Big stars won’t be focus of matchup

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Sept. 8, 2000 | 10:38 a.m.

All games 7 p.m. unless noted

Cimarron at Basic

Cheyenne at Chaparral

Foothill at Centennial

Mojave at Green Valley

Palo Verde at Silverado

Bonanza at Desert Pines

Gorman at Eldorado

Clark at Las Vegas

Durango at Rancho

Western at Valley

Palo Verde (Calif.) at Boulder City

Indian Springs at Faith Lutheran

The Meadows at La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), 3:30 p.m.

Dyante Perkins vs. Steven Jackson.

It's easy to look at tonight's prep football game between Bishop Gorman and Eldorado and focus on those two players, widely considered two of Nevada's top senior prospects.

But as coaches from both teams are quick to point out, the outcome of the game will likely be determined by those players' "supporting casts," most notably the two teams' offensive lines.

That was certainly the case for Eldorado last week, when the Sundevils dropped their opener to visiting Cheyenne, 14-7. Though Jackson rushed for 168 yards and scored the Sundevils' touchdown, coach Ken Trujillo was disappointed in the overall performance of his offensive line.

"We believe we have the best (running back) tandem in town," Trujillo said, referring to Jackson and junior Eric Williams. "But if you don't have blocking up front, it's not going to happen."

Trujillo pointed to a series of costly penalties that forced his club into several passing situations, a tough task with inexperienced junior Michael Edwards under center.

"I thought for his first game, Michael did well, and he's looked better this week in practice," Trujillo said. "But turnovers and penalties killed us. You want to run the ball and you're forced to pass."

Like Jackson, Perkins had a solid game last week, passing for a touchdown and rushing for another. But a strong effort from his offensive line helped insure that the Gael quarterback's performance would not be wasted in a losing effort, with Gorman rallying for a 41-29 win over Basic.

"Us and Eldorado are in the same position," Gorman coach Roger Whalen said. "Good skill people and a young line that needs to mature. We're starting two juniors and a sophomore (along the line), and I was really happy with the job they did."

Whalen said he expects both teams to come in with the same basic philosophy: control the clock and keep the ball out of the hands of their opponent's star.

"If we're going to be successful, we're going to have to slow (Jackson) down because I don't think anyone is going to stop him," Whalen said. "They're going to try to keep Dyante from handling the ball too much, and we're going to try to do the same with Steven. They're both tremendous athletes."

But Whalen warns that foes who focus on Perkins could get burned by his team's other weapons, most notably senior running back Jason Rogers, who scored two touchdowns in week one.

"If they go at it completely trying to stop Dyante, we have other kids who can hurt them," Whalen said. "Our program is jelling to the point where we don't depend on just one or two kids anymore."

On the other sideline, Trujillo will be depending heavily on five kids, an offensive line that consists of returning starter Justin Jacobson and four varsity newcomers.