3 remain perfect after rough week

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Sept. 25, 2000 | 10:52 a.m.

Green Valley 30, Bonanza 12

Chaparral 14, Mojave 9

Eldorado 21, Western 9

Desert Pines 26, Durango 13

Valley 39, Clark 3

Silverado 16, Centennial 0

Palo Verde 28, Rancho 6

Cheyenne 13, Las Vegas 9

Cimarron-Memorial 17, Rancho Bernardo (Calif.) 14

Rockhurst (Mo.) 44, Basic 0

Moapa Valley 44, Boulder City 0

Tonopah 42, Faith Lutheran 6

Screaming winds, offensive miscues and a strong out-of-state opponent weren't enough to slow down Southern Nevada's three 4A unbeatens in week four of the prep football season Friday night.

No. 1 Cimarron-Memorial, ranked No. 10 in the west by USA Today, held off tough San Diego County opponent Rancho Bernard, 17-14, keeping hope alive for a perfect regular season.

No. 5 Chaparral shook off a lackluster performance by its normally high-octane offense to win at Mojave, 14-9.

And upstart Desert Pines, winless a year ago, scored 26 unanswered points to rally for a 26-13 home triumph over Durango -- the Jaguars' first victory over a 1999 playoff qualifier.

"You go down 13-0 real quick like we did and we were in some uncharted territory for this year," Desert Pines coach Gary Findley said. "I wasn't sure how we would respond, but our kids have a lot of resilience."

Cimarron's win, its second over an out-of-state team in four weeks, was not without its tight moments. Ahead by 10 with five minutes remaining, the Spartans needed a critical fourth-down conversion to run out the clock.

Junior Kellen Marshall tallied his third 100-yard rushing game in four weeks, and he and fullback Alex Gonzales scored a touchdown apiece for the two-time defending state champs.

Chaparral found its aerial attack grounded by the windy conditions, with quarterback Dallas Dobbs -- the area's leading passer -- managing just three completions. The Cowboys turned to their ground game, with Dobbs and Freddy Carillo providing rushing touchdowns in the narrow five-point win over the Rattlers.

"We still tried to throw deep and do the same things we've been doing, but the wind was pretty tough and the receivers dropped a few passes," Johnson said. "We knew that the only way we were going to win was to run the ball."

Desert Pines found itself trailing Durango, 13-0, just three minutes into Friday's game. But the Jaguars' defense stiffened, and sophomore running back Cornell Johnson -- now the area's leading rusher -- got going, scoring three touchdowns to spearhead the hosts' comeback.

"After the game, we reminded them that 4-0 means nothing, and now we start our division schedule," said Findley, whose team will host Rancho Thursday. "From now on, we're playing to get into the playoffs."

Just behind the unbeaten trio, a quartet of local schools -- Cheyenne, Eldorado, Green Valley and Valley -- improved to 3-1.

The Desert Shields continued to get it done with defense in a 13-9 win over Las Vegas High. Cheyenne has now surrendered just 31 points in four contests, with the squad's only loss coming to Chaparral in overtime in week two.

Eldorado rolled past its third consecutive Southwest Division opponent, following up victories over Bishop Gorman and Durango with a 21-9 victory over Western. Sundevil back Steven Jackson went over the 100-yard mark for the fourth straight game and scored his 10th touchdown of the year.

Green Valley gave up 12 first-quarter points, then pitched a shutout the rest of the way in a 30-12 win over Bonanza. Valley got four rushing touchdowns from running back James Sims in a 39-3 rout of Clark.

Local 4A schools will play Thursday night this week, as Friday is the start of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana.