Farley rescues Bulldogs in region quarters

Nick Christensen

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 | 10:40 a.m.

Last year's Centennial boys' soccer team was the terror of the Southern 4A schools. While rolling off an 8-1-0 league record, the Bulldogs went into November's state tournament looking like a lock to win the state title.

Then they lost in the final ... to a team from California.

South Tahoe, which like other high schools in the Lake Tahoe area competes in the Nevada sports leagues, defeated Centennial 2-0 in the 2003 title game in Carson City.

So although they were technically the best team in Nevada last year, the Bulldogs were still on a quest for the NIAA title that eluded them last year. That quest was almost cut short Tuesday as Bishop Gorman gave Centennial a scare early in the Sunset Region quarterfinals at Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex.

Gorman went up 1-0 early in the first half and the Bulldogs were without goalkeeper Jade Alfasi, who left the game with a nagging injury, and midfielder Dexter Smith, who was suspended due to a disqualification last week.

Enter Barrett Farley.

Farley's two goals and one assist led Centennial to a 3-1 victory. They'll face rival Shadow Ridge Thursday in the Sunrise region semifinals at Bettye Wilson.

"(Farley is) our center defender, and we had to move him to outside midfield" because of Smith's disqualification, Centennial coach Rick Kazee said. "He stepped up, that was the hardest he's played all year, so we're real proud."

A few feet away at the adjacent field, bated breath turned to cheer after cheer when Bonanza's potent offense opened up in the second half, for a 4-0 victory against Palo Verde. It will face Clark on Thursday.

"That's how the team usually goes, once they break it," Bengals coach Gerald Kearney said. "It was hugely intense. They really played well."

T.J. Bombard and Travis Slade had two goals apiece for Bonanza. Matthew Lavelle got the shutout.

In the Sunrise quarterfinals, Oscar Molina scored four goals to lead Northeast favorite Chaparral to a 4-0 win against Foothill.

"Oscar's a kid that's going to be big for us," Chaparral coach Randy Lilavois said. "I hope some other guys get going in the next game."

The Cowboys will face Green Valley on Thursday in one Sunrise semifinal.

The other Sunrise semifinal will pit Silverado against Desert Pines. The Jaguars advanced after beating Coronado 3-0, and Silverado routed Valley 5-0 behind James Eshragh's three goals.

Silverado got back on track after stumbling toward the close of the season.

"After last week, it's good to get back up," John Cwik, the Skyhawks' coach, said. "We had a rough week, but we put it in, we were passing the ball well to the outside. We were on a roll."

Ryan Whitesitt logged the shutout for Silverado.

As for South Tahoe, there will be no repeat of its state championship after its 1-0 loss to Northern tournament host Carson.

Douglas beat Northern favorite Wooster 2-0 to advance to the semifinals against its chief rival, the Senators.