League title on line when Cimarron takes on Cheyenne

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Oct. 16, 1998 | 11:04 a.m.

There will be a lot more than the two schools' annual Duel in the Desert trophy on the line when Cheyenne hosts Cimarron-Memorial in prep football action tonight.

The Sunset Division championship, along with the home field advantage that accompanies it, also will be at stake when the season's most anticipated matchup kicks off at 7 p.m.

"We're playing for a division title and a trophy," Spartans coach Greg Spencer said. "We're also playing for a home seed, so there's a lot riding on the game. I tell our kids, 'If you don't know it's important, I don't know what else to tell you.'"

"We try to keep it low-key for our kids, but you really can't," Desert Shields coach George Perry added. "In our league, if you're going to win a championship, you're going to have to go through Cheyenne."

The Desert Shields (7-0, 4-0) come into tonight's game as one of only two undefeated 4A clubs in the state (McQueen is the other). That's thanks in large part to the running of Deon Ned (1008 yards, 14 touchdowns) and Jawan Dodson (549 yards, 6 TDs) and a stingy defense that has allowed just 16 points in its last three games.

"They're a good football team, and they have a lot of team speed," Spencer said.

The Spartans (5-2, 4-1) have stumbled twice this season, most notably in a shocking 31-30 loss to Bishop Gorman in week five. Since then, however, Cimarron has responded with lopsided wins over quality division opponents Western and Durango.

The Spartans have been led by senior tailback Arnold Parker (1007 yards, 11 touchdowns), who trails Ned by just one yard in the race for the area rushing title.

"We expect them to try to run it at us, and we'll probably see a few trick plays," Perry said.

Another key game on tonight's slate has Chaparral traveling to Green Valley with first place in the Sunrise Division up for grabs. The Gators (6-1, 5-0) have yet to lose in division play, although they have been tested by the Sunrise's other two powers, Eldorado and Las Vegas.

Green Valley can clinch the division title with a win tonight, while Chaparral (4-3, 4-1) would need back-to-back victories over the Gators and Wildcats to claim a share of first place.

In another game with playoff implications, Western (5-2, 3-1) hosts Durango (4-3, 2-2). A Warrior win coupled with a Cheyenne loss would force a three-way tie atop the Sunset Division.

In other week eight action, Valley visits Silverado, Eldorado plays at Rancho, Bishop Gorman takes on Bonanza at Sam Boyd Stadium, Boulder City hosts White Pine and Mojave entertains Clark in a nonleague contest.

DeLucia wins in playoff

Durango's Laura DeLucia defeated Bishop Gorman's Christine Hentzner in a two-hole playoff to capture the 1998 4A Southern Zone girls golf individual title at Rhodes Ranch Golf Club. The duo finished in a tie with even-par 72s after 18 holes.

As expected, Green Valley captured the team title, scoring 26 points more than second-place Gorman. The Gaels, Durango and Bonanza also qualified for next week's state tournament in Reno.

Gators, Gaels split

Green Valley captured the boys tennis zone title, downing Bishop Gorman 17.5-5, but the Gaels returned the favor in girls tennis action, posting a 13.5-9 win over the Gators.

On the boys side, defending state champion Green Valley earned the top seed at next week's 4A state tournament in Reno behind a pair of doubles wins from No. 2 pair Derrick Douglas and Nick Miranda and from the No. 3 team of Lloyd Del Mundo and Joel Kielbowciz.

For the girls, Gorman's top doubles duo of Vivian Shin and Amy Friedlander posted three wins, as did Gaels' No. 1 singles player Jennifer Kuhle, helping the defending state champs to the top seed in next week's state tournament.

On day one of the three-day individual singles and doubles tournaments, form held, as the top seeds won in both the boys and girls draws. In one of the closest matches, No. 2 seed Jamie Parker of Cimarron-Memorial held of Green Valley's Gia Cappiello, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 in girls singles play.