Prep football recap: CCSD independent Division II, III playing competitive games

Any concerns about the format and structure of the high school football season for the 30 independent Clark County School District programs have been put to rest.

The 30 teams were split into three divisions based on competitive balance, and while Arbor View and Liberty are heads and shoulders ahead of their Division I competition, good luck trying to pick a favorite in Division II or Division III.

The second and third divisions of the independent teams have consistently produced close games every week when playing against one another. That will make the battle for the Superintendents Cup in Division II and Division III the most compelling football championship battle around the state.

Friday night was no different with close games as the independent football teams approach two weeks remaining in their “regular seasons.” Here are the one-score football games across Division II and Division III:

Green Valley 40, Clark 37.

Spring Valley 14, Sierra Vista 7.

Sunrise Mountain 18, Chaparral 17.

Valley 36, Eldorado 35.

Bonanza 16, Cheyenne 12.

“It’s awesome seeing the scores from across (Division III),” said Bonanza coach Jeremy Stiles of all the close games after the Bengals picked up their first win of the season on Friday. “Every game seems pretty close. Every game seems really competitive. I think it helps the kids’ confidence in everything that throughout the week, they know they at least have a chance.”

It’s had the greatest impact in Division III, which has many of the inner-city schools and some of the area’s oldest schools.

Schools like Rancho, Sunrise Mountain, Valley and others, under the NIAA’s league structures, would have close games against one another but would often get running clocked by public school programs with larger enrollment or more stability, and the rising charter school football teams.

Now, the Division III teams have the freedom to schedule one another and have a light at the end of the tunnel of their seasons with the Superintendent Cup trophy.

“It’s really good for our program,” Sunrise Mountain coach Patrick Achord said. “We’re one of the poorest schools out here. To be able to compete the way we’re doing — our kids face a lot of disadvantages. The last time I looked it up, which was earlier this year, we were the No. 2 poorest school in the state.”

Del Sol (5-0, 2-0) leads Division III East ahead of Sunrise Mountain (5-1, 2-1), Valley (3-2, 1-1) and Eldorado (2-4, 1-2). All four teams are still alive to get one of the top two spots, which qualifies them to participate in crossover games to play for the Superintendents Cup.

“Good teams are going to miss out on first and second (place) because we got four solid good football teams on our side,” Achord said.

Tight Division II battle

The game of Friday night was Green Valley’s home win over Clark. The Gators led 33-7 in the second half before Clark made it a game but came up short in a 40-37 loss in a key Division II West League game.

“What a game, that doesn’t surprise me,” said Legacy coach Zach Monticelli, whose Longhorns won Friday 41-0 over Canyon Springs but the prior week won at Clark 27-26 in overtime. “That Clark team is freaking tough.”

The Division II East League is led by Palo Verde (6-0, 2-0), which did enough to go past Silverado 22-6, and Basic (5-1, 2-0) is right behind. In the West League, Legacy (5-1, 2-0) leads ahead of Green Valley (4-1, 3-0).

Legacy and Palo Verde put forth an early preview of what could come of Division II when the two teams battled at Palo Verde where the Panthers came away victorious 28-26.

“It’s not surprising,” Monticelli said. “We’re having schools that have the same kids, same problems, same facilities, same rules and we’re having great football. I can’t think of a school in the independent league that was upset with the way that it broke down. We were all on board and we all knew this is what we needed to happen. It was good for kids.”

A combined total of 18 games played have been decided by single digits of contests when Division II and III teams play the same teams within their same division.

“The impact that (playing close games and competitive football) has (for kids) been astronomical,” Monticelli said. “It gives these kids a reason to go to school every day. It gives these kids a reason to do the right thing, gives these kids a reason to make sure their grades are up and make sure they’re staying out of trouble.”

Other Friday highlights

Here are some other highlights from Friday’s football action:

1st win: Bonanza (1-4, 1-1 Division III West) celebrated its first win of the season and Stiles’ first win as head coach on Friday in the Bengals’ homecoming game. Matthew Mullin had a rushing touchdown and Braeden Osotio converted field goals of 22, 27 and 35 yards to lead the Bengals to the win.

