Las Vegas seeks revenge against tough Cimarron

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 9:56 a.m.

All games 7 p.m.

Palo Verde at Green Valley

Mojave at Western

Valley at Bonanza

Eldorado at Durango

Foothill at Desert Pines

Centennial at Chaparral

Basic at Clark

Bonita Vista (Calif.) at Silverado

Las Vegas at Cimarron

Rancho at Gorman

Notre Dame (Calif.) at Cheyenne

Boulder City at Needles

Trona (Calif.) at Faith Lutheran

It was supposed to be a game for the ages, the perfect way to send out the 1990s and usher in the year 2000.

Last season's Southern Zone title game -- the last of its kind before realignment split the area into two separate regions -- featured 11-0 Las Vegas High, the state's lone undefeated club, against 10-1 Cimarron-Memorial, the defending 4A state champs.

Played at Cimarron, the game drew a standing-room only crowd, with fans jam-packed in both sets of stands, as well as along the fences behind each end zone.

But the game failed to live up to the hype. The Spartans took an early 8-0 lead and never looked back, rolling to a shockingly easy 40-14 win to return to the state title game for the third year in a row.

Cimarron went on to defeat McQueen for its second consecutive 4A championship. The Wildcats, meanwhile, were left with memories of their season-ending defeat -- a loss that threatened to overshadow their 11-0 run to that point.

Tonight, at Cimarron, the teams will renew acquaintances in a nonconference regular season game. And though both coaches are downplaying the significance of last year's meeting, you can be sure the visitors will be out for a measure of revenge.

"We've got 20 players that were on the field for that one," Las Vegas coach Kris Cinkovich said. "We're asking them to have some pride and compete. They may be outmatched, they may not, but regardless, they've got to compete."

Cinkovich's squad opened the season with a rough 49-7 loss at California's La Costa Canyon, then rebounded with a 33-6 win over Clark last week. Regardless of what happens tonight, Cinkovich said he doesn't want to see a repeat of his team's performance in San Diego.

"In California, we didn't handle adversity well," Cinkovich said. "We think we saw a team that may be as good as (Cimarron) in that one, and we didn't respond well. We're looking to compete better."

The Spartans (2-0), on the other hand, will be looking to continue their early season dominance. Cimarron has outscored its two opponents 68-14, allowing seven points in each game.

"I imagine they might come in and try to get some revenge, but we're just looking at it like another football game," Spartans coach Greg Spencer said. "Last year was last year. We're just trying to get better and cut down on our mistakes each week."

The task for the Wildcats will be much the same as it was in last year's meeting -- find a way to stop a dominant Cimarron ground game that features one of the state's most physical offensive lines and a superb backfield trio in tailbacks Kellen Marshall and Andre Rhodes and fullback Alex Gonzales.

"You can get your eight or nine in the box, but you've still got to fight off their blocks and if you don't, it will show in a hurry," Cinkovich said. "The best way to beat them is to play a real good football game. They're not going to beat themselves, they're not going to makes mistakes and they're not going to panic."