Monday, Sept. 20, 2004 | 10:13 a.m.
Talk about perfect timing.
This afternoon's cool breezes bring in the fifth week of the high school football season, the halfway point officially coming this Thursday as Southern Nevada teams end nonleague play on a weeknight. Everything up to Thursday night is, in reality, preseason for the league play that determines who goes to the playoffs, who stays home in November, and what seed the four teams in each region will get in the 16-team southern tournament.
The short week, in observance of Yom Kippur, gives teams one fewer day to prepare for some of the best games of the first half of the season. Ten local teams will face off against opponents that are .500 or better on the young season, compared to two last week and four the week before.
Palo Verde coach Darwin Rost, whose Panthers will face an Eldorado team that lost to Foothill 23-20 on opening night and hasn't looked back, said it does affect his team's flow.
"It gets the kids out of their routine a little bit, especially with us because we do a night practice during the week," he said. "We did some things last week that made some things ready for this week."
After a trick play cost Shadow Ridge 16 yards on first-and-10 from its 20, and attempts to advance the ball only got the Mustangs to the 6, they lined up to punt with 4:36 to play and the game tied at 21. The snap flew over the punter's head and through the back of the end zone to give Eldorado the decisive two-point lead.
Shadow Ridge dominated the first half, with running back Ricky Snodgrass compiling the bulk of his 215 rushing yards before halftime, and the Eldorado offense struggling through.
But it was Eldorado that held on in the second half, with quarterback Brandon Godfrey compiling 187 yards on 14-for-28 passing and running back Marcus Newson going for 149 yards on 28 carries.
Once around town
Instead, it's the Desert Pines football team, struggling to a 2-1 start after being ranked 10th in Nevada in the preseason. The Jaguars slumbered through an opening-night win against Western, then lost to Cimarron 44-14 after a Week 2 bye.
Friday, Desert Pines visited Mojave, a team with a 1-10 record dating to last season. But instead of steamrolling the hapless Rattlers, the Jaguars again struggled, winning 28-27 in overtime.
"We haven't found our rhythm yet," Jaguars coach Leon Evans said. "We hope by conference time to have everything together."
Evans does have one bright spot, as Donte Minton ran for 283 yards against Mojave on 41 carries. Still, Evans said he'd like to see more balance from a team that has a lot of younger, inexperienced players.
With Southwest favorite Bishop Gorman on the schedule this week, Desert Pines doesn't have much time to correct its problems before Evans has to start worrying about slipping to a fourth seed -- or worse -- in Northeast league play.
Foothill still hasn't put up the points it did last year. Coronado and Basic have both slipped below Liberty in the standings, and Green Valley topped its 2003 win total in Week 2 en route to a 3-1 start.
But quietly, Silverado has been putting up big numbers on the way to a 3-0 start in non-league play.
"We've just got a lot of the kids that believe in the system, got a common goal and are sticking together," Skyhawks coach Doug Thornhill said. "Balance is huge for us, it helps us in conditioning and helps us in the fourth quarter. Hopefully it helps us toward the end of the season when teams start getting banged up."
No Silverado players are in the top 10 of any statistical categories, but the Skyhawks' scoring (33.3 ppg) and defense (9.67 ppg) are both in the top five in the 4A south.
"3-0, you can't be unpleased with that," Thornhill said. "A lot of people are surprised. We're not surprised though."
The Mountain Lions (3-1) beat Green Valley 28-7 Friday, taking a clear lead in the Southwest standings as the only team in the division with a winning record.
Head coach Ben Johnson said he's happy so far with the way his team has responded to its tough nonleague schedule. Sierra Vista's lone loss was a 26-20 defeat at Foothill.
"I told the kids, every team we've played hasn't had a loss yet," Johnson said. "Now we play Silverado at 3-0."
Bishop Gorman, the only other team in the Southwest that looks to have a shot at the division title, has yet to play a local team after serving a one-week suspension for a fight in last year's playoffs. Johnson, however, isn't counting out any of the other struggling teams in the lackluster Southwest.
"I think Western is still a team that could surprise some people, and Bonanza," Johnson said. "Durango's getting better each week because they're a little young. It's playing out the way I've pictured it right now."
The Spartans now have 107 points in their past two games, thanks chiefly due to quarterback Andrew Hatch's success and experience.
"He's applied a lot of leadership for us," Smeltzer said. "His threat of being on the field has helped us immensely."
The threat has opened up the Cimarron ground game.
"Our rushing game has stepped up and taken over," Smeltzer said. "We seem to be getting better every week up front, so that's very good."
archive