“We needed to show the kids that they can win,” Stiles said. “As a program, I feel like they’ve been too used to losing and they needed to feel what it’s like to get a win.”

100th win: Basic coach Jeff Cahill picked up his 100th career victory in the Wolves’ 47-20 win over Durango. Jeff’s son Louden Cahill had 160 receiving yards and three touchdown catches. Lynn Saltmarch, Carl Napoleon and Andrew Rodriguez each had a touching touchdown for Basic.

Rancho tied for 1st: Rancho is looking to make a run at the Division III Superintendents Cup. The Rams (2-3, 2-0 Division III West) rolled past Western 38-6. Carlos Loza had three rushing touchdowns and Nassir Prawl had a rushing score and interception on defense. Rancho is tied with Cimarron-Memorial (2-4, 2-0) for first place and followed by Bonanza (1-4, 1-1) and Cheyenne (2-4, 1-2).

Up next

Several battles for first place will happen next Friday. Sunrise Mountain hosts Del Sol at 5 p.m. Friday where the winner will be in prime position to get one of the top two spots in the East League and qualify to play for the Superintendents Cup.

Palo Verde (6-0, 2-0) hosts Basic (5-1, 2-0) at 6 p.m. Friday in a first-place battle for the Division II East title. Regardless of the result, both teams are still set up to finish first and second in the league.

Other top games include Liberty (4-2) playing at Shadow Ridge (3-3) at 6 p.m. Friday and Foothill (3-3, 1-2 Division II East) hosting Desert Oasis (3-3, 0-2) at 6 p.m. Friday.

At 7 p.m. Friday, Sloan Canyon (4-1, 1-1 4A Southern League) hosts SLAM! Nevada (3-2, 0-0) in a rematch of last year’s 4A Southern Region title game.

Southern Nevada high school football scores, schedule

Week 7 scores

Arbor View 49, Shadow Ridge 13

Basic 47, Durango 20

Bishop Gorman 45, Faith Lutheran 3

Bonanza 16, Cheyenne 12

Coronado 34, Foothill 27

Del Sol 16, Cimarron-Memorial 7

Desert Pines 49, Mojave 7

Grant (California) 35, Mater East 28

Green Valley 40, Clark 37

Lake Mead Academy 40, Foothills Christian (California) 0

Legacy 41, Canyon Springs 0

Liberty 38, Las Vegas High 0

Lincoln County 35, The Meadows 0

Pahranagat Valley 62, Beaver Dam 18

Pahrump Valley 21, Virgin Valley 14

Palo Verde 22, Silverado 6

Sloan Canyon 50, Cadence 0

Rancho 38, Western 6

Sandy Valley 40, Laughlin 14

SLAM! Nevada 24, Somerset-Losee 14

Spring Mountain 44, Indian Springs 6 (Thursday)

Spring Valley 14, Sierra Vista 7

Sunrise Mountain 18, Chaparral 17

Tonopah 64, Beatty 8

Valley 36, Eldorado 35

Week 8 schedule

All games at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted

*Denotes a league game for CCSD independent teams

Friday

Del Sol at Sunrise Mountain*, 5 p.m.

Losee at Midland Legacy (Texas) 5 p.m. PT/7 p.m. CT

Liberty at Shadow Ridge, 6 p.m.

Desert Oasis at Foothill*, 6 p.m.

Basic at Palo Verde*, 6 p.m.

Spring Valley at Clark*, 6 p.m.

Canyon Springs at Durango*, 6 p.m.

Valley at Chaparral*, 6 p.m.

Rancho at Bonanza*, 6 p.m.

Spring Mountain at Beatty, 6 p.m.

Desert Pines at Centennial*

Mojave at Arbor View*

Las Vegas High at Coronado*

Silverado at Green Valley*

Sierra Vista at Legacy*

SLAM! Nevada at Sloan Canyon

Cadence at Mater East

Boulder City at Moapa Valley

Virgin Valley at Eldorado

Cimarron-Memorial at Cheyenne*

CIVICA Academy at Steele Canyon (California)

Needles at The Meadows

Lincoln County at GV Christian

White Pine at Lake Mead Academy

Indian Springs at Tonopah

Laughlin at Pahranagat Valley

Beaver Dam at Round Mountain