last week. That kind of gives us a good outlook to see where we are at this point.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
