Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004 | 10:25 a.m.
The chase for the postseason is underway. Four teams from each division will qualify for the 2004 postseason. The 12 Sunrise teams and 12 Sunset teams will each play for one berth in the state semifinals.
If the playoffs started today, here's how the seedings would shake down:
Sunrise Region
Winner advances to state semifinal at Northern champion.
Green Valley (SE4) vs. Eldorado (NE1)
Las Vegas (NE3) vs. Silverado (SE2)
Coronado (SE3) vs. Valley (NE2)
Desert Pines (NE4) vs. Foothill (SE1)
Eliminated: None
Sunset Region
Winner advances to state semifinal vs. Northern runner-up.
Durango (SW4) vs. Palo Verde (NW1)
Cheyenne (NW3) vs. Bishop Gorman* (SW2)
Western* (SW3) vs. Shadow Ridge (NW2)
Cimarron-Memorial (NW4) vs. Sierra Vista (SW1)
* -- Based on NIAA rules, Western and Bishop Gorman are tied to the fifth tiebreaker, which is a coin flip for seeding.
Eliminated: None.
Northern Region
Winner advances to state semifinal vs. Sunrise champion. Runner-up advances to state semifinals at Sunset champion.
Reed (HD4) vs. Hug (S1)
Carson (S3) vs. Bishop Manogue (HD2)
Spanish Springs (HD3) vs. Douglas (S2)
Reno (S4) vs. McQueen (HD1)
Eliminated: Elko, South Tahoe.
It wasn't too long ago that the Valley football team was the laughingstock of Las Vegas.
With an 0-9 record in 2002 and a 3-6 mark the following year, the Vikings were definitely among the have-nots in football.
Now, the mood has changed.
"A lot of teams have come out here and said something," cornerback James Johnson said. "They still think we're the old Valley, that they'll come out here and blow us out."
Take Desert Pines, a team Johnson said had a few players at last Thursday's junior varsity game "talking smack."
Not only did Valley get its first win against the Jaguars in two years, but it came in dramatic fashion, a 30-6 victory with Desert Pines' only touchdown coming off a 92-yard kickoff return.
The only laughing going on at Valley is at the team's laid-back practices, as a totally relaxed atmosphere is the order of the day on the new artificial turf at Piggott Memorial Stadium.
Valley has built a 4-1 record, led by a corps of seniors who went through the tough times when they came up to varsity as sophomores.
Linebacker Marcus Cotton has been a part of that group since his freshman year on the junior varsity team.
"Our freshman year when we were all together, we said, 'Wait until our senior year,' " he said. "But we're not a team that brags. Just wait until the game."
Receiver Charles Jackson said before the first game, the team was still a little too easygoing about the year ahead.
"We came together before the season started," he said. "We said, this is our last year, let's put it all out and make things happen."
Quarterback Matthew Christman has produced Southern Nevada's fourth-best passing numbers with 645 yards and is leading Las Vegas with 11 touchdowns and a 163.9 quarterback rating. Adrian Shields has added 408 yards on the ground and receiver David Sosa is third best in Las Vegas with 18 catches for 281 yards, behind super receivers Davell Jackson of Eldorado and Troy Cummings of Shadow Ridge, who are both approaching 500.
Behind the turnaround, besides maturity, is the Vikings' coach Jim Massey, who three years ago led Valley's twin on the other side of Interstate 15, Clark High, to a division championship.
Massey is joined on the coaching staff by former head coaches from Desert Pines, Cheyenne and Las Vegas, and wants his team to have a low-key attitude, as far as the Vikings' perception off-campus is concerned.
"We try to be as silent as we can," Jackson said.
But with the way his kids have responded to his system, even though the 4-1 start is against opponents that are a combined 8-18, it will be hard for Valley to stay under the radar for the remainder of non-league play.
"They're all playing at a good level," Massey said of his team. "As coaches, we set the standards high, it's up to the kids to reach them."
One of the standards defensive coordinator Marcus Sherman set for his team last week was to hold Desert Pines running back Donte Minton to under 100 yards.
Minton, one of the city's leading running backs with more than 500 yards heading into last week, was held to just 62 against Valley. If nothing else, that was a morale boost with Las Vegas' Eric Jordan and his 1,143 rushing yards looming on the Northeast schedule horizon.
"I don't think that gives us confidence, but it lets us know we can step up," Sherman said. "DP was the first step. We have to worry about Rancho and Chaparral before we worry about those guys."
But with this week's game against Rancho pushed back to Saturday so that the Rams can play a "home" game at Canyon Springs, the team will take the opportunity to watch Eldorado and Las Vegas play each other on Friday night.
Just don't expect them to say anything, or be at all noticed, while they're there.
"When it's time to play Las Vegas," Cotton said, " we'll talk about it on the field."
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