Nevada high school football: Opening round of playoffs filled with upsets

The high school football playoffs got off to a forgettable start when the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association had to make multiple changes to its final HRM rankings that determined which teams qualified for the Open Division state tournament and Class 5A Southern Region playoffs.

Fortunately for the NIAA, the crisis of the rankings were put aside after a wild opening round of the Southern Region playoffs Thursday night when six lower-seeded teams pulled upsets across the 5A and 4A quarterfinals.

Highlighting the upsets were three games in 5A, including No. 8 Centennial’s 43-27 win at No. 1 Shadow Ridge, which was at No. 4 and in the Open Division in the NIAA’s initial HRM rankings.

The Mustangs dropped to the No. 5 overall ranking and top seed in the 5A region playoffs after an update in the MaxPreps’ rankings that the NIAA wasn’t aware of.

The two other 5A upsets were No. 6 Faith Lutheran’s 35-8 rout at No. 3 Desert Oasis, and No. 5 Green Valley’s 23-21 win at No. 4 Desert Pines.

‘Everybody’s good’

Green Valley will get to break out its home black jerseys at least one more time as the Gators (6-4) host Centennial (6-4) in a region semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday.

“(Centennial’s) got a great coaching staff, and their kids believe in what they do,” Green Valley coach Bill Powell said. “It’s going to be a heck of a test. I’m excited that we get another home game for our seniors.”

Powell said his team had a lot of “motivation” for the Desert Pines game after Green Valley beat Desert Pines (4-6) in the regular season and got a lower seed in the HRM rankings. He expects another battle against Centennial, which won the 4A state title in 2023 and 5A Division III state title last year.

“Everybody’s good at this point,” Powell said. “You have to play your best football at this time of the year, and it’s going to be a great challenge for us. They beat a very good Shadow Ridge team and did it pretty convincingly. So, they’re playing well, and we have to have our best effort.”

Faith Lutheran, despite what some might think, proved it earned its playoff spot in a dominant road win at Desert Oasis (5-5). The Crusaders (4-7) lost at Desert Oasis 30-27 in the regular season, but won their regular-season finale 30-24 over Foothill (now in the Open Division) to get into the playoffs.

Now Faith Lutheran will get another test against a strong offense in Las Vegas High. The Wildcats were in the Open Division for about 24 hours between Sunday and Monday before a nonreported forfeit result moved the Wildcats back into the region playoffs.

Quarterback Tanner Vibabul threw for five touchdowns and rushed for two scores in No. 2 Las Vegas’ 54-21 home win over No. 7 Mojave (5-6). The Wildcats (10-1) will host Faith Lutheran at 6 p.m. Friday in the other 5A region semifinal.

4A upsets

Top-seeded Sloan Canyon (10-0) rolled to a 51-0 home win over No. 8 Valley in a 4A Southern Region quarterfinal. But the other three quarterfinals were chaotic.

It started when No. 7 Clark upset No. 2 Silverado 30-24. Felix Romero rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns to lead Clark, and the Chargers had two interceptions on defense.

“Each year carries its own set of emotions and challenges, and this year it’s just us coming together and building on what we had last year,” Clark coach Deumaine Reeder said.

Clark entered the season as a favorite in 4A with Washington commits Andres Pollard, a two-way athlete, and offensive lineman Dominic Harris. The Chargers won five of their final six regular-season games, including a 14-0 victory over Bonanza in their finale to lock their spot in the playoffs.

Clark (7-3) will play SLAM! Nevada at 6 p.m. Friday at a to-be-determined site (SLAM! Nevada doesn’t have a home field at its school). The Bulls, the No. 6 seed, outlasted No. 3 Spring Valley 44-29 on Friday for their sixth consecutive win.

“I told the kids after the nonconference schedule, ‘The job now is to go win the league. To do that, you’re going to have to run the table,’” SLAM! Nevada coach Mike Cofer said. “They stepped up and did it. Tonight was a good one to get.”

SLAM! Nevada won the 3A state title and moved to 4A this season. The Bulls (7-4) were outside of the playoffs in the NIAA’s 4A HRM rankings but moved up after their winning streak.

“(The 4A schools) got numbers on us, and they’re going to be bigger than we are,” Cofer said. “We put our kids through a lot in preparation to try to give them every tool possible to be successful. … We’ll keep showing up and giving it our best shot and see how it falls when the clock turns to zero.”

SLAM! Nevada and Clark played a thriller Oct. 17 when the Bulls won 40-37 in overtime.

In the other 4A quarterfinal, No. 5 Mater East (7-3) defeated No. 4 Sierra Vista 42-20 behind James Monaghan’s four touchdown passes.

Up next

Spots in the 5A and 4A Southern Region title games will be on the line Friday. All 5A and 4A games will be at 6 p.m.

In 5A, Green Valley hosts Centennial, and Faith Lutheran plays at Las Vegas.

Sloan Canyon will host Mater East in the other 4A region semifinal, while Clark and SLAM! Nevada battle again.

In 3A, No. 4 Boulder City — a 14-8 winner over No. 5 Democracy Prep in a Southern League quarterfinal — plays at No. 1 Virgin Valley, coming off a bye, at 7 p.m. Friday. No. 3 Pahrump Valley — which rolled past No. 6 The Meadows 70-6 in the other league quarterfinal — plays at No. 2 Moapa Valley at 7 p.m. Friday.

The winners of the 3A Southern League semifinals advance to the state semifinals Nov. 15. The highest remaining seed will host a Northern team in a state semifinal, while the lowest remaining seed will go up North in the other semifinal.

The 2A state playoffs are set. Needles is the top Southern seed and hosts No. 4S White Pine in a state quarterfinal, and No. 3S Lake Mead Academy plays at No. 2S Lincoln County. Both games are at 7 p.m. Friday. The winners will advance to play Northern teams in the state semifinals Nov. 15.

In 1A, Tonopah is the top Southern seed and hosts No. 4S Indian Springs at 6 p.m. Friday, and No. 3S Spring Mountain plays at No. 2S Pahranagat Valley at 7 p.m. Friday in state quarterfinals. The winners will play Northern teams in the state semifinals Nov. 14 or 15.

The Open Division teams — Bishop Gorman, Liberty, Arbor View and Foothill — are off until the state semifinals Nov. 14.

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