Thursday, Aug. 25, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.
SUN RANKINGS
1. Shadow Ridge
2. Palo Verde
3. Cheyenne
4. Cimarron-Memorial
5. Centennial
6. Mojave
2004 RECAP
Palo Verde (9-0, 5-0) Won state championship
Cheyenne (7-2, 4-1) Lost in Sunset championship to Palo Verde
Shadow Ridge (6-3, 3-2) Lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Bonanza
Cimarron-Memorial (5-4, 3-2) Lost in Sunset quarterfinals to Bishop Gorman
Durango (1-8, 1-4)
Mojave (2-7, 1-3)
Centennial (2-7, 0-4)
PAST STATE CHAMPIONS
Arbor View -- None.
Centennial -- None.
Cheyenne -- None.
Cimarron-Memorial -- 2; 1999, 1998.
Mojave -- None.
Palo Verde -- 1; 2004.
Shadow Ridge -- None.
RETURNING ALL-STATE PLAYERS
Eric Jordan, player of the year; first team, running back, senior, Shadow Ridge
Kyle Harpin, first team, offensive lineman, senior, Palo Verde
Troy Cummings, second team, wide receiver, senior, Shadow Ridge
With a program that built a playoff team in just two years, Shadow Ridge was poised to be a Sunset Region contender in 2005.
Then the Mustangs hit the jackpot.
Eric Jordan, the state's offensive player of the year in 2004, transferred to the northwest Las Vegas school in June. Linebacker Alex Toney joined him shortly thereafter.
Suddenly, a team that had the talent to go two or three weeks in the playoffs elevated itself to a title contender, with a defense that allowed a touchdown or less in six of its 10 games only stronger; an offense that averaged 34.6 points with three of the state's best players became more potent.
J.D. Johnson, who has coached Shadow Ridge since the school's 2-7 inaugural season in 2003, said he had high hopes for this class before the transfers came.
"This is a group, we felt this was going to be our first wave, because we've had these kids for three years," he said. "Our weight training program in our system, they know how we coach, they know how we are. It's a lot more mature of a group, with a lot better senior leadership than last year.
"(What) lots of people don't understand is that these guys add some extras to the punch, but this is our favorite class," Johnson said.
The team returned some key players from last season, most notably receiver Troy Cummings, who caught 36 passes for 714 yards and seven touchdowns in 2004. Also returning was Clay Dodds, one of the team's three-year players and a defensive stalwart.
He said that the news of Jordan's arrival was slow to leak out, even though the team expected to get Eric's younger brother, Josh.
"At first we didn't know anything about it. We were just satisfied with that (getting Josh)," he said. "Then E.J. showed up. After that, we got Toney, and after that it was just going on."
Jordan doesn't just fill the hole left by departed senior Ricky Snodgrass, who, with 1,436 rushing yards last season, was third in Southern Nevada.
He brings even more to the table, from his 4,889 career rushing yards, including 2,658 last season, to his more than 50 career touchdowns, well within reach of Antoine White's state record of 74.
Jordan will likely have the state 4A record for career rushing yards by the end of this Friday's game against Desert Pines. The overall state record of 5,279 yards is held by 3A Spring Creek senior James Edwards.
"Getting Eric Jordan made us two-dimensional again," Johnson said. "Tons of kids would have played running back, and they're just as good athletes. But getting Eric is like putting icing on the cake as far as being able to compete."
It also will enable the Mustangs to, at least for a little while, sidestep the question of who will replace quarterback Chris Berkeley, who also graduated last year. As of Wednesday, two players, William Pope and Chris Robello, continued to compete for the starter's spot.
Despite the initial questions about who will be doing any passing, Jordan says he doesn't expect to carry the ball as much as he did in 2004.
"We have a little more of a passing offense; it's not all on me," he said. "There's no pressure but it's a lot easier because people can't key on me. We could drop it off to our receivers."
Dodds said that when Jordan arrived, the intensity of the summer jumped up a notch -- or more.
"We were thinking about state before, and then they all came over and raised the hype," he said. "They raised the pressure too."
Jordan's initial impressions were about the athleticism of his teammates.
"We're going to surprise a lot of people," he said. "There are fast guys that are talented on this team ... people will truly be surprised."
Or will they? After all, with the arrival of Jordan, the Mustangs were all but coronated state champions on Internet message boards, and Jordan said his new teammates started to think that the title was in the bag.
It's not that easy, and he should know. Twice while at Las Vegas High, he and the Wildcats were in the state title game, and twice, they came home empty-handed.
"I told them you can't really play one game and say 'We're going to win state,' " Jordan said. "You take each game at a time is what I told them. I told them not to get all hyped-up and just play the game. I had to calm them down a little bit."
Toney, who came from a Centennial team that finished a disappointing 2-7 last year, said the expectations are natural.
"Of course everyone's going to get excited when you've got so much talent on the team," he said. "Now that the games are coming closer and closer, people are concentrating more on the game coming. State's a long ways away. It's 15 steps. You've got to take it one step at a time."
Johnson likes to think of things on even shorter terms.
"We want to be competitive, play six seconds on each play, refocus and give more than you were asked to give and it should work out," he said. "We've got a very tough schedule."
That schedule includes two state champions -- Palo Verde on October 14 and Colorado 5A title winner J.K. Mullen on September 9 -- as well as regional contenders Eldorado and Cheyenne.
And the date that is marked on many people's calendar is September 16, when Las Vegas High travels to Shadow Ridge in a game that was scheduled before Jordan's transfer.
Toney said having the schedule that includes games against teams that the Mustangs will likely see in the postseason is a positive.
"It makes it more of a challenge," he said. "In order to win that game that's going to count, you're going to have to change your game up where you're going to have to work those kinks out and make no mistakes at all. It will work out for the best."
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