Bonanza has date to make history

Nick Christensen

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004 | 8:52 a.m.

Bonanza (7-4, 4-1 SW)

vs. Palo Verde (10-0, 5-0 NW)

7 p.m. Friday Palo Verde High School

Alta at Pavilion Center, Summerlin

Mutual opponents: Western (3-8) -- Palo Verde won 47-7 and 27-0, Bonanza won 14-13; Shadow Ridge (6-4) -- Palo Verde won 50-19, Bonanza won 29-28.

Key for Palo Verde: Don't underestimate the Bengals. They are 0-3 against division champions this year, but that also means they have the experience.

Key for Bonanza: Don't let Palo jump out. Earlier games against Foothill and Las Vegas would have been a lot closer if the Bengals hadn't fallen behind early.

Virgin Valley (8-3, 2-2 3A South)

vs. Truckee (8-1, 6-0 3A North)

1 p.m. Saturday Truckee, Calif.

Mutual opponents: None.

Virgin Valley road trip: 527 miles, two states, 11 counties -- Clark, Lincoln, Nye, Esmeralda, Mineral, Lyon, Churchill, Storey, Washoe, Sierra (Calif.), Nevada (Calif.).

Spring Creek (8-2, 5-1 3A North)

vs. Moapa Valley (10-1, 3-0 3A South)

1 p.m. Saturday

Moapa Valley High School, Overton

Mutual opponents: Pahrump Valley (5-5) -- Moapa Valley won 42-14 and 45-28, Spring Creek won 30-22.

Spring Creek road trip: 403 miles, four counties -- Elko, White Pine, Lincoln, Clark.

The Meadows (2-7, 1-3 2A South)

vs. Pershing County (9-0, 8-0 3A North)

1 p.m. Saturday

Lovelock, Nev.

Mutual opponents: None.

The Meadows road trip: 435 miles, seven counties -- Clark, Nye, Esmeralda, Mineral, Lyon, Churchill, Pershing. Battle Mountain (6-3, 6-2 2A North)

vs. Needles (6-3, 3-1 2A South)

1 p.m. Saturday

Needles, Calif.

Mutual opponents: None.

Battle Mountain road trip: 526 miles, five counties -- Lander, Nye, Esmeralda, Clark, San Bernardino (Calif.).

Nobody really knows how many playoff games Bonanza's football team has won since the school opened in 1976, but the general consensus is that last Friday's 29-28 win against Shadow Ridge was a major achievement.

Many within Bonanza's football program believe that last Friday's game was actually the first playoff game ever hosted at Judy Cameron Stadium. The Bengals' last playoff win was in 1996, when they upset Las Vegas 23-0 in a Southern Zone quarterfinal. Bonanza defensive coordinator Ryan Benson said he believed the 1996 win was Bonanza's only playoff victory -- until last week.

The Bengals were able to hold off a high-scoring Shadow Ridge team thanks to Benson's work, Bonanza coach Jay Weinman said. But if Shadow Ridge was just a test for the Bengals, Friday's Sunset Region semifinal at Palo Verde is the SAT.

"You go from defending about 100 different plays (with Shadow Ridge) to basically five plays with Palo," Weinman said. "... but they run them so well."

Palo Verde's famed double-wing offense has frustrated opponents since coach Darwin Rost instituted it two years ago.

"Palo Verde has been as tough as an opponent we can see in Nevada," Weinman said. "Nobody's been able to stop them yet."

But that doesn't mean the Bengals won't try. This Bonanza team got the home playoff date thanks to a surprising double-overtime win against Sierra Vista.

"We're going to have to play aggressive football," Benson said. "We're not reading plays. It's just players knowing what their assignment is, and getting to their assignment."

Playing Bonanza in the regional semifinal could be more of a lucky charm than a test. The Bengals lost their second playoff game in 1996 to Western, which went on to win the state championship.

Rost said he's been impressed with the Bonanza offense, particularly the resurgent Nigel Moore, who was out for most of the season with a fractured knee.

"I've always been impressed with Bonanza," Rost said. "A lot of it's Nigel Moore, and their quarterback's a three-year starter with them. Marquise Brickhouse has done some good things for them, and they've got a field goal kicker that's pretty decent. They've fared well this year."

Palo Verde (10-0) advanced after beating Western 27-0 last week.

Before the Bengals' comeback win at Sierra Vista, some flowers showed up at Bonanza High, presumably a sympathy gift from someone with the Mountain Lions. The Bengals proved that anonymous donor wrong, and while some may have already written off Bonanza's 2004 season, Moore says not quite yet.

"We came out every day, work hard as a football team, and we didn't get as much respect as we should get," Moore said. "(Palo Verde's) a fast team, they're great, they work together -- but they're very beatable."