Cinderella story ends for Jaguars

Leah Robinson and Adam Candee

Friday, Nov. 8, 2002 | 10:01 a.m.

TONIGHT'S PREP FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

All games start at 7 p.m.

SUNRISE REGION

Quarterfinals

(NE-4) Chaparral at (SE-1) Foothill

(SE-3) Green Valley at (NE-2) Desert Pines

(NE-3) Eldorado at (SE-2) Basic

(SE-4) Silverado at (NE-1) Las Vegas

SUNSET REGION

Quarterfinals

(NW-4) Cimarron-Memorial at (SW-1) Bishop Gorman

(SW-3) Western at (NW-2) Cheyenne

(NW-3) Palo Verde at (SW-2) Durango

(SW-4) Clark at (NW-1) Centennial

The glass slipper didn't fit Thursday night for the Desert Pines boys soccer team.

The underdog No. 4 seed from the Northeast fell in semifinal action in the Sunrise Region playoffs, losing 4-2 to Chaparral (NE-2) and ending the Cinderella story.

The Jaguars had pulled off a stunner on Saturday, knocking off Southeast top seed Vo-Tech in the first round. But the Cowboys -- namely Omar Bywaters, who scored all four goals -- were too much to overcome.

"We aren't disappointed, of course, we came so far already," said Desert Pines coach John Delisle. "We weren't thinking this was going to be easy."

The Jaguars scored early, but the Cowboys quickly answered. Bywaters scored twice in the first half and twice in the second. His third goal came on a free kick for a hand ball penalty.

"Make no mistake, we have the ability, as a team, and we know what it takes to win. This team has done an outstanding job," Bywaters said. "But I have a lot of respect for Desert Pines, to come as far as they did."

Chaparral will next face Green Valley (SE-2) Saturday at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex for the Sunrise Region title and a berth in next week's state tournament. Green Valley defeated Las Vegas (NE-1) 2-1 to advance after scoring during the final minutes of the second golden goal overtime session.

Sunset Region semifinal action produced no surprises -- Bishop Gorman (SW-1) and Centennial (NW-1) both earned berths to the state playoffs. Gorman defeated Clark (SW-3) 4-0 and Centennial won over Cimarron-Memorial (NW-3), 2-1.

Gorman and Centennial will also meet Saturday for the Sunset crown.

Girls volleyball

Defending state champion Green Valley almost hit the snooze button too many times in its wake-up call against Coronado, but the Gators held on for an emotional 15-7, 12-15, 20-18, 15-11 win Thursday night in the Sunrise Region semifinals.

Green Valley (SE-1) struggled against division foe Coronado (SE-3) throughout the match, dropping the second game and facing match point first at 14-12 and a number of other times in the third game. Gators middle blocker Jenn Todd turned the tide by barely sneaking a kill into the back corner with Coronado serving at 18-17, allowing Green Valley to rebound and take the game, and ultimately, the match.

Todd ended up with 28 kills and eight blocks while Carolyn Forbush parlayed intelligent hitting into 18 kills. Kelsi Thoman posted 51 assists for the Gators. Coronado's Jenna Newman tallied 22 kills and 21 blocks while Lauren Bucherie had 14 kills and nine blocks in her final match for the Cougars.

The victory put Green Valley into the state tournament, and the Gators will take on Silverado (SE-2) in tonight's Sunrise Region finals. The state-bound Skyhawks made quick work of Las Vegas, the Northeast's top seed, by a 15-3, 15-4, 15-4 final.

Durango (SW-1) and Palo Verde (NW-1) are also in the state tournament and will meet tonight for the Sunset Region crown. The Blazers continued their efficient dominance, discarding Centennial (NW-2) 15-5, 15-3, 15-3 in the semifinals. Kelsey Johnson totaled 14 kills to lead Durango.

The Panthers survived a scrappy match against Bishop Gorman (SW-2) to win 15-4, 9-15, 18-16, 15-10. Because the Sunset Region receives three berths to state this year, Centennial and Gorman will meet this afternoon for the region's final spot in Reno.