Preps: Northeast Division

Monday, Aug. 22, 2005 | 9:53 a.m.

Canyon Springs PIONEERS

COACH: Matt Jenkins (1st year)

RETURNING STARTERS (O/D): 8/9

KEY PLAYERS: Tremario Douglas (Sr., WR/DB); Wilbert Chaney (Sr., RB/OLB); DJ Turner (Sr., TE).

X FACTOR: Dennis Parker (Sr., QB). Not only does Parker have the experience of last year under his belt, he also was a key player on the Pioneers' baseball team. Now he's the focal point of Canyon Springs'offense.

OUTLOOK: "We'll come and go as (Parker) goes," coach Matt Jenkins said. "He can run around people but he can also run through people. He's a Jarrell Harrison-type kid with possibly a stronger arm. We need a quarterback who can run the ball as well with the option but can throw the football. Luckily for us we fell into him and he fits that bill for us."

Shortly after Ronan Matthew became principal at Canyon Springs in February, Pioneers head coach Dave Snyder Jr. departed. Jenkins, then the defensive coordinator at Matthew's and Snyder's old school, Cheyenne, was named head coach after being a leading candidate for at least two other local vacancies. Jenkins has assembled an experienced coaching staff to try to mold the second-year Pioneers into Sunrise Region contenders. There's little doubt they have the athletes to do it, despite only having 15 seniors on the varsity roster. "Within that senior class there's some pretty darned good football players," Jenkins said. "They did a great job with them last year. They taught them the fundamentals." Expect the Pioneers to rely on a pass heavy one-back offense. Also expect them to make the playoffs, possibly as high as a second seed.

Chaparral COWBOYS

COACH: Fernando Carmona (2nd year)

RETURNING STARTERS (O/D): 2/5

KEY PLAYERS: Quentin McLoud (So., RB); Jamaal McElroy (Sr., RB/DB); Alex Wooldridge (Sr., QB).

X FACTOR: Austin Tialavea (Sr., FB/TB). A transfer from Hawai'i, Tialavea brings some toughness that the Cowboys were missing last year. "He's a bruising type fullback, he's hard to bring down," Carmona said. If Tialavea lives up to his billing, life will be a lot tougher for Northeast Division linemen and a lot easier for the rest of the Cowboys backfield.

OUTLOOK: There's legitimate excitement around Chaparral this year, and why not? After going 2-7 last year, the Cowboys seem to be on the upswing, from the more than 100 kids participating in all levels of football to transfers Tialavea and lineman John Gomez from Bishop Gorman.

"Our main goal is to reach the playoffs," Carmona said.

With Valley and Desert Pines slumping and Rancho still coping with a miserable practice situation, the Cowboys could slip into that fourth playoff spot.

Desert Pines JAGUARS

COACH: Paul Bennett (1st year)

RETURNING STARTERS (O/D): 0/4

KEY PLAYERS: Justin Rogers (Sr., OT/DT); Nick Enari (Sr., FB), Daniel Paz (Sr., WR).

X FACTOR: Michael Ball (So., RB). Ball became part of the D.P. offense late last year, and Bennett is impressed with the young man's attitude early on. "He did really well," Bennett said. "It'll help him a lot. You can't always tell, but he seems to be focused in on getting the job done."

OUTLOOK: The word at Desert Pines this year is young. With 18 players from last year's 6-5 squad gone thanks to graduation, virtually a whole new roster is in place at D.P. They're joined by Bennett, who was the defensive coordinator under former coach Leon Evans. Two players, senior Julian Villanueva and junior Daniel Berhe, were still competing for the starting quarterback position late in camp, and that's key, with receiver Daniel Paz showing impressively early for the Jaguars.

Don't expect the Jaguars to contend for a region championship. But if this team jells early on, D.P. could easily find its way into November.

