Jeremy Richter and his son Nate hold Jeremy’s high school football jersey on the football field at Green Valley High School in Henderson Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Jeremy Richter played for Basic High School in the first Henderson Bowl in 1991. His son Nate, a Green Valley senior, will play in Friday’s Henderson Bowl at Basic on Friday.
Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Fullback Jeremy Richter had four carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns in 1991 for the Basic High football team in the first Henderson Bowl against Green Valley.
He recalls racing 75 yards for a touchdown run as part of the 33-20 victory, after which Basic would be proclaimed the “City Champions” in the following edition of the Henderson Home News.
Former Nevada Gov. Mike O’Callaghan, the Home News publisher, launched the rivalry when Green Valley opened as the second high school in Henderson and presented the trophy after the game.
Richter has that article — complete with the game’s box score — framed and hanging in his Henderson home. He also has the No. 44 jersey he wore during his senior season of 1991, taking great pride in representing the school he grew up dreaming to play for in east Henderson.
Richter proudly says he cheers for Basic sports teams 99.9% of the time. The lone time he won’t: 6 p.m. today in this year’s edition of Henderson Bowl at Basic.
Richter’s rooting interest will be with Green Valley, where his son, Nate, is the Gators’ best player. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder plays linebacker and wide receiver for Green Valley, which has maintained possession of the rivalry trophy since 2017.
“It’s a fun time in our house,” Nate Richter said. “We go back and forth teasing each other with who will win, but I know he’ll be on the Green Valley side for a few hours (tonight).”
Basic principal Gerald Bustamante, football coach Jeff Cahill and about a dozen other school staffers are graduates of the school. They’ll tell you there is no better place in the tight-knit Henderson community than Don Taylor Stadium at Basic on Friday nights for a football game. Many head to Johnny Mac’s after for pizza and wings.
“You are always going to see someone you grew up with when returning (for a football game),” Jeremy Richter said.
Nate Richter played in last year’s Henderson Bowl, but that game was at Green Valley and presented less chances for awkwardness for the family. That won’t be the case this year. With the game at Basic, Nate Richter will be front-and-center as Green Valley’s team leader.
Dad realized his son’s importance to the team two weeks ago when he arrived at Green Valley for a game against a California school and bumped into Dan Cahill — coach Jeff Cahill’s dad and a longtime Basic assistant — doing advanced scouting.
It was a thrill for Jeremy Richter, because “that was my first coach in 1979.” Dan Cahill coached the boys in youth football with the BMI Grizzlies and later the Timet Wolves. He was also the junior varsity coach at Basic.
“I’ve got stories for days about the Cahill family,” Jeremy Richter said.
At the top of the list is surely that initial Henderson Bowl during their senior year. Jeff Cahill played defensive end and tight end, and Richter was a key cog in the offense. It was the birth of a rivalry that has become arguably the most competitive in all of Nevada prep football.
Green Valley won every game in the rivalry from 1994 to 2000, and most of those games weren’t close. Take the 1994 meeting, where the Gators won 64-0 and went for a 2-point conversion after their last touchdown to add insult to injury.
“Green Valley used to stick it to us all of the time,” Jeff Cahill said.
But Cahill stresses “used to” because the rivalry has extremely balanced in recent years, with Basic winning in consecutive seasons in 2002-’03 with brothers Chris and A.J. Montano — the nephew of Richie Montano, Basic best all-time player and Jeremy’s teammate who recently died — leading the way to ignite a new era in the rivalry. Gone were the days when Green Valley took beating Basic for granted.
“It’s always a little (aggressive) out there. Always an emotional game,” Jeff Cahill said.
Basic (5-0) has outscored opponents 170-16 to open the season undefeated, while Green Valley is still searching for its initial win. However, Green Valley marks a significant upgrade in competition for Basic and both programs expect a Henderson Bowl that is closely contested.
That’s the way it should be, said Jeremy Richter, who will be sitting on the Green Valley sideline wearing a Green Valley T-shirt. He can’t wait to hug his son after a game that’s so meaningful for the family — hopefully in a celebratory mode.
And next week, he’ll go back to rooting for two schools.
“This is pretty cool,” Jeff Cahill said. “It’s the circle of life. We are all getting a little older.”
