Friday, Sept. 16, 2005 | 10:33 a.m.
Nick Christensen covers high school athletics for the Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4085 or by e-mail at [email protected].
This space has often lauded the schedule-making gnomes for the non-league football games this year, with no week better than this one, as four of the city's top five teams will play each other.
This week is also the first week of league play, with some key division matchups already scheduled.
But non-league games will continue for the next month, including a rarity -- two non-league contests between northern and southern 4A schools.
Next week, Shadow Ridge will travel to Reno to play Galena; in two weeks, defending 4A North champion Reed will play at Desert Pines.
It will be nice to get a gauge of competition between the northern and southern schools, particularly before late November, which is usually when teams first meet up. By then, it doesn't matter -- it's the state semifinals and it's really too late to fix anything.
At a scrimmage earlier this year, I ran into a guy named Mike Grajeck, who had a brilliant idea.
Take one weekend every year and turn it into a football-fest between the top teams from Northern and Southern Nevada.
In my mind, here's how it could work -- every year, pick the six top teams from the north and south and put them on buses for either Tonopah or Ely, alternating every year. Both sites are just about equidistant from Vegas and Reno, and both towns wouldn't be too hot in early- to mid-September (although I think few would argue that Ely is a lot more scenic).
Then play three games on Friday and three on Saturday.
This year, a dream scenario would go like this --
On Friday, kick things off with a nice 3A battle, maybe Faith Lutheran against Spring Creek or Truckee. Next up, a good undercard, like Reed against Cheyenne. For the Friday finale, set up something special. Spanish Springs against Vegas sounds good.
My picks for Saturday would be Hug against Palo Verde, Shadow Ridge against Douglas, capped off with Foothill against McQueen under the lights.
The competition would be good for the teams, great for the economy of the smaller towns and a fun excuse for fans to drive out to scenic rural Nevada and explore the wide-open part of our state.
Of course, such a trip would cost both the Washoe and Clark county districts a fair amount of money, so such a weekend will remain a pipe dream in the imagination of this writer -- right next to my dreams of having a winning record in picks this season.
On to those picks, with all games kicking off at 7 tonight.
DEL SOL AT LIBERTY
The Dragons looked like they were making great strides in their second year, but two sub-par weeks in a row raise questions. Patriot power takes the day.
THE CALL: Liberty 14, Del Sol 6
CORONADO AT GREEN VALLEY
Green Valley suddenly looks vulnerable, and Coronado is still steaming after a Poots-less loss to Cimarron. Cougars pull the upset.
THE CALL: Coronado 23, Green Valley 21
BASIC AT SILVERADO
We waited for the Skyhawks offense to show up and it did in grand fashion last week. Basic has to wait for its first league win.
THE CALL: Silverado 35, Basic 14
CHAPARRAL AT CANYON SPRINGS
Two defense-minded teams square off in Canyon Springs' first non-league contest. The Pioneers are eyeing a home playoff date -- this week will say a lot for their chances.
THE CALL: Canyon Springs 42, Chaparral 7
VALLEY AT DESERT PINES
Valley looks red-hot with its young athletes this year, and Desert Pines is struggling quite a bit. Vikings breeze into league play.
THE CALL: Valley 48, Desert Pines 14
RANCHO AT ELDORADO
Just when Eldorado thought things were going to get easier, Rancho has a winning record. Look for the Rams to get their first "home" victory this year.
THE CALL: Rancho 23, Eldorado 18
SIERRA VISTA AT CLARK
Another battle of struggling teams, but who knows what Sierra Vista would have done had they not played three playoff-bound teams. The same can't be said for Clark's opponents.
THE CALL: Sierra Vista 19, Clark 0
SPRING VALLEY AT BONANZA
Bonanza's a better team than its 0-2 record indicates. Spring Valley's not as good as its 1-2 record would show. Ladeira and the Bengals roll in the Grizzlies' first Southwest game ever.
THE CALL: Bonanza 45, Spring Valley 14
DURANGO AT WESTERN
Western looks tough and the new offense continues to show its stuff. Durango comes in with one win -- against 0-3 Desert Pines -- and a lot of growing up left to do.
THE CALL: Western 31, Durango 20
CHEYENNE AT MOAPA VALLEY
A year ago, this would have been a must-see game (except for the two other must-see games scheduled this week). Both teams had a hole in their schedule this week and the district nudged them together. That's too bad for the Pirates, who are already 0-3 against 4A-caliber teams (Carson, Dixie and Hurricane) this year.
THE CALL: Cheyenne 56, Moapa Valley 7
LYNWOOD (Calif.) AT FOOTHILL
The crystal ball has a tough time with this one. We'll just be homers and call it a day.
THE CALL: Foothill 44, Lynwood 17
LAS VEGAS AT SHADOW RIDGE
Faircloth is back calling this reporter "Lucky Charms" again -- the Sun is now 1-6 in picking the last seven Vegas games, the one correct pick was the Wildcats' loss at Pine View.
Shadow Ridge is going to win. Seriously. No, we really think so.
THE CALL: Shadow Ridge 21, Vegas 20
PALO VERDE VS. BISHOP GORMAN
Here's thinking that Palo's defense is in a lot better shape than Gorman's offense.
THE CALL: Palo Verde 31, Bishop Gorman 7
ARBOR VIEW AT CENTENNIAL
Aggie Field update -- the turf is down but the lines and other assorted decorations haven't been put on the field yet.
THE CALL: Centennial 34, Arbor View 0
VERBUM DEI (Los Angeles, Calif.) AT CIMARRON
The Spartans' toughest test this year comes from the 2-0 Eagles, who admittedly have beaten winless opponents. Another cloudy crystal ball.
THE CALL: Verbum Dei 18, Cimarron 14
MOJAVE AT SNOW CANYON (St. George, Utah)
The Rattlers have run off a 3-0 record so far, but they've done it against a winless team (Chaparral), a young team (Durango) and a second-year team (Canyon Springs). Snow Canyon fits into two of those three categories.
THE CALL: Mojave 24, Snow Canyon 10
OFF THE UPRIGHTS: Lincoln County at Virgin Valley, Pahrump Valley at La Jolla (Calif.) Country Day, White Pine at Faith Lutheran.
OUT OF BOUNDS: Churchill County at Elko, Galena at McQueen, Hug at North Valleys, Douglas at Carson, Sierra Christian Academy (Rocklin, Calif.) at Spanish Springs, South Tahoe at Foresthill (Calif.), Reed at Bishop Manogue, Reno at Wooster.
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