‘Cats will have heavy hearts

Adam Candee

Friday, Nov. 28, 2003 | 9:33 a.m.

The likely prep football game of the year will arrive Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in an understandably subdued fashion.

After all, while Palo Verde and Las Vegas are the two best football teams in Southern Nevada, excitement is difficult to locate in the wake of the Sunday death of 17-year-old Wildcats senior safety Edward Gomez. He collapsed on the sidelines after Friday's Sunrise Region title win over Desert Pines and never regained consciousness.

But when the Panthers (SS-1, 12-0) and Wildcats (SR-1, 12-0) kick off, expect some of the best high school football Nevada has to offer. Palo Verde coach Darwin Rost has already received a number of phone calls from people anticipating this 4A state semifinal.

"People are excited to go watch this game," Rost said.

As are the coaches -- Rost and Las Vegas coach Kris Cinkovich talk a few times a week and have joked since the preseason that the first matchup of their teams could come on a huge stage.

"I'll be happy to see you," Rost told Cinkovich. "Not that I'll be happy to be playing (you)."

Happiness will be a fleeting quality, as Las Vegas prepares a pre-game tribute in memory of Gomez. The Wildcats will wear white jersey patches with the initials "E.G." in black lettering, in addition to helmet stickers with Gomez's number 21.

Cinkovich understands that his players are exhausted from the past few days. Accordingly, he is scaling back the film study and mental preparation that he would normally put his team through for a state semifinal contest.

"We're not going to be cute at all on either side of the ball," Cinkovich said. "Frankly, this time of year, you shouldn't be."

The Wildcats will continue to rely on a balanced offense that relies on the arm of sophomore quarterback Jeremy Craddock and the legs of senior tailback Jacob Robertson and sophomore tailback Jamal Lomax. They combined to push Las Vegas to a 24-0 lead in the first half against Desert Pines as the Wildcats eventually won 38-14.

Points will not come easily against Palo Verde's sound defense, which shut out Cheyenne and shut down star tailback David Peeples in the Sunset Region championship.

"They get off blocks and run to the ball really well," Cinkovich said of Palo Verde.

The momentum is huge for the Panthers after dominating Cheyenne and the death of Gomez has not affected their preparation for this game.

"We haven't changed one thing," Rost said.

Palo Verde has proved adaptable already, getting past the loss to injury of senior running back Jamal Brumfield prior to the playoffs. Marc Evans stepped right into his role and kept the machine of the Palo Verde double-wing offense humming in its strange efficiency.

"The kids never really missed a beat on it, and a lot of that's Brumfield," Rost said, crediting Brumfield with remaining around the team as a positive influence.

The Panthers are making their second straight trip to the state semifinals after losing to state champion McQueen in 2002. A strong group of seniors, headlined by two-way standout Tyree Walton, brought that playoff experience back and used it as motivation.

"Those kids came in knowing what it was like to win," Rost said.