Graney: For 1 day, NIAA football was exactly as it should be

It was not a day to be concerned with MaxPreps rankings. Or any bizarre HRM points ratings system. Or a 10-team Open Division and how it might influence the future of prep football in Las Vegas.

It was not a day to be concerned with Bishop Gorman’s sudden plight of being unable to create a national schedule.

Even though I would take the Gaels over the Raiders right now. At least when comparing offenses.

Four state football championships were decided at Allegiant Stadium on Tuesday, and it was difficult to find many who didn’t understand the importance of what it all meant.

Kids playing for a title. Kids who earned the right to do so.

No votes were taken. No politics. No pitches for this or that.

For one day at least, the latest realignment structure of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association — are we finally done with this stuff? — took a backseat to actual games.

Really important ones to those who competed and followed their respective schools.

No comparison

It’s so simple at the 2A level, where Needles (California) took down Pershing County 22-12. A division based on enrollment, there is no worry about special Board of Control meetings and all the public statements that go with such gatherings.

Just a bunch of kids who have grown up playing against each other.

“Small school football is no comparison to big city football,” Needles coach Thomas DeLeon said. “You can probably read names on the (2A) jerseys and know they’ve probably been there for a couple generations. … We just keep having kids.”

But special days can also come with a bit of heartache.

It was the kind Sloan Canyon felt when seeing its undefeated season end with a 27-20 loss to McQueen in the 4A final.

Sloan Canyon is a charter school in just its third year playing football. It will advance to 5A next season.

“It was great to be in Allegiant Stadium and to have this kind (of day),” said Sloan Canyon coach Nate Oishi, an ex-UNLV player whose staff is primarily former Rebels. “All that (realignment) stuff is out of our control. It was just a huge blessing to be here. It was an amazing experience our team will never forget.”

Yes. That kind of day.

One team in attendance did end its season unbeaten in Spanish Springs (13-0), which took out Faith Lutheran 42-23 in the 5A title game.

It was the conclusion to an unforgettable run by the Crusaders, who lost six of their first seven games only to win five of six coming into the final.

But it wasn’t meant to be for a Faith Lutheran side that had several players competing in their third state title game. None ended in victory.

“We are absolutely just blessed to be here,” first-year Crusaders coach Jay Staggs said. “We felt it all through the playoffs and an opportunity to be with my guys one more week in November — you can’t beat that.

“We felt all season there was something special about our group. The hard part was the results weren’t coming in. It’s a lot of lessons for me to learn as a first-year coach.

“Ultimately, we just loved on each other, and they stayed together. It was really hard to break those guys. … Everything we do has a purpose, including this tonight.”

Family and friends

So there have been drastic changes made to realignment. The postseason format for 4A and 5A teams is yet again different. There will be an Open Division of 10 teams.

Bishop Gorman — which won yet another state title Tuesday with a 44-7 win over Arbor View — isn’t happy with any of it.

All of that can be debated and criticized at another time.

But for at least one day, this day, it was about the actual games.

About kids playing for championships. About their families and friends cheering them on. About the bands and cheerleaders and homemade signs of support.

As it should have been.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.