Nevada high school football: Bishop Gorman plays Foothill in Open Division

Liberty’s football team had nearly three weeks off following its regular-season finale Oct. 24 before its Open Division state semifinal Friday night.

The Patriots kept it a bit light at practice in their first week off. They held a pickleball tournament as a team bonding event.

“That was fun,” Liberty coach Rich Muraco said.

Now, the real fun begins. The lengthy break is over for the four Southern Nevada teams in the new Open Division state tournament, with semifinal action beginning Friday.

No. 2-seeded Liberty (9-1) hosts No. 3 Arbor View (8-2) at 6 p.m. in a battle between the top two public school programs in the state. No. 1 Bishop Gorman (9-1) hosts No. 4 Foothill (7-3) at 6 p.m. in the other semifinal.

The winners advance to the state title game Nov. 25 at Allegiant Stadium.

“It’s going to be a great game. It’ll be a close game,” Muraco said. “I think it could be one of those types of games where the last team who has the ball wins it. I’m excited. We know how good Arbor View is, and we’re going to need our A game.”

Gorman is used to long breaks before playoff games. The Gaels, the four-time defending state champions, have had byes in the Class 5A Division I state tournament the past two years.

Gaels coach Brent Browner said his team is eager to get back on the field.

“It is what it is. They would rather play games,” Browner said. “They just want to play. It’s a lot of hard work they put in.”

‘We don’t rebuild, we reload’

Liberty went 5-7 last season, but that record is a bit deceiving. The Patriots dealt with injuries and lost twice to Gorman, including in the state semifinals.

Liberty’s game against Arbor View last season was a close one. The Patriots led 17-10 at halftime, but the Aggies held on for a 31-28 road win.

“Last year, it was a tough year,” Muraco said. “We really got hurt with injuries at the beginning part of last season. … We lost that close one to Arbor View, but I felt like if we would have been on the opposite side of the bracket from Gorman last year, we would have been right back in the state championship game.”

While those on the outside might have thought Liberty could be on the decline, Muraco wasn’t worried.

“I don’t look at it like we were so terrible last year. Our record didn’t look as good as it normally does,” Muraco said. “But I expect us to be right where we’re at (this season) every year. We’re a program. We have a saying: ’We don’t rebuild, we reload.’ ”

Liberty bounced back this season behind a defense that is allowing 13.2 points per game and has 24 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries. The Patriots will be challenged by an Arbor View offense that has scored at least 42 points in all six of its games against Nevada opponents.

“It’s a total team defense this year. Everybody’s bought in,” Muraco said. “They do their assignments. Nobody tries to do more than what they need to do. They trust in the game plan each week that (defensive coordinator Kaipo) Batoon puts in.”

Liberty’s strong defense bought time for the Patriots’ offense to find its footing. Quarterback Selby Griego has been steady under center. Ezra Sanelivi and Anthony Alberro have formed a solid running back duo, while Kellen Iwamuro leads a deep receiver room.

“I’m happy with the offense as well. We’ve been playing well,” Muraco said. “In certain types of games, statistically, we might not look like we’re super high power or anything, but that’s because the defense gives you a short field or (scores) points.”

‘Playing to our standard’

Gorman’s defense has been just as stout. The Gaels have shut out their past five opponents and haven’t allowed a point in seven of their 10 games. They’ll be tested by a Foothill offense that’s averaging 32.9 points and 395.4 yards per game.

Safety Jett Washington (four interceptions), an Oregon commit, and defensive end Prince Williams (11 sacks), an Arizona commit, have been the catalysts for Gorman’s strong defense.

“We don’t usually talk about (the shutouts). Let’s play good defense, do what you’re supposed to do,” Browner said. “They’ve been really fundamentally sound and really disciplined in what they do. It’s very difficult not to give up the points.”

Foothill’s offense has shown it can keep up with any team, but it’ll be difficult to keep pace with Gorman. Gaels quarterback Maika Eugenio is completing 75.1 percent of his passes with 33 touchdowns and four interceptions.

“It’s just playing to our standard of what we do, playing our game, making sure that we’re doing the things fundamentally since we’ve been working in January,” Browner said. “There’s probably a little bit of rust for both teams going into this game, so it’s getting them to start fast and come out hitting on all cylinders.”

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