Nevada high school football: Who plays Bishop Gorman in Open Division?

High school football coaches across Southern Nevada will get to experience what many college basketball coaches feel every March.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association will release its final HRM rankings at noon Sunday. Those rankings will set the field for the Class 5A and 4A Southern Region playoffs.

And for the new four-team Open Division state tournament where, a blue-and-orange giant awaits.

The biggest question concerns the No. 4 seed in the Open Division state tournament. That team would likely play No. 1 Bishop Gorman (9-1) in a state semifinal on Nov. 14. No. 3 Arbor View (8-2) and No. 2 Liberty (9-1) should face off in the other semifinal.

Shadow Ridge, Foothill and Las Vegas High all entered their regular-season finales Friday as prime candidates to possibly fill out that No. 4 spot. Shadow Ridge (3.6667 HRM score) held the No. 4 spot, Foothill (5.3333) was No. 5 and Las Vegas (5.6667) was No. 6.

Then they all lost.

Shadow Ridge (8-2) got crushed by Gorman 43-0. Foothill (7-3) was upset by Faith Lutheran 30-24. Las Vegas (9-1) suffered its first loss of the season in a 57-28 defeat to Arbor View.

It’s created quite a predicament as to who will get the No. 4 spot based on the team likely getting that it coming off a loss. Let’s take a look at who could get that last spot:

Talking points

The NIAA uses Harbin points, rubric points and MaxPreps state rankings to combine into an HRM score.

Shadow Ridge (21.757 Harbin points entering Friday), Foothill (17.232) and Las Vegas (19.409) will not receive any more Harbin points since they lost. Desert Oasis has the next most Harbin points (14.961), but shouldn’t get enough to jump any of the three teams.

That’s the same case for rubric points. Shadow Ridge (132.405 rubric points), Foothill (126.19) and Las Vegas (122.024) are Nos. 4 through 6, respectively, in rubric points.

Based on their losses, all three teams’ rubric scores should drop. It likely won’t be enough to create a more drastic separation between any of the three teams. Desert Oasis has the next most rubric points (111.82).

In the MaxPreps rankings, Shadow Ridge is No. 8 in the state. Foothill is No. 11 and Las Vegas is No. 12. Shadow Ridge and Las Vegas might not fall that much since they lost to quality opponents, but Foothill could tumble.

So who gets the last spot? Probably Shadow Ridge, since the Mustangs have more Harbin and rubric points and a better MaxPreps ranking than all other 5A teams.

Is it fair, given the Mustangs’ 43-0 loss to Gorman? No. But that’s how the NIAA’s math will probably work out.

Desert Oasis has an HRM score of 8, followed by Desert Pines (8.6667), Centennial (8.6667) and Green Valley (9.6667). All four teams won Friday, but it’s unlikely any of those teams would significantly improve their HRM score since there is a larger gap between those teams and Shadow Ridge, Foothill and Las Vegas in the three categories.

You never know. There could be a surprise team that jumps into the top four. We’ll be waiting on the NIAA’s version of Selection Sunday, refreshing the site’s football page when the rankings go live.

Last 5A spot

There’s also a question as to who gets the final spot in the 5A Southern Region playoffs. Teams Nos. 5 through 12 in the 5A rankings go to the Southern Region playoffs.

Mojave (5-5), last year’s 4A state champion, entered Friday at No. 11 (11 HRM score) and took care of business in a 34-10 home win over Palo Verde to likely lock its spot in the postseason.

No. 12 Coronado (11.3333 HRM score), a week after getting a big win over Faith Lutheran 14-7 to get into the top 12, lost to Liberty 42-21 on Friday.

No. 14 Faith Lutheran (14 HRM score) was the only team outside the top 12 to win Friday when the Crusaders (3-7) stunned Foothill 30-24.

The Crusaders, under first-year coach Jay Staggs, might see their name placed in the No. 12 spot. Coronado (3-7) had a slight edge over Faith Lutheran in Harbin points (4.139 to 3.774), rubric points (87.5 to 79.167) and MaxPreps rankings (No. 18 to No. 23).

