FOR LOVE OF THE GAME

Sam Morris, Las Vegas Sun

Friday, Nov. 16, 2007 | 7:25 a.m.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

They were unbeaten, unstoppable. They were going to the state championships to face whomever Northern Nevada had to throw at them and stuff it back into their faces.

Some of them had worked, and worked hard, since their freshman year to reach this point, and all they had to do was beat local powerhouse and defending champion Las Vegas High, which had lost a couple of games this year.

After coming up short on the final drive and ending the game with a 12-7 loss, Silverado senior wide receiver Aaron Reed turned away from the stands, clenching his eyes shut to hold back tears as he saluted fans and family.

"It was tough. It was really, really tough," Reed said of the loss, in which his Skyhawks took the Wildcats midway into the third quarter before anyone posted a score.

"I'm a senior, and knowing it was the last time I was going to step on that field really bothered me. It was hard on all the seniors," Reed said.

"A lot of them won't play at the next level, and it's not easy to think that it's the last time they will put on pads. The last time for Friday Night Lights. It's not easy."

It never is.