Las Vegas’ ouster provides second chance for Valley

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Oct. 29, 1998 | 11:18 a.m.

With his team's season over, Valley High football coach Greg Murphy and his family were looking forward to going out of town Friday on a three-day vacation.

It looks like Murphy will have to put those plans on hold for a while.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's announcement that Las Vegas has forfeited four victories means that the Wildcats are out and Murphy's Vikings are in this year's 4A Southern Zone playoffs.

"We're looking at it like a second season," said Murphy, whose club had turned in its gear after last Friday's win over Green Valley. "We're going to take it as an opportunity to try to make some waves."

The forfeits by Las Vegas put Basic, Rancho and Valley in a three-way tie for the fourth position in the Sunrise Division with identical 3-4 records. The Vikings make the playoffs by virtue of their 26-21 win over the third-seeded Gators last Friday.

"We're excited, but I'm very disappointed for Coach Cinkovich and Las Vegas," Murphy said. "They're a good ball club."

The addition of Valley is just one of several major changes in the playoff schedule caused by the Las Vegas forfeits.

First and foremost, the four first-round games originally slated for tonight have been moved to Monday at 5 p.m. Also, three of the games will feature different matchups than previously scheduled.

The extra time will give Valley, which hasn't practiced since last Thursday, the chance to prepare for its matchup with undefeated Cheyenne.

"They looked a little out of shape today," Murphy said after his team's practice Wednesday.

The additional time will also give teams a chance to watch film of their new opponents and design game plans to deal with those new foes.

"This is not something anybody planned for or hoped for," said Green Valley coach Larry Thomas, whose team will play at Cimarron-Memorial rather than at home against Western. "Obviously, of the teams still in it, we got the worst deal, but that's the way it is. We're looking at it as a challenge, and I think we'll be able to get focused to play Cimarron and give them a battle."

While the Gators lose a home game against a lower seed, Chaparral may have made out the best in the new bracketing. Instead of a road game at 9-0 Cheyenne, the Cowboys open the playoffs at home against a 6-3 Western club.

The only first-round game which remains unchanged has Eldorado hosting Bishop Gorman.

The zone semifinals, originally scheduled for next Friday, have been moved back one day. They will be played Saturday, Nov. 7, at 5 p.m. The zone championship is still set for Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m.