Faith Lutheran’s win over a quality Foothill team will give the Crusaders more Harbin and rubric points, and improve their MaxPreps ranking to boost their HRM score to get close or jump Coronado. The Cougars won’t get any more Harbin points, and will likely see a slight dip in rubric points and their MaxPreps ranking.

On Friday for Faith Lutheran, Aipa Kuloloia had three touchdowns — a catch, a run and a kick return. The Crusaders’ defense forced four turnovers, including a 40-yard pick-six from Trey Fox. The Crusaders had lost in the last two 5A Division II state title games to Northern power Bishop Manogue.

Any 4A movement?

The last 4A playoff spot is also up for grabs. No. 8 Clark (8.6667 HRM score) defeated Bonanza 14-0, and the Chargers (6-3) should be in the playoffs.

No. 7 Valley (8.000) lost to Sloan Canyon 47-0. Also losing were other teams outside the top eight — No. 9 Eldorado (8.6667) 40-6 to Mater East, No. 10 Durango (9.6667) 24-6 to SLAM! Nevada.

It’s likely going to come down to Valley (5-4) and Eldorado (5-4). Valley holds a slight edge over Eldorado in Harbin points (9.918 to 9.063) and a little larger gap in rubric points (74.996 to 68.493).

Valley’s overall HRM score will drop a little bit since Clark won, and the Chargers (9.452 Harbin points entering Friday) will have more Harbin points than the Vikings in the final rankings.

The wild card could be the MaxPreps rankings, which is the tiebreaker if teams have the same HRM score. Valley is No. 50 in the state’s MaxPreps rankings and Eldorado is No. 48. If Eldorado stays ahead of Valley, the Firehawks could make the playoffs.

At the top of 4A, Silverado (1.333) was the new No. 1, jumping Sloan Canyon (1.6667). It’s likely that it was a weird quirk in the rankings since Sloan Canyon (9-0) had a bye the previous week. Sloan Canyon should get more Harbin and rubric points than Silverado (8-1) — a 57-6 winner over Cheyenne — since the Pirates’ opponent Valley, has more wins than Cheyenne (2-7).

Up next

All high school football games this week will be played Thursday due to the Nevada Day holiday on Friday. The 5A and 4A Southern Region playoffs begin Thursday with region quarterfinals while the Open Division teams are off until Nov. 14.

While the Open, 5A and 4A playoff fields will be set Sunday, the postseason bracket for the 3A Southern League playoffs is set. 3A doesn’t use HRM rankings.

Virgin Valley (7-3), by defeating rival Moapa Valley 18-17 in the Hammer Game on Friday, has the No. 1 seed and a bye to the league semifinals. Moapa Valley (6-4) is the No. 2 seed and also has a bye.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, No. 5 Democracy Prep (3-6) plays at No. 4 Boulder City (5-5), and No. 6 The Meadows (2-7) plays at No. 3 Pahrump Valley (6-3).

Virgin Valley will play the Democracy Prep-Boulder City winner, and Moapa Valley will host either The Meadows or Pahrump Valley. The 3A league semifinals are Nov. 7.

By also getting the No. 1 seed, Virgin Valley would be in line to host a 3A state semifinal against a Northern opponent if the Bulldogs win their semifinal.

2A and 1A teams still have a week left in their regular seasons. Those playoffs begin Nov. 7 and 8. In the 2A Southern League, Needles has clinched the No. 1 seed and Lincoln County is No. 2.

Needles hosts Lake Mead Academy at 7 p.m. Thursday and that game will decide which of GV Christian, White Pine and Lake Mead will get the last two 2A Southern League playoff spots.

In 1A, three of the Southern League’s four playoff spots have been set — No. 1 Tonopah, No. 2 Pahranagat Valley, No. 3 Spring Mountain. Indian Springs and Laughlin are in contention for the final playoff spot.

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