Cheyenne to battle Cimarron for Southern supremacy

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Nov. 9, 1998 | 2:09 a.m.

Cheyenne coach George Perry knew he might be in for a long night even before Saturday's 4A Southern Zone semifinal against Western began.

Perry, whose club brought an undefeated 10-0 mark into the contest, twisted his knee less than an hour before kickoff, forcing him to lean on a walking stick for the entire ballgame.

Things got worse for Perry before they got better. His Desert Shields trailed 6-0 at halftime and were tied at 13 late in the fourth quarter.

But in the closing seconds, the hosts showed why they are the favorite to capture their first state title this season. Safety Lawrence Turner's late interception set up Ja'wan Dodson's 6-yard touchdown with 20 seconds to play to propel Cheyenne into Friday's zone finals with a 20-13 win.

"Western and Cheyenne is a big rivalry, so we knew it wouldn't be easy," said Perry, whose team defeated the Warriors 44-18 last month. "Our big play guys got it done at the end."

The Desert Shields will have a familiar foe in the zone championship game: Sunset Division rival Cimarron-Memorial. The Spartans (8-3), who represented Southern Nevada in last year's state final, advanced with a 13-0 win over visiting Bishop Gorman.

While the higher seeds hung on in the Las Vegas area, the Northern zone semifinals were anything but predictable.

Defending 4A champion McQueen, ranked No. 1 all season in the Sun's state-wide poll, suffered a shocking 9-6 loss to Reed -- the Lancers' first defeat of the season.

Division II champion Wooster, winner of two state titles in the 1990s, is also out of the tournament. The Colts fell 51-12 to Elko on Saturday.

With McQueen's loss, Cheyenne becomes the only undefeated team in Nevada's 4A ranks.

"It's a good feeling, but it only matters if you're undefeated at the end," Perry said.

And for only the second time since 1984, the large school state championship game will not feature either McQueen or Wooster.

In 3A action, Boulder City fell 48-0 at Tahoe-Truckee on Saturday. The Eagles finish the season with a 4-6 overall record.

Skyhawks sail into state

Silverado clinched berths to the 4A state boys soccer and volleyball tournaments for the first time in school history, capturing both Southern Zone titles over the weekend.

The Skyhawks posted a 2-0 victory over Chaparral Saturday in boys soccer action to grab Southern Nevada's top seed in the state tournament, which begins Friday at UNLV.

Silverado will play Carson in the semifinal round, while Chaparral will play Northern champion Reno.

Also on Saturday, Silverado posted its second win over Green Valley in two days to take the Southern Zone volleyball title. The Skyhawks will be the South's top seed in the state tournament, set to start Thursday in Reno.

Joining the Skyhawks in the state tournament are Southern representatives Green Valley, Bishop Gorman and Cimarron-Memorial.

Wolves reclaim trophy

Basic's boys squad captured its second state cross country title in three years on Saturday, slipping past second-place Bonanza 73-76 in Indian Springs.

The Wolves took home the state trophy in 1996 before finishing eight points behind Reno last year.

Bonanza's Cory Jeffers won this year's individual boys title with a time of 17:08, 13 seconds ahead of Silverado's Dustin Hudpseth.

On the girls side, Green Valley finished 16 points behind Douglas despite getting a third-straight 4A state individual performance from junior Abby Miller.

Miller finished the 3.1 mile course in 19:23, 42 seconds ahead of McQueen's Laura Shackelton. Clark freshman Chaz Lahodny was third with a time of 20:22.