Columnist Spencer Patterson: Divisional splits leave some strong teams out of playoffs

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Oct. 7, 1999 | 10:20 a.m.

Spencer Patterson's prep sports column appears Thursday. Reach him at spencer@vegas.com or 259-4085.

When Southern Nevada's traditional Sunset and Sunrise conferences were split into four divisions this year, the move was hailed as a necessary step to keep up with the area's never-ending population boom.

When the fall season's prep playoffs begin next week, however, more than a few coaches, fans and players will be crying foul over perceived injustices with the new system. And in many cases, their arguments will be quite valid.

First and foremost, the move to four divisions means that several playoff-worthy squads will miss the postseason altogether while less-deserving teams play on, simply because of the sector of town in which they happen to reside.

For example, one of the state's top girls golf teams won't be in attendance at Monday's Southern Zone Tournament because Bishop Gorman, Durango and Bonanza all play in the Southwest Division. With two teams moving on from each division, it looks like the Bengals will be the odd club out.

Sadly, Bonanza likely could have gone undefeated in the Northeast Division, where 5-6 Valley appears destined for postseason play. The Bengals also probably would have been a playoff participant in the Northwest, but as it is, their season more than likely ends today.

Likewise in boys tennis, either Palo Verde, The Meadows or Cheyenne will miss out on next week's zone tourney even though the three Northwest Division teams are among the best in town. And in girls tennis, the same goes for Southwest squads Gorman, Durango and Bonanza.

In girls volleyball and boys soccer, the problems caused by local realignment have nothing do with deserving teams missing out. Far from it, with four of five teams slated to go the playoffs from each division, two conference victories could be enough to qualify a squad for the postseason.

Instead, coaches for some of the area's best soccer and volleyball squads must find a way to re-focus their teams after a recent conference schedule that has pitted them against some rather lackluster competition.

The perfect example here is Las Vegas' volleyball team. Trapped in a Northeast Division devoid of another 1998 playoff qualifier, the Wildcats have played the likes of Desert Pines and Eldorado for the last few weeks. That's akin to the Yankees heading into the playoffs after a month of games against Tampa Bay.

As much as coaches and players like to win, they also realize the importance of taking on challenging opponents, particularly with the postseason looming.

You can also expect to hear grumblings about pre-determined state seedings, with the overall champion in the Sunrise at a distinct advantage over its Sunset equivalent in certain sports, and vice versa in others.

But on the whole, everyone needs to keep in mind that the four-division system was put in place in large part with the future in mind. With as many as 17 high schools set to open in Clark County by 2008, the new system was planned as a long-term solution to the growth problem.

Even if it leads to some growing pains in the short term.

* ADVANTAGE PANTHERS: Barely more than one year into their varsity existence, there's no question which of last year's newcomers has made more athletic progress to this point.

While Mojave can still be found near the bottom of the standings in many sports -- hardly unexpected for a brand new varsity program -- crosstown rival Palo Verde has become an instant contender nearly across the board.

Although the Summerlin school's football team has yet to round into form, the Panthers currently lead the Southwest Division in five other fall sports: boys soccer, girls volleyball, boys and girls tennis and girls golf.

In fact, Palo Verde has yet to lose a league contest in any of those sports this season, posting a combined 19-0-1 mark through Wednesday, with the lone tie a 1-1 soccer deadlock Tuesday against Cimarron.

"Last year, the boys soccer and golf teams made zones, and I think the other programs fed off of that," boys soccer coach Kevin Hagood said. "It showed we can be successful and it gave us momentum."

And by opening in 1995 with freshmen only, the Panthers are now reaping the rewards of having a senior class that has played sports together for four years.

"We've entered each year not having to make any changes, just knowing we had to improve," Hagood said.

* TIDBITS: The Sun's statewide prep football poll remained virtually unchanged this week, with the top seven teams all posting wins to maintain their rankings. In northern action, No. 2 Elko downed Hug, 37-26, No. 3 McQueen crushed Lowry, 52-6, No. 5 Reed shut out Galena, 41-0, and No. 6 Wooster handled No. 10 South Tahoe, 34-21...

Bonanza's boys and Green Valley's girls remained atop the Southern Nevada Coaches Association cross country poll this week. Trailing the Bengals in the boys poll were: Green Valley, Durango, Boulder City and Basic. Rounding out the top five on the girls side were: Boulder City, Durango, Bonanza and Basic...

The Nevada Interscholastic Athletic Association voted in favor of the best-three-of-five format for this year's zone and state girls volleyball tournaments.