Chance for paybacks

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 | 10:56 a.m.

For three years, Cimarron-Memorial has been the measuring stick by which all area football squads are judged, winning two state titles and running the table during the 2001 regular season.

The Las Vegas Wildcats know that only too well.

In 1999, the Wildcats -- 11-0 at the time -- saw their dreams of a perfect season and a state championship dashed with an ugly 40-14 loss at Cimarron.

Then in last year's grudge match, Las Vegas dropped a nearly identical 46-14 road decision.

Friday night, Southern Nevada's oldest high school will get another chance for payback, this time on its own field. The No. 5 Wildcats (1-1) will host the No. 9 Spartans (1-1) at 7 p.m.

"You don't play for revenge, but you play for pride," Wildcats coach Kris Cinkovich said. "If someone keeps whooping your butt, hopefully you step up and do something about it."

Offensive lineman Eric Flyr was called up from Las Vegas' junior varsity squad as a sophomore for the '99 playoffs -- just in time for the season-ending loss to Cimarron.

"This is probably the biggest game of the year for me," Flyr said. "I think everybody's ready for this game. They're not nervous, but they've got that knot in their stomach like they want to play a good team."

Cinkovich said he hasn't watched film from Las Vegas' two previous defeats to the Spartans. That's because Cimarron not only lost several top starters to graduation, but also underwent a coaching change in the offseason as Gary Maki succeeded Greg Spencer.

But the Wildcat coach knows the Spartans still will have a familiar look, most notably the return of three-year starting running back Kellen Marshall, who already has run for six touchdowns and more than 500 yards in two games.

"That's as good a back as you'll see," Cinkovich said. "He doesn't need any room to run."

Despite Marshall's presence, however, Cimarron hopes to feature a more balanced offense this season, with quarterback Danny Phee and receiver Will Harris doing their part thus far to open up the passing game.

"The threat of our passing game has taken some of the pressure off (Marshall)," Maki said. "It's been great for him; he's even taken his game a step farther this year."

On the other side of the ball, Cimarron will find itself up against a Las Vegas offense that relies heavily on running back Antione White (366 yards, six touchdowns).

The Wildcats' air attack is also improved from last year, with current quarterback Steve Creech learning from volunteer assistant coach Anthony Marini -- the signal-caller for the 1999 team.

Last week, Cimarron's defense picked up where it left off in 2000, shutting out Basic 41-0. Maki knows his team will be hard pressed to repeat that defensive performance against a Las Vegas team that put 52 points on the board against Clark in week two.

"Basic had a good year last year. But Vegas has been one of the top teams since Cink has been there," Maki said. "This will be a great game for both of us to evaluate our programs.

"A win would send a message to the other schools that Cimarron is still there."