Las Vegas WILDCATS

COACH: Chris Faircloth (2nd year)

RETURNING STARTERS (O/D): 5/8

KEY PLAYERS: Xavier Cleveland (Sr., DL); O'Ryan Bradley (Jr., QB); Jacob Hansen (Sr., OL)

X FACTOR: Jamal Lomax (Sr., RB). When Eric Jordan left for Shadow Ridge, the Wildcats didn't flinch. There's a lot of confidence that Lomax always has had the skills to be as great as Jordan. "I don't think we ever had any doubt that it wouldn't be an easy transition for him," Faircloth said. "He's one of the premier backs in town."

OUTLOOK: Two years in a row, the Wildcats have advanced to December's state championship, and two years in a row, they've come back empty-handed. So out went the old offense, which by the end of last season had degraded to "give the ball to Eric Jordan a lot," and in came the spread offense most recently popularized at Utah by current UNLV coach Mike Sanford.

O'Ryan Bradley, who sat the first five games as the starter last season, will be the quarterback. Faircloth said the Wildcats have adapted to the offense after struggling in camp. With a schedule that includes Cheyenne, Bishop Gorman, Eldorado and Shadow Ridge, the offense will need to start the year in top shape. The Wildcats could head into the September 30 "Bone Game" against Rancho 0-5. But anything less than a 5-1 season in Northeast League play will be a severe disappointment.

Rancho RAMS

COACH: Gary Maki (2nd year)

RETURNING STARTERS (O/D): 5/8

KEY PLAYERS: Terrence McGill (Sr., WR); Brandon Barrone (Sr., FB).

X FACTOR: Ariece Perkins (Sr., QB). Perkins lasted just five weeks as the Rams' starting quarterback last season, but with the loss of projected starter J.T. Bley, who moved to 3A Spring Creek near Elko, Perkins will be back in the pressure spot. Maki thinks this year will be different for Perkins, who he called one of the top five athletes in Las Vegas.

OUTLOOK: Rancho had a miserable season in 2004, getting one victory (against winless Clark) and being outscored 479-100 in 10 games. Even worse, the school has no home field -- construction of a new school building on the old school's athletic fields is entering its second year, and the Rams are practicing two blocks away at Hartke Park, field frequently littered with the signs of the prior night's activities by vagrants. As a program, though, Rancho has undergone major changes, with Maki taking a hard line on discipline -- even if it means having key players sit out. There's a consensus that Rancho is headed in the right direction.

"Our weight training is going real well, and this is probably the strongest Rancho team we've ever put on the field," Maki said. Still, the big question is how well the stronger offensive line can protect Perkins. If the line holds and Perkins shows the improvement his coach promised and the leadership he demonstrated during basketball season, there's no doubt the Rams will be a playoff team.

ValleyVIKINGS

COACH: Jim Massey (2nd year)

RETURNING STARTERS (O/D): 2/5

KEY PLAYERS: Gerald Tennel (Jr., LB); Geno Odong (Sr., RB).

X FACTOR: Jacori Hawkins (Jr., RB). Hawkins is a smaller back, but Massey is still impressed with his early performance. "He's 150 pounds but he's a scoutback in that he's got great vision; he's a real good cutback type of runner," he said. "We'll try to highlight him a little bit; he's going to be real fun to watch."

OUTLOOK: Valley had a remarkable season last year, advancing to the Sunrise Region championship after coming in second in the Northeast Division. But graduation hit the Vikings hard. Injuries have been a problem this year, after quarterback Hank Thorns broke his thumb. Most of the players remaining just don't have much experience.

Massey is a talented coach and has a great cast of assistants. If the Vikings can hold on and if they're coachable, Valley could come around by the end of the year. But indications are that 2005 is a foundation-building year on Eastern Avenue.

Eldorado SUNDEVILS

COACH: Frank Tousa (Interim)

RETURNING STARTERS (O/D): 6/3

KEY PLAYERS: Davell Jackson (Sr., WR); Andy Bacchetta (Sr., WR); Jon Davis (Sr., C)

X FACTOR: Josh Creveling (Sr., QB). The pressure is on Creveling at Eldorado this year. He replaces Brandon Godfrey, who is competing for the starting job as a freshman at Southern Utah. He has the state's best receiver in Davell Jackson and could put up remarkable numbers if he can get the ball to his all-state target.

-- Nick Christensen