high school football:

Friday Night Roundup: Desert Oasis, Moapa Valley shine in playoffs

Arbor View High players and students celebrate a 17-14 victory over the Centennial Bulldogs on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, at Arbor View.

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Published Friday, Nov. 6, 2015 | 7 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 | 12:25 a.m.

Las Vegas Sun sports editors Ray Brewer and Case Keefer focus much of their weekly high school football discussion on a pair of high school football rematches in the playoffs — Desert Pines at Moapa Valley and Legacy at Centennial.

Could the Legacy or Desert Oasis high football teams play the role of spoiler tonight in the playoffs?

The Sunset Regional semifinals have featured the same four teams every season since 2010 — Arbor View, Bishop Gorman, Centennial and Palo Verde have received little resistance, actually. But will that trend continue tonight?

No. 1 seeds Arbor View and Gorman should cruise in their quarterfinal games. They are, after all, playing teams with a combined three wins.

Arbor View should beat Shadow Ridge (1-8), and six-time defending state champion Gorman likely will take down Cimarron-Memorial (2-7), by the mercy rule of the running clock. (We’ll talk later about a playoff structure in which 80 percent of teams make the postseason).

Centennial and Palo Verde will receive more difficult challenges. Centennial hosts Legacy in a rematch of the season opener that Centennial won by just one point, blocking an extra-point attempt late in the game. Palo Verde hosts Desert Oasis, which had last week off to prepare and has won an impressive six games this season after struggling in 2014.

While some of the action in the Sunset should be lopsided, that won’t be the case in the Division I-A state quarterfinals.

Desert Pines travels to Overton to face nemesis Moapa Valley in a game most feel won’t be decided until the fourth quarter. The last time they met in the playoffs, Moapa Valley erased a three-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter of the state championship game to down the Jaguars.

And the last time they met in the regular season both teams won — seriously. Desert Pines beat by Moapa Valley by 12 points on Sept. 11, but a few weeks later was forced to forfeit the game for using an eligible player to give Moapa Valley the win and No. 1 playoff seed. It also gave Desert Pines a return trip to Overton, which is about 70 miles north of Las Vegas.

In the other local quarterfinal, 2013 state champion Faith Lutheran, winner of nine straight, hosts Chaparral. The winning team hosts a team from Northern Nevada next week in the state semifinals.

We’ll keep everyone posted as scores become final. Send us game information on Twitter using #sunstandout and #702hsfb.

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Stories from games across the valley:

• Bishop Gorman downs Cimarron-Memorial for 29th straight playoff win

• Centennial scores 41 unanswered points to eliminate Legacy

• Fluke play leads to lone score in Silverado win

• Desert Oasis stuns Palo Verde for first playoff win in school history

• Arbor View blanks Shadow Ridge for playoff win

• Green Valley figures out rushing game against Foothill

• Basic senior QB rewarded in win over Coronado

• This may be the best Liberty High football team

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21