Cimarron strengthens position

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Oct. 23, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

Basic 39, Chaparral 17

Foothill 32, Silverado 30

Desert Pines 27 Eldorado 22

Las Vegas 26, Valley 9

Gorman 42, Bonanza 28

Western 13, Clark 10

Cheyenne 23, Centennial 0

Cim.-Memorial 19, Palo Verde 7

Rancho 14, Green Valley 12

Durango 35, Mojave 6

Virgin Val. 44, Boulder City 6

The Meadows 21, Lincoln Cnty 14

Faith Lutheran 20, Needles 8

If two-time defending 4A state champion Cimarron-Memorial is to be challenged in 2000, it's looking more and more like the Spartans' competition will have to come from Nevada's northern half.

While top-ranked Cimarron improved to 8-0 and clinched the Northwest Division title with a 19-7 victory over No. 7 Palo Verde Friday, the chief threat to the Spartans' local dominance -- No. 4 Eldorado -- fell 27-22 at Desert Pines to lose its hold on the Northeast Division.

"There's no question that Cimarron is the dominant team, heads and shoulders above the rest of us," Desert Pines coach Gary Findley said. "But after them there's probably half a dozen good teams that, if they played each other twice, would probably split."

Findley's Jaguars (6-2) held area leading rusher Steven Jackson under the 100-yard mark on the ground for the first time this season and handed the Sundevils (6-2) their first loss since the season's opening week.

"We didn't necessarily expect to shut (Jackson) down the way we did, but we knew we had a solid defensive game plan coming in," Findley said. "Gang-tackling is the big thing. You just can't tackle him one-on-one."

The Spartans' win was not without its tight moments, as the hosts spotted the Panthers (5-3) a 7-0 first-quarter lead and struggled to move the ball against a solid Palo Verde defense.

But with under two minutes remaining in the half, Cimarron evened the score on a 73-yard burst by Alex Gonzales, and never looked back, getting into the end zone twice in the second half and posting a shutout the rest of the way.

"We weren't panicking about it. I don't think our kids ever panic," Spartans coach Greg Spencer said. "We strive for our kids to play 48 minutes, and I think we can usually score more than seven points, hopefully."

Meanwhile, in Northern Nevada, No. 2 McQueen remained the state's only other unbeaten 4A squad, improving to 8-0 with a 26-0 shutout of Reed. No. 3 Elko, whose only loss came to the Lancers, upped its record to 7-1 with a tougher-than-expected 26-14 win over Sparks.

By virtue of its division title, Cimarron will have home field advantage as long as it survives in the playoffs, both regional and state. The Northwest champion is the pre-determined top seed in the Sunset Region Tournament, and the Sunset champ would host state semifinal and championship games.

"Now we get to play all our games at home, so we can turn in our away uniforms," Spencer said.

In other action Friday night, Basic (4-4) reeled off its fourth consecutive win and clinched the Southeast Division title with a convincing 39-17 victory over visiting Chaparral. Foothill (5-2) claimed the division's second spot with a 32-30 home win over Silverado (4-4) -- the Skyhawks' second last-second defeat in as many weeks.

Eldorado's loss opened the door in the Northeast Division, and Las Vegas (4-4) seized the opportunity, downing visiting Valley 26-7 to up its league mark to 3-1 and move into sole possession of first place. The Sundevils and Jaguars will try to pull even with the Wildcats this week, with a three-way tie for first place a possibility.

In the Southwest Division, Bishop Gorman (5-3) remained unbeaten atop the league standings with a 42-28 win over visiting Bonanza. The Gaels played without quarterback Dyante Perkins, who was ruled ineligible after a weekly grade check, but got more than enough offense from tailback Jason Rogers, who scored five touchdowns and racked up a whopping 508 combined rushing, receiving and return yards.

Western (4-4) remained a game behind the Gaels with a 13-10 win at Clark, while Durango (4-4) continued its late-season surge with a 35-6 non-league victory at Mojave.

In the Northwest, Cheyenne (5-3) hammered host Centennial 23-0 for its first league win of the season.

In Class 2A action, the Meadows remained unbeaten with a 21-14 win over Lincoln Country -- the Mustangs' 25th consecutive victory overall.

Gorman did claim the individual girls doubles title, with Kristen Turner and Catrina Thompson posting an easy 6-0, 6-1 win over Silverado's Lauren Martines and Jasmine Smith in the finals. On the boys side, Bonanza narrowly missed out on the 2000 team title, falling 11.5-11 to Galena. Foothill's Lew DeLeon likewise come up just short in the individual singles final, losing to Reno's Dan Scafidi 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4.