Sunrise Region semifinals headline high school football’s top games this week

The Sunset Region begins its playoffs and the Sunrise Region plays its semifinals on Thursday, and Class 3A starts its state semifinals on Saturday. Here are five games to watch this week.

Silverado (8-2) at Liberty (9-1) — The Skyhawks have scored at least 35 points in all three games this season. Unfortunately for them, the most recent time they didn’t was Oct. 21 against Liberty. The Patriots have dominated their schedule this season, scoring at least 50 in three straight games, and only one time have they let a Nevada team stay within four scores of them. There will be points, and Silverado is one of the few teams in the region that has a shot at knocking off the Patriots and becoming the first Nevada team to beat them this season. Thursday’s winner takes on the Foothill-Basic winner in the Sunrise Region championship.

Legacy (7-2) at Sierra Vista (8-1) — If the Mountain Lions stop Samuel Turner, they have a chance of winning. Legacy’s senior running back leads Southern Nevada with 1,782 rushing yards and is a big reason why the Longhorns have come as far as they have. The passing game has yielded more interceptions than touchdowns for them, and no Legacy wide receiver has more than two touchdown receptions, so the ground game is nearly the entire offense. But Sierra Vista’s ground game is not too shabby in its own right. Brian LaGrange has 10 touchdowns, Lopaka Kolone has five and a trio of rushers have at least 300 yards. It will be a battle of running backs, and the winner will take on the Arbor View-Spring Valley winner in the Sunset Region semifinals.

Foothill (6-4) at Basic (7-3) — The Falcons have made the upset special their specialty. First they stunned Basic on Oct. 21, then upset Canyon Springs last week in the Sunrise Region quarterfinals. Foothill is the perfect example of a team getting hot at the right time, surging into the playoffs with three straight wins. Basic beat Eldorado in its quarterfinal game, and won handedly enough it rested its starters to make sure they were healthy when they play Foothill with a trip to the region title game on the line, a game the Wolves lost last season. Whoever wins on Thursday will play the winner of Silverado and Liberty.

Chaparral (6-5) at Spring Creek (10-0) — The Cowboys came into the playoffs with a losing record and find themselves two wins away from a state title. Quarterback Santiago Vialpando continues to find receivers Devin Gaddy and Kentrell Petite, a pair that has combined for 2,077 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns. Chaparral will face its biggest test of the year in a Spring Creek team that has yet to lose, and much like the Cowboys, rely on strong quarterback play: Jon Jund has 2,984 yards passing and 34 touchdowns for the Spartans. Saturday’s winner will play for the state title against either South Tahoe or Desert Pines.

South Tahoe (9-2) at Desert Pines (10-1) — The Jaguars have only lost to Class 4A Liberty, have won seven in a row, and have won those all by at least seven points. The playoffs have been no issue for Desert Pines, winning its two games by combined scores of 70-14, thanks to Isaiah Morris, who has 310 postseason yards and seven touchdowns. In South Tahoe, the Jaguars face a team that lost to top-seeded Spring Creek, then to Truckee by just one point. The winner will play for the state title, an honor South Tahoe has won twice and Desert Pines has never won.

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.