Great Northwest battle on tap at Cimarron

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Oct. 20, 2000 | 10:25 a.m.

All games 7 p.m. unless noted

Chaparral at Basic

Silverado at Foothill

Eldorado at Desert Pines

Valley at Las Vegas

Bonanza at Bishop Gorman

Western at Clark

Cheyenne at Centennial

Palo Verde at Cimarron-Memorial

Rancho at Green Valley

Durango at Mojave

Boulder City at Virgin Valley

Lincoln at The Meadows

Needles at Faith Lutheran 7:30 p.m.

It was a foregone conclusion long before the 2000 prep football season started: The Northwest Division belonged to two-time defending state champion Cimarron-Memorial.

Tonight, that foregone conclusion will be put to the test as the 7-0 Spartans host 5-2 Palo Verde in a battle for first place. Cimarron is 3-0 in the division, while the Panthers are 2-0 with a home game against second-year Centennial remaining next week.

"It's very big," Palo Verde coach Darwin Rost said. "You've got two undefeated teams going for the Northwest championship."

Added Cimarron coach Greg Spencer, "Everybody else figured once we beat Cheyenne, it would be a cakewalk. That was never our thinking. There are some pretty good teams in our division, and anybody can beat anybody on any given day."

For his part, Spencer downplayed the importance of the division title, or of a possible undefeated campaign -- something his club missed out on last year by losing to Western in the final week of the regular season. His primary objective tonight is securing home field advantage for the entire postseason.

"We haven't talked about being undefeated, or going to state or anything like that, and no one is going to remember who won the division by next year," Spencer said.

"But I've stressed the importance of what we're playing for. We would rather have every game at home in the playoffs."

For the No. 7 Panthers, who are coming off a big 16-6 victory over No. 9 Cheyenne, a win tonight would be a coming out party for a program that has improved steadily since the school opened with freshmen only in 1995.

"We went into this season looking for a winning record, to make the playoffs and to improve each week," Rost said. "We're 5-2, so we'll probably have a winning record. We're in the playoffs, because we beat Cheyenne. And we've improved each week."

To have a chance against the top-ranked Spartans, who have held opponents to an average of 10.9 points per game, Rost acknowledged that his team will need to play "error-free" football.

"We'll have to play our best game of the season to beat them," Rost said. "They've done a really good job over there getting kids to buy into their off-season program.

"If you want to learn how to have a winning program, Cimarron is definitely a school to look at as a model."

Palo Verde's defense has been solid in its own right, allowing just 13.9 points per game in seven contests.

But the Panthers will get their stiffest test of the year against a Cimarron offense that features one of the state's strongest offensive lines and one of Nevada's top rushers in junior Kellen Marshall, who already has 11 touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards this season.

The Spartans' defense will also have a red-hot back to contend with: Palo Verde fullback Ryan Worthen. The 6-0, 205-pound junior has shown a nose for the goal line all season, rushing for 13 touchdowns -- including four the past two weeks.

"They've got some good players and they're a well-coached team," Spencer said. "Their defense has been getting it done, and offensively, they've got that big fullback who's tough. They look like they might be the whole package."