Prep notebook: Separate playoffs planned

Spencer Patterson

Friday, May 28, 1999 | 11:04 a.m.

Although Nevada's proposed high school realignment won't take effect until the 2000-2001 academic year, the local prep scene will have a significantly different look this fall.

With Southern Nevada's 4A schools set to split up into four divisions, local athletic administrators recently voted to do away with the traditional Southern Zone championships and begin holding separate regional playoffs for the Sunrise and Sunset Conferences starting next year.

"This starts to develop the mentality that those two regions are separate," Clark County Athletic Director Larry McKay said. "We basically did it for two reasons: First, more teams can participate, and second, that's what we'll be doing the following year, anyway."

The change affects every sport except football, which will continue to use the current two-division system. In sports such as basketball, the top four teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs, meaning that 16 of the 21 local 4A schools will make the postseason.

Beginning in fall 2000, the Las Vegas area will be home to two of the state's three regions, giving Southern Nevada more representation in state tournaments than its Reno-area counterparts. Next year, however, Nevada's two halves will continue to be represented equally.

* ALL-STAR MADNESS: Prep all-star week is upon us, with most of Southern Nevada's major sports honoring this year's top senior athletes.

Action gets started tonight at 5 p.m with the All-Star Girls Volleyball Game at Chaparral High School. That will be followed by the Boys All-Star Game at 7 p.m.

The 1999 Lions Club All-Star Football Game kicks off Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Bonanza High School. The Sunset Division team, featuring notables such as Cheyenne's Lawrence Turner and Cimarron-Memorial's Kawika Sagapolu, will be coached by Cheyenne's George Perry. The Sunrise Division squad, coached by Eldorado's Ken Trujillo, includes Chaparral's Richard Seigler and Green Valley's Cornell Williams.

The Boys Basketball All-Star Game is slated for June 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Palo Verde High School, following this year's Spring League title game, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. Clark's Kevin Gaines, Cheyenne's Demetrius Hunter and Cimarron's Marcus Banks are expected to participate.

The Green Valley Rotary Club's All-Star Soccer Games will be held June 5 at UNLV's Peter Johann Field. The girls get things started at 6 p.m., followed by the boys game at 8.

Also, the top junior baseball players in Nevada will be on display this Saturday and Sunday at UNLV's Wilson Stadium for the state's second annual North/South Showcase. College and professional scouts will be in attendance for game one Saturday at 7:45 p.m. and for games two and three Sunday at 10 a.m.

* HOLIDAY PREP CHANGES: The 23rd Reebok Holiday Prep Classic will feature four separate tournaments and a record 64 teams this year. The event, scheduled Dec. 18-22, will be divided into a quartet of 16-team brackets with four titles awarded to the winners.

So far, teams from 17 states have signed on, including 15 Nevada schools and 17 first-time entries.