5 high school football games to watch in Southern Nevada on opening night

It’s game week for high school football teams around Southern Nevada.

The new season begins Friday with 23 games involving teams from the Las Vegas area.

High school football in the state has changed with 30 CCSD football programs playing as independents this fall. But the action on the field will feel just as usual, with Friday’s action featuring the top teams playing out-of-state powers, league contests and rivalry games.

Here are the top five games for the first week of the high school football season. (All games at 6 p.m. Friday unless otherwise noted).

Sierra Vista at No. 9 Desert Oasis

The two southwest rivals will open their season in the two teams’ annual “Bell Game.” Sierra Vista edged Desert Oasis 23-16 last year with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.

The two teams are in different CCSD independent divisions — Desert Oasis (Division I) and Sierra Vista (Division II) — but both teams are looking for a win against a rival to propel them into potential runs at the Superintendents Cup in their respective divisions.

Desert Oasis is ranked No. 9 in the Review-Journal’s preseason top 10 Southern Nevada rankings.

Green Valley at No. 6 Foothill

The Henderson schools renew their rivalry in their opening game of the year.

The most recent meeting between the two schools was in 2023 when Foothill defeated Green Valley 34-21 on Oct. 6 at home.

Green Valley and Foothill feature two of the top quarterbacks in the city with senior Michael Lewis (2,145 passing yards, 18 TDs and eight rushing scores in 2025) for the Gators and junior Ryder Dobbs (24 TD passes) for the Falcons.

Foothill is ranked No. 6 in the RJ’s preseason rankings and is in a CCSD independent group with Liberty and Desert Oasis. Green Valley will look to contend in Division II alongside Sierra Vista and Spring Valley in the Gators’ group.

Central East (California) at No. 5 Sloan Canyon

Sloan Canyon, after making a run to the Class 4A state title game in 2025, will open its season against a top California team.

Central East, from Fresno, is ranked No. 12 in MaxPreps’ California state rankings and No. 89 nationally. The Bengals went 14-1 last year.

Sloan Canyon brings back most of its team from last year, which saw the Pirates finish 12-1 and roll through their Southern Nevada opponents before losing to McQueen for the title. The Pirates are ranked No. 5 in the RJ’s preseason rankings and a favorite, alongside Mater East, in 4A as one of seven remaining state-title eligible Southern teams.

No. 8 Mater East at No. 7 Faith Lutheran, 7 p.m.

The challenger to Sloan Canyon in 4A will open its season against a Faith Lutheran team that has appeared in the last three state title games.

Mater East, led by Desert Pines High graduate and former UNLV star Tim Hough, features one of the area’s more talented rosters with returners – such as QB James Monaghan IV (37 TD passes in 2025) — and incoming transfers, including three-star recruits Michael Taylor, Demichael Burks (BYU commit) and OL Phoenix Pollard (UNLV commit).

Faith Lutheran, ranked No. 7 in the Review-Journal’s preseason rankings, lost six of its first seven games last year but made a late run to get to the 5A state title game and has 33 returners, led by UNLV commit Jaden Mason. Mater East is No. 8 in the RJ’s preseason rankings.

Coronado at No. 4 Centennial, 7 p.m.

Centennial (West group) and Coronado (East group) will meet in a battle between teams in the top division of CCSD independent teams.

Centennial will look to challenge for the Superintendents Cup with returners such as Minnesota commits Jayden “Jet” Thomas and Maxwell Miles and OL Laseth Bryant (a UNLV commit). The Bulldogs won lower-level state titles in 2023 and 2024 and reached the 5A Southern Region title game in 2025. Centennial is ranked No. 4 in the RJ’s preseason rankings.

Coronado brings back a strong returning core as the Cougars look to contend with Liberty, Foothill and Desert Oasis in the East to be one of the top two teams in the group to contend for the Superintendents Cup.

Southern Nevada Week 1 high school football schedule

All games at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted

Friday

Green Valley at Foothill, 6 p.m.

Central East (California) at Sloan Canyon, 6 p.m.

Sierra Vista at Desert Oasis, 6 p.m.

Spring Valley at Durango, 6 p.m.

Bonanza at Chaparral, 6 p.m.

Boulder City at Valley, 6 p.m.

Sunrise Mountain at Western, 6 p.m.

Providence Hall (Utah) at Pahrump Valley, 6 p.m.

Arbor View at West (Utah), 6 p.m. PST/7 p.m. MST

Losee at Bishop Gorman

Mater East at Faith Lutheran

Coronado at Centennial

Palo Verde at Desert Pines

Silverado at Legacy

Eldorado at Las Vegas High

Beaver (Utah) at Moapa Valley

Hurricane (Utah) at Virgin Valley

Cadence at The Meadows

Judge Memorial Catholic (Utah) at CIVICA Academy

Parowan (Utah) at Lincoln County

Pahranagat Valley at Indian Springs

Liberty at Mililani (Hawaii) 10 p.m. PST/7 p.m. HST

Saturday

View Point (California) at Lake Mead Academy