Las Vegas looking to continue streak

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Nov. 17, 2000 | 10:32 a.m.

After going 11-1 in 1999, 2000 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Las Vegas Wildcats.

The way they started the season, it certainly looked like it. The Wildcats opened 1-4, dropping lopsided decisions to California's La Costa Canyon (49-7), Cimarron-Memorial (46-14) and Eldorado (46-29).

Yet tonight, Southern Nevada's oldest school will play for a berth in the upcoming 4A State Tournament. Las Vegas travels to Eldorado for the 7 p.m. Sunrise Region championship.

So how, exactly, did a Wildcats team that started off so poorly make it this far?

By winning six straight games, most recently last week's 46-13 blowout of Valley in the Sunset semifinals.

"After the way we started, any success we're having now is a pleasant surprise," Las Vegas coach Kris Cinkovich admitted. "We were getting hammered pretty good. It just took a while to identify who could play for us."

For the Wildcats (7-4) to keep their winning streak going, they will need a better effort against a 9-2 Sundevils squad that dominated the previous meeting.

"We're excited to have this opportunity, but we're not satisfied," Cinkovich said. "We'll be big underdogs here, and we'll accept the challenge."

Back on Sept. 28, Eldorado's Steven Jackson -- the area's leading rusher this season -- ran wild against the Wildcat defense, amassing 315 yards and five touchdowns.

But Sundevils coach Ken Trujillo said he knew his club didn't see the best Las Vegas High would have to offer in 2000.

"Even after our game, I made a comment publicly that Vegas wouldn't lose another game," Trujillo said. "And sure enough, here they are again."

Jackson comes into the contest fresh off another stellar performance -- 41 carries, 256 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-6 win against Desert Pines in last week's Sunrise semifinals. Cinkovich knows that if he approaches those numbers in this one, the Wildcats could be in for a long night.

"It's got to be a ferocious effort defensively against him," Cinkovich said. "Everybody has to run, run, run to him. He's a great one, no doubt."

The Sundevils will also look to stop one of the area's hottest backs, Las Vegas junior Antione White. In two of his last three games, White has scored five touchdowns, putting the pressure on an Eldorado defense that shut down Jaguars tailback Cornell Johnson last week.

"Our defense is really tough. Our coaches do an excellent job scheming teams, and our kids are responding to the different adjustments we've made," Trujillo said. "You can't give Vegas anything to get an advantage over because they'll exploit it."

The last time Eldorado went to the state tournament, the Sundevils won it, beating South Tahoe for the 1991 championship.

"Our kids know if they win this one, we're on our way to better things," Trujillo said. "But we're not talking about going up (to Reno) or anything like that right now. We're only talking about Vegas right now."