Slugfest expected in LV-Valley game

Steve Cunningham

Friday, Sept. 19, 1997 | 9:09 a.m.

If the offenses of Las Vegas' and Valley's football teams are running on all cylinders and each defense performs at a less-than-stellar level tonight, a late appropriation to the Vikings' athletic budget will be needed:

A whole new set of lightbulbs for the scoreboard.

Those two teams meet in a big Sunrise Division battle and just about everybody expects an offensive showcase. Both are 2-1 overall and 1-0 in division play. The coaches involved -- Las Vegas' Kris Cinkovich and Valley's Greg Murphy -- know the possibility of a track meet exists but each is hoping for a little sanity, via the defenses.

"It could be (a scorefest)," Cinkovich said. "They have such great talent, particularly at quarterback. We're real proud of our defense ... we expect it to be a close game."

"I'm hoping our defense steps up," said Murphy. "We have the ability. The kids have to make up their minds that's what they want to do."

Cinkovich has several weapons at his disposal. Quarterback Eddy Gifford has completed about two-thirds of his passes this season for over 350 yards. There are several receivers in the Wildcats arsenal and Gifford looks for them all. If Brent Taylor and Juan Pena have big nights as wideouts, and Jermaine Lewis and John Dickerson perform well out of the backfield, Las Vegas will be dangerous.

"They have some big-play people we have to stop," Murphy said. "We've got to try and keep everything in front of us."

Valley's defense hasn't performed up to capabilities to date, allowing 79 points in three games. The Vikings have been hampered by injuries and ineligibilities but Murphy is optimistic a turnaround is near.

"We're getting healthier by the day and I hope we play with a lot more effort on the defensive side of the ball," he said.

While Las Vegas has given up just 36 points, the Wildcats haven't seen the likes of Valley quarterback Dion Jackson, who's been a one-man wrecking crew so far. Jackson is the Valley's second-leading rusher, the No. 1 passer and the top scorer with 50 points.

Las Vegas can't let him run wild, says Cinkovich.

"Dion's an absolutely fantastic football player," he said. "You better stop him if you have any plans to stop their attack. Our plan is to keep the ball as long as we can to keep him off the field."

While the Las Vegas-Valley matchup highlights tonight's schedule, there are several other interesting contests. In the Sunrise, Basic (2-1, 0-0) travels to Eldorado (1-2, 0-1) and Green Valley (2-1, 0-1) is at Rancho (1-1, 1-0). In the Sunset Division, defending state champ Western (2-1, 0-0) opens its slate at Bonanza (0-3, 0-1), Cheyenee (3-0, 1-0) meets Bishop Gorman (0-3, 0-1) at Sam Boyd Stadium and Cimarron-Memorial (3-0, 1-0) is at Clark (2-1, 1-0).

In nonconference play, Chaparral (0-3) takes on Silverado (2-1) and Durango (2-1) hosts California power Santa Margarita (1-0). Among small schools, Boulder City (1-1) hosts Rite of Passage (1-1) from Yerington.