‘Tough’ Wildcats prevail

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Dec. 3, 2001 | 9:09 a.m.

RENO -- No longer content coaching a consistent winner and annual playoff contender, Kris Cinkovich vowed last spring that the time had come for his Las Vegas High football program to reach the next plateau.

After disappointing losses to Cimarron-Memorial and Eldorado ended the Wildcats' seasons in 1999 and 2000 one game shy of the state tournament, Cinkovich determined his squad needed to toughen up if it hoped to claim the school's first state title since 1959.

So, when the time came to plan his team's off-season training schedule, Cinkovich placed a call to the man whose program has become synonymous with success over the past decade: McQueen coach Ken Dalton.

"That's the best program going in the state, and everybody knows that success starts in the summer," Cinkovich said. "I called (Dalton) last spring to find out the structure of their summer program, and he was a class guy. He didn't have to deal with me, but he did."

Cinkovich began offering a summer weight training class, which nearly all of his players attended three days a week. It improved their strength, agility and conditioning.

"We lost to Eldorado on a missed field goal last year, and we got whupped by Cimarron (in '99), and we've learned from those tough situations," Cinkovich said. "We knew we had to toughen up. That was something McQueen emphasized, Cimarron emphasized, and I think we've emphasized this year."

That added toughness was on display throughout the 2001 season, as the Wildcats ran the table after a week one loss to California's La Costa Canyon. It was never more apparent than on Saturday, when Las Vegas defeated Dalton's Lancers 17-10 in overtime at Nevada-Reno's Mackay Stadium before an estimated crowd of 4,500 and a live, statewide television audience.

"We worked hard all summer and all season to prepare for this, and we got what we deserved," senior quarterback Steve Creech said.

The Wildcats came through in Saturday's extra session just when everything appeared to be going McQueen's way: cold and windy conditions, a significant edge in overtime experience after playing four of them two weeks ago against Elko and the game's momentum, with McQueen having tied the contest with a late field goal.

The Lancers even won the coin flip, much to the delight of their horde of devoted fans, who cheered at the call of 'tails' as if a second consecutive state trophy were all but in the bag.

But the Wildcats wasted little time seizing control, scoring on their second play -- a three-yard run by Antione White in which the senior back bounced off a pair of defenders at the line of scrimmage and broke outside for the score.

"They got a hold of me, but I just kept pushing and pushing and got to the end zone," White said.

Just two weeks after posting touchdowns in each of four overtime sessions against a stingy Elko defense, the Lancers could get nothing going against Las Vegas on their OT possession. Rusty Hale and Kenny Marzola sacked McQueen quarterback Jeff Rowe to set up a fourth-and-goal from the seven, and Rowe was gang-tackled well short of the end zone when he attempted to scramble on the game's final play.

"During the timeout before the last play, Coach Cinkovich said, 'If you lose here, you'll be going home crying. If you win here, it will be the greatest feeling of your life,' " linebacker Chad Pool said. "It shows we have a lot of heart, and our hard work paid off."

Pool and his defensive cohorts led the charge all day, bottling up the Lancers ground game and holding running backs Zach Borba and K.C. Dalton to a combined 58 rushing yards on 26 carries.

"In the seven years we've been at Vegas, we've run up a lot of (offensive) numbers, so it was kind of fitting the defense got their due on Saturday," Cinkovich said.

Rowe experienced some success, completing 11 of 21 passes for 150 yards and his team's lone touchdown and scrambling for 37 yards on the Lancers' final possession in regulation to set up Clint Stitser's game-tying 36-yard field goal with 1:29 to play.

But the McQueen signal caller also had his share of difficulty against the Wildcats' aggressive pass rush, getting sacked six times and tossing an interception to Las Vegas defensive back Greg Scroggins.

Scroggins also prevented the Lancers from pulling ahead late in the game, knocking down Rowe's pass to tight end Mohu Otuafi with a diving deflection near the goal line.

"He's an unbelievable quarterback, but Greg made a phenomenal play and batted that pass away at the last second," said Hale, who combined with Marzola for five sacks. "We're just on top of the world, standing above one of the best teams ever to come out of the state of Nevada."

The Lancers also played sound defense in the finale, holding White -- the state's leading rusher -- to a playoff-low 159 yards on 40 carries. But Las Vegas found points with the kicking game, as Evan Ellsworth's 28-yard field goal gave the visitors a 3-0 lead early, and with the passing attack, where Creech's 14-yard touchdown strike to Corey Williams upped the lead to 10-0 in the second quarter.

"We were good in all three phases. We were very well-rounded," Cinkovich said. "It's a good team, with the emphasis on team."