Four titles on the line Thursday

Call it brilliant planning. Call it good fortune. Whatever the reason, this week’s prep football schedule couldn’t have worked out better.

The Division I regular season concludes Thursday — the games were moved up due to Nevada Day — and all four league titles will be decided. I suppose it’s tough to clinch early when you only play four league games, but that doesn’t diminish the excitement.

Arbor View and Centennial will decide the Northwest League in what some are calling the “Game of the Year,” while Bishop Gorman and Palo Verde each carry 3-0 league marks into their Southwest duel. And over in the Sunrise Region, Green Valley (Southeast League) and Las Vegas (Northeast League) will try to lock up a No. 1 seed.

Eric and Skeet are so pumped up, we’re going to put on our Halloween costumes and drive to all four games. I’ll be the guy in the nine-fingered Jose Canseco costume, so come say hello. And don’t forget to go to Nevadapreps.com for more picks.

Arbor View at Centennial — It’s not often that we get a battle between undefeated teams this late in the season, and Centennial quarterback Juan Rodriguez admitted last week that the Bulldogs have been thinking about this game for a quite some time. “We have been preparing for (Arbor View) for as long as I can think of — since spring, since summer,” he said. Me too, Juan.

The Aggies have owned the series against Centennial since 2008, winning six of the seven meetings. Arbor View’s only loss to the Bulldogs during that span was a 14-9 slugfest in the 2012 Division I Sunset Region semifinals, and this should be another low-scoring game Thursday. I typically don’t like going against history, but it’s worked for me this season. … Centennial by 2.

Bishop Gorman at Palo Verde — Eric keeps trying to convince me this is a big game. “Dude,” he said, “it’s Gorman-Palo! They’re both undefeated in league, and it’s for the Southwest League title!” But I’m not sold. The Gaels have won the past three meetings by 38, 43 and 28 points, and the gap between the powerhouse programs is growing.

Gorman’s last loss to an in-state team was a 50-14 shellacking at Palo Verde on Nov. 21, 2008. That game cost coach Bob Altshuler his job, and Gorman hired Tony Sanchez out of the Bay Area soon after. Sanchez is 62-0 against Nevada foes, so, really, the Gaels’ domination the past six seasons is all Palo Verde’s fault. … Gorman by 27.

Liberty at Las Vegas — These are two of the biggest names in Southern Nevada prep football, but I was surprised to learn that they’ve only played twice previously. You’d think these teams would run into each other in the postseason more often. Apparently not. (In case you’re wondering, Liberty won both meetings: 35-14 in 2010 and 44-28 in 2011.)

Las Vegas can clinch its first league title since 2010 with a victory, but also could fall to the No. 3 seed with a loss. The Patriots, meanwhile, would earn the Northeast League’s top seed with a win and a Canyon Springs loss. One out of two isn’t bad. … Liberty by 3.

Chaparral at Sierra Vista — Let’s all give a warm playoff welcome to these two teams, because it’s been a while since they’ve been here. The Cowboys are making their first postseason appearance since 2007, while Sierra Vista’s last playoff berth was in 2008. See, folks, this is realignment at its finest.

The Mountain Lions backed into the Division I-A Southern Region playoffs despite losing at Pahrump Valley last week. Then, they earned a home game when Spring Valley and Cheyenne also lost. Talk about good luck. If I was Sierra Vista coach John Foss, I’d drive to Primm and buy a Powerball ticket. Pronto! … Sierra Vista by 6.

Last week: 6-2, 6-2 (with points)

Season: 46-25, 39-30-1 (with points)

Contact Fielder at Fielder@nevadapreps.com. Follow @FielderNVP on Twitter.