Sunrise playoffs begin, Sunset spots up for grabs in high school football

Here are the top five games to watch for this week of high school football.

Silverado (7-2) at Las Vegas (7-2) — Zach Matlock is a true dual-threat quarterback for the Wildcats, passing for 900 yards and 12 touchdowns, and adding 207 yards and seven scores on the ground. He’s carried the team to the Northeast League’s No. 2 seed, giving them home-field advantage against a powerful Skyhawks’ ground game. Silverado threw as many touchdowns as interceptions this year, so look for the ball in the hands of Keikiokalani Misipeka, who rushed 168 times in eight games this season, including a season-high 33 times against Faith Lutheran on Sept. 16. Winner gets the Valley-Liberty winner next week.

Moapa Valley (7-3) at Desert Pines (9-1) — The Pirates have bumped the Jaguars from the playoffs two years in a row, and Desert Pines is looking for revenge. The Class 3A Sunset League champion rolled through the regular season, losing just once and sweeping its league schedule behind Isaiah Morris and his 1,239 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Moapa Valley after losing impact players to graduation, but no one told the Pirates, who lost only once to a 3A team. Jacob Leavitt ran 160 times this season for 1,411 yards and had 25 total touchdowns, which led Southern Nevada. Whichever running back out-performs the other may be playing in the state semifinals next week.

Foothill (5-4) at Canyon Springs (8-1) — The Falcons are flying high after upsetting Basic two weeks ago and taking down Green Valley last week to surge into the playoffs. Their rewards? A date with the Northeast League champion Pioneers, who did not lose to a Nevada team all season. It’s the best No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchup of the postseason, pitting two strong defenses against one another. Four times this season Foothill gave up single-digit point totals, while Canyon Springs has not allowed a point in 98:58 of game time. Friday’s winner will play the winner of Eldorado and Basic.

Shadow Ridge (5-3, 2-3 Northwest League) at Legacy (6-2, 3-2) — If the Longhorns win, they are the Northwest League’s No. 3 seed and the winner of Centennial and Palo Verde is the No. 4 seed. If Shadow Ridge wins, things get absurdly complicated. Read about the playoff scenarios here, but in brief, the Mustangs can make the playoffs if they win by 13 or more points, or they win and Centennial wins.The Longhorns will rely, as they have all year, on senior running back Samuel Turner. He’s the best player on Legacy’s offense and has at times been the entire offense, averaging 201.4 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns per game. The Mustangs boast a win over Las Vegas and put up 61 against Centennial, but also lost to a one-win Palo Verde team last week, only managing nine points.

Centennial (3-5, 2-3 Northwest League) at Palo Verde (2-6, 2-3) — This is where the playoff scenarios get fun. The most simple scenario is that Legacy beats Shadow Ridge, sending Legacy and the winner of Centennial-Palo Verde to the postseason. But if Shadow Ridge wins, Centennial is in with a win and out with a loss, while Palo Verde would be sent into tiebreakers if it beats Centennial, which can be read here. For two teams with disappointing seasons, a chance at redemption exists Friday. Centennial quarterback Jamaal Evans has done it all, totaling 33 touchdowns between passing and running this season. Palo Verde will need to shut down Evans to avoid snapping a streak of 16 consecutive postseason appearances.

Visit nevadapreps.com for a full schedule and complete scoreboard.

Contact Justin Emerson at jemerson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2944. Follow @J15Emerson on Twitter.