Cimarron, Vegas could be destined for a showdown

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Nov. 1, 1999 | 9:40 a.m.

The state's defending champion and its lone remaining unbeaten club remained on a collision course after week one of the 4A prep football playoffs. But neither Cimarron-Memorial nor Las Vegas will have a cakewalk into the zone finale.

The Spartans (9-1), last year's 4A champs, moved on with an easy 35-0 shutout of Valley on Friday night. To reach the zone title game for the third straight year, they'll have to defeat red-hot Western (6-3), a 16-15 winner over Eldorado.

Just two weeks ago, those same Warriors handed Cimarron its first loss of the season, 28-14, at Western.

"It's hard to beat a good team twice, so they might have the edge," Western coach Rich Stevens said. "Plus we battled our butts off for four quarters and they got their guys out in the first half against Valley, so they might be fresher."

For the unbeaten Wildcats (10-0), 47-11 victors over Bishop Gorman Friday night, the road to the zone championship game is also blocked by a formidable foe: 9-1 Durango. The Trailblazers kept their hopes alive with a hard-fought 28-19 win over Silverado.

"The kids understand that to win a championship, you have to go through the great teams," Durango coach John Mausbach said. "The kids are looking forward to it."

Cimarron had no trouble advancing to the round of four, racking up all 35 points in the first half and keeping the Vikings (5-5) off the scoreboard throughout. As usual, the Spartans did the bulk of their work on the ground, with Kellen Marshall and Andrew Rhodes rushing for two touchdowns apiece.

Las Vegas, likewise, took control of its playoff destiny in the first half of its contest, outscoring the Gaels (4-6) 27-3 before halftime. Anthony Marini continued to find the end zone with ease, passing for three touchdowns, while Jonathan Pollard returned from an ankle injury with two defensive touchdowns and another on offense.

The night's other two games lived up to their advanced billing, as the area's No. 2 and 3 seeds battled down to the wire.

For Western, winning meant rallying from a 15-0 second-half deficit at Eldorado (7-3) -- a comeback that culminated with a successful onside kick and a 27-yard Tommy Dake field goal with less than 15 seconds remaining in the contest.

The Warriors, a preseason favorite to win the Sunset Division title before dropping games to Durango, Palo Verde and Clark, have won four games in a row.

"They showed a lot of character. They didn't give up," Stevens said.

For Durango, staying in the hunt meant overcoming four first-half fumbles -- turnovers that allowed a feisty Silverado (7-3) squad to stay close for most of the ballgame.

Ahead 14-0 and driving toward another apparent score, the Trailblazers looked to be on their way to a lopsided victory. But a fumble on that drive helped Silverado get back in the game, and before Mausbach knew what happened his club held a slim 14-13 halftime edge.

"The way it started, I was thinking to myself something's going to happen because this is way too easy," Mausbach said. "We've been doing a great job of hanging onto the ball, but the Silverado defenders were really swatting at the ball from behind. It was a heck of an effort and it kind of got us in trouble there."

Durango held on thanks largely to quarterback Jamaal Brimmer. The senior rushed for one second-half touchdown and threw for another to get his club into the zone semifinals.

Also on Friday night, Class 2A's The Meadows posted a 21-0 win over Beatty to move to 8-0 on the season. The Mustangs face area rival Faith Lutheran this week before starting playoff action next week.

* ELSEWHERE: Bonanza's Cory Jeffers and Green Valley's Abby Miller captured individual zone cross country titles and helped their respective clubs to the boys and girls zone team championships Saturday at Indian Springs High School.

Jeffers, the defending 4A state champion, finished the course in 17:21, helping the Bengals finish 34 points ahead of second-place Durango. Those two squads, along with Basic and Cimarron, will advance to Saturday's state championship meet in Sparks.

Miller, a three-time 4A state champion, crossed the finish line in 19:24, as the Gators easily outdistanced the rest of the field. Durango, Bonanza and Basic also qualified for the state meet.

Also over the weekend, the Sunrise and Sunset Regions pared their boys soccer tournaments to four teams apiece. Green Valley, Rancho, Silverado and Las Vegas remain alive in the Sunrise brackets, while Gorman, Bonanza, Durango and Clark are the four finalists on the Sunset side.

Soccer action continues Tuesday and Wednesday, with games at Las Vegas and Durango. The two championship games are slated for Saturday, both at 11 a.m.

Also beginning this week are the 4A Sunrise and Sunset Region volleyball tournaments, which start Wednesday and culminate Friday at Chaparral and Clark.