Wacky week sets up dramatic finish

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Oct. 16, 2000 | 10:03 a.m.

Chaparral 36, Silverado 32

Foothill 21, Green Valley 14

Eldorado 18, Valley 7

Las Vegas 31, Rancho 0

Western 21, Bonanza 13

Durango 34, Clark 27 (OT)

Palo Verde 16, Cheyenne 6

Cimarron 55, Mojave 13

Basic 26, Desert Pines 19

Centennial 17, Gorman 7

Moapa 44, Boulder City 12

Meadows 30, Needles 14

Faith Luth. 14, W. Pine 13

The prep playoff picture was supposed start coming into focus Friday night. Instead, with two weeks left in the regular season, it's more muddled than ever.

Four of six area teams ranked in the Sun's latest top 10 statewide rankings fell in a wacky week seven, leaving plenty of drama for the remaining conference schedule.

No. 6 Cheyenne, No. 8 Desert Pines, No. 9 Valley and No. 10 Bishop Gorman all suffered losses, with three of those four defeats coming at the hands of unranked teams.

Southern Nevada's top two squads, meanwhile, continued to roll toward division titles, with top-ranked Cimarron-Memorial (7-0, 3-0 Northwest) hammering Mojave 55-13 and No. 4 Eldorado (5-1, 2-0 Northeast) holding off Valley 18-7.

After the Spartans and Sundevils, it's anyone's guess who might challenge for the Las Vegas area's two berths to this year's 4A State Tournament.

Palo Verde made a strong case that it could be a solid contender, toppling the Desert Shields 16-6 at home. The Panthers (5-2, 2-0 Northwest) have reeled off four straight wins and will visit Cimarron this week for a shot at the two-time defending state champs.

"It's probably the biggest win we've ever had in our program's history," Palo Verde coach Darwin Rost said. "Cheyenne has a lot going for them, and they'll be a good playoff team, so that was a real confidence builder for us. It was important for us to know we could get physical with a good team like that."

Chaparral, unranked for the first time all season, also turned in a strong showing Friday night. The Cowboys (5-2, 1-1 Southeast) snapped a two-game losing streak with a wild 36-32 win at Silverado, scoring the game's final touchdown on Dallas Dobbs' 1-yard run with 16 seconds remaining to spoil the Skyhawks' homecoming.

"It was a must-win for us," Chaparral coach Ben Johnson said. "You can't go down 0-2 in the division. And after the mishap against Foothill, we just have to prove we can play good football again."

Dobbs finished the contest with 356 yards on 20-of-33 passing, tossing three touchdown strikes and scoring two more on the ground. Richard Mapp caught eight of Dobbs' passes for 223 yards, while Derek Niggemeier wasn't far behind with nine receptions for 97 yards.

Suddenly red-hot Basic ran its winning streak to three games, handing once 5-0 Desert Pines its second straight loss, 26-19. The Wolves continued to get it done through the air, with quarterback Mark Rose completing 13-of-19 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

Second-year Foothill also continued its drive toward the playoffs, dropping Green Valley to 0-3 in the Southeast Division with a 21-14 road win.

No. 10 Gorman played without 11 suspended starters for the second straight week and fell, 17-7, to Centennial.

In small school action, Faith Lutheran rallied from a late six-point deficit, defeating White Pine 14-13 on a do-or-die two-point conversion pass from Josh Ongman to Ryan Hayes late in the fourth quarter. "We had a homecoming crowd, and it was all or nothing," Crusaders coach Pete Renn said of the decision to go for two.

Spencer Patterson

covers prep sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at 259-4085 or by e-mai at spencer@lasvegassun.com