Nevada high school football Week 4 recap, scores, Week 5 schedule

Every win is a big one for any high school football team. But there’s a greater joy in beating your rival.

Several teams around Southern Nevada brought home hardware by winning their respective rivalry games on Friday night.

Sierra Vista rallied to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and defeated Desert Oasis 23-16 in the “Bell Game” at home.

Eldorado won the “Cleat Game” over Chaparral 28-18 at Chaparral, and Cimarron-Memorial picked up its first win of the year at Cheyenne 21-6 in the “Duel in the Desert.”

Sierra Vista had the wildest victory. The Mountain Lions (2-2) got a late touchdown when Evan Abasto hauled in a 76-yard pass from Phillip Reymundo with 22 seconds remaining to take the lead and hold on for the win. Caleb Green added more than 170 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

“Being a rivalry game, going into it, we wanted to make sure that the kids came out fired up and ready to go,” Sierra Vista coach Thomas Raybon said. “You really don’t have to motivate for a rivalry game. We were ready and we certainly didn’t stop fighting.”

Sierra Vista beat Desert Oasis (1-2) last season 21-15 after the game was not played in 2023. The game is also called the “Railroad Rivalry” since a railroad track runs between the two schools, and the teams play for a bell as the trophy.

Eldorado (2-0) appeared in trouble after its leading rusher and starting running back suffered a season-ending injury last week, but Anthony Haro came to the rescue. The junior rushed for two touchdowns and had three interceptions on defense to help the Firehawks reclaim the Cleat after losing to Chaparral (0-3) last year 12-7.

“I couldn’t be more proud of his growth and development and dedication to our program,” Eldorado coach Darryl Tootle said of Haro.

The game dates back to 1973, when Eldorado opened. The two teams play for a bronzed cleat of former NFL offensive lineman Merlin Olsen.

In other rivalry games, Jordan Newsome scored on a 35-yard interception return to help Cimarron-Memorial (1-1) defeat Cheyenne (0-2). Kenneth Hill had a touchdown catch and Isaac Garibay had an 80-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown for the Spartans.

Cimarron-Memorial has won its last five meetings with Cheyenne. The rivalry started after the two schools both opened in 1991.

“This was a big win for our school, our program and for our seniors,” Cimarron-Memorial coach Shane Kanie said. “Between Cimarron-Memorial and Cheyenne, we are very fortunate to have won this game five years in a row. As a player at Cimarron-Memorial, this was a big rivalry and as the head coach, this rivalry is still fun and something as a community we look forward to.”

Moapa Valley and SLAM! Nevada have started the “Big Red Ball Game,” a rivalry that recently started as the teams battled in 3A the previous four seasons. Moapa Valley had a 35-14 lead before the game was suspended due to lightning. According to the SLAM! Nevada Twitter page, it is unclear if the game will be resumed and the Bulls have handed the big red ball over to Moapa Valley.

Still winning

To the surprise of no one, the Coronado boys soccer team has not stopped rolling. The Cougars (10-0) won their 40th straight game on Thursday night, defeating Eldorado 3-0. Their dominant run dates back to the 2023 5A state tournament.

Coronado has won the last two 5A state titles. Last year, Coronado went 28-0 on its way to the title to become the second team to have a perfect season with no ties, according to known records by the NIAA. They outscored opponents 169-10 and set eight state records in 2024.

With most of the Cougars’ players back from the last two years, this year has been much the same for 5A opponents. Coronado is outscoring opponents 80-3 with seven shutouts. Its 169 goals and 20 shutouts last year were the most by a team in a season.

Coronado senior striker Gavin Flickinger, a Fordham commit, leads the state with 31 goals. Flickinger scored 60 goals last year to set a state record for most goals scored in a season by a player in the top classification.

Senior Dylan Flores leads the state with 27 assists. Flores holds the state record for most career assists by a player in the top classification with 80 and is 14 away from the all-time state record. Flickinger’s 36 assists last year were the most assists in a season in all classifications.

Now Coronado will chase another record: most consecutive games without a loss. Bishop Gorman holds the record at 52 games. Should Coronado continue its dominance, the Cougars would break that record in this year’s 5A Southern Region championship game. Coronado is also trying to be the first Southern Nevada team and team in any of the top three classifications (5A, 4A or 3A) to win three straight state titles.

Up next

Bishop Gorman’s football team continues its challenging nonleague schedule, hosting East St. Louis, rated by MaxPreps as the top team in Illinois, at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Gaels’ game Friday night against Lone Peak (Utah) ended early in the third quarter due to an altercation that had more than three Lone Peak players leave the sideline and resulting in a forfeited win for Gorman.

The Gaels (3-0), ranked No. 2 nationally by USA Today and No. 3 by MaxPreps, then face No. 1 Mater Dei (California) the following week. Mater Dei edged Kahuku 21-18 on Friday, while Gorman won at Kahuku 38-0 on Aug. 30.

Many other local teams are back in the valley to face other local competition. Liberty (2-1) hosts Desert Pines (2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

Also at 7 p.m., northwest rivals Arbor View (0-3) and Centennial (2-1) meet at Centennial, and Las Vegas High (2-0) hosts Rancho (1-1) in the annual rivalry “Bone Game.”

At 6 p.m. Friday, Shadow Ridge (2-1) hosts Canyon Springs (1-2), Green Valley (1-1) plays at Desert Oasis (1-2) and Legacy (1-2) plays at Foothill (2-1).

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.