FIELDER’S CHOICES: ‘Friday Night Lights,’ Las Vegas style
My English teacher is making us read "Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream" this semester in honor of The New York Times best-seller's 25th anniversary.
She says H.G. Bissinger's book is about the sociology of small-town America and institutional racism and all those themes English teachers love to talk about.
I'm more interested in "Boobie" Miles and the Permian Panthers. Mo-jo!
Reading about Texas high school football inspired me to start writing my own gridiron novel about the past 25 years in Las Vegas. Here's a sneak preview of what I have so far.
Chapter One: The Gay Nineties. That wacky decade when Eldorado (1991), Clark (1993) and Western (1996) won state titles. Those were the days.
Chapter Two: We're Going Streakin'! An unauthorized look at The Meadows' 41-game winning streak.
Chapter Three: The Faircloth Diaries. The behind-the-scenes story of Las Vegas High's dynasty.
Chapter Four: The Rise and Fall of the Double-Wing Offense.
Chapter Five: Movin' on Up. How Bishop Gorman went from Maryland Parkway to national champs.
The book still needs a title, so be sure to send me your suggestions. The first copies will go on sale in December at the Division I state title game, so be sure to order yours now.
In the meantime, here are my picks for the opening week of the prep football season. Don't forget to visit Nevadapreps.com for more games.
Arbor View at Desert Pines — A matchup between Division I and I-A powers? What a novel concept! Maybe area basketball coaches should take note.
The Jaguars were eight minutes away from the I-A state title last season, and a victory over the defending Northwest League champs would be a massive statement. Too bad we can't see Aggies offensive lineman Keenen King square off against injured Desert Pines defensive end Anthony Smith. That would have been fun. ... Arbor View by 7.
Palo Verde at Coronado — This will be Palo Verde's first game in its 20-year history without Darwin Rost on the sideline. The Cougars, on the other hand, burn through coaches like Floyd Mayweather does money; William Froman is their fifth coach since 2008.
The Panthers return a senior quarterback in Logan Hutchison and are expected to be stingy defensively. That's usually a formula for early-season success, and also why Uncle Lefty loves under the total of 41. ... Palo Verde by 2.
Spring Valley at Bonanza — I tried to label this rivalry the "Fielder Game" last year, seeing as the west side is the best side and has all the cool places to skate. Then a bunch of people blew up my Twitter and told me it's already called the "Banner Game." Hey, it was worth a shot.
The Grizzlies snapped a three-game losing streak to their rival with a 41-0 victory last season. Make it two in a row. ... Spring Valley by 3.
Chandler (Ariz.) at Bishop Gorman — The folks from ESPNU will be in town Saturday night for Kenneth Sanchez's first game in charge of the Gaels. As Gorman's defensive coordinator the past six seasons, Sanchez went by Kenny. What happened?
Chandler is ranked No. 20 by USA Today (Gorman is third) and tuned up last week with a 56-10 victory. Gorman has struggled with Arizona teams in the past, and this game feels a bit like 2013 when Mountain Pointe (Ariz.) upended the host Gaels. ... Chandler by 3.
Silverado at Shadow Ridge — Travis Foster waited nine years to land a head-coaching job in Vegas, and his first game in charge of the Mustangs comes against Randall Cunningham. There's a story to tell the grandkids.
Cunningham also is making his debut as Silverado's coach. We know the "Ultimate Weapon" can teach kids how to high jump. Now we'll find out if he can teach them to block and tackle. ... Shadow Ridge by 3.
Centennial at Legacy — The Bulldogs appear to be loaded this season, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon early and riding it all the way to the Sunset Region final, since that's as far as any non-Gorman bandwagon can travel on that side of town.
The Longhorns were held to 14 points or fewer in seven of their 10 games last year and needed an injection of talent on offense. Enter Derriyon Shaw, a 6-foot-4-inch, 225-pound transfer from Georgia. Oh wait, he plays defense. Still a nice consolation prize for the Longhorns. ... Centennial by 11.
Durango at Desert Oasis — The Trailblazers are 1-17 the past two seasons, and this is one of the few spots on the schedule when Durango won't be a heavy underdog. On the bright side, the Trailblazers can equal last season's win total with a victory.
New Diamondbacks coach Brad Talich turned around Coronado quickly, and I'm expecting the same at Desert Oasis. Hopefully he brought the "NASCAR" offense with him to Southern Highlands. I like making jokes about NASCAR. ... Desert Oasis by 6.
Moapa Valley at Sierra Vista — This is a rematch of last year's Division I-A state quarterfinal the Pirates won 46-26. That game wasn't as close as the final score indicates, which doesn't really bode well for Sierra Vista this time around.
The Mountain Lions lost several key players to graduation and had another one transfer to Desert Pines. You never really hear about players transfering to Moapa Valley. I wonder why. ... Moapa Valley by 13.
Last week: 0-0, 0-0 (with points)
Season: 0-0, 0-0 (with points)
Contact Fielder at Fielder@nevadapreps.com. Follow @FielderNVP on Twitter.
