Coronado’s football team was blown out by 42 points by Liberty last season, but this year the tides turned in the Cougars’ favor.
Coronado pulled off perhaps the biggest surprise of the season so far with a 47-7 rout of Liberty on Sept. 20. The result shook up the 5A Division I standings and took some of the shine off the Patriots’ highly anticipated matchup with Bishop Gorman on Friday.
The Cougars, ranked No. 3 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, host No. 2 Arbor View at 6 p.m. Friday. There’s still half a season left for both teams, but the winner could set itself up for the No. 2 seed in the 5A Division I state playoffs and earn an easier path to the state title game.
Coronado coach Shawn Dupris said his team took about 12 hours to celebrate one of the biggest wins in program history. He said the mood felt a bit like a “sigh of relief.”
The Cougars (3-1, 1-0 5A Division I) now have another chance to add a signature win against a local football power in Arbor View (4-0, 1-0). They can also avenge an ugly 38-0 loss from last season.
“(We’ve learned) the level that we have to play at and the physicality that we have to play at to play with those good programs or good teams,” Dupris said.
Aggies coach Marlon Barnett said he was “a little shocked, but not too shocked” when he saw Coronado’s score last week. Arbor View has long been behind Gorman and Liberty among Southern Nevada prep football powerhouses, but a win on Friday could clear the way for the program’s first state title game.
“(We’re focused on) execution and putting those guys in uncomfortable situations to make them feel comfortable, which is what we’ve done,” said Barnett, who’s in his first season at Arbor View.
Dynamic QBs
There won’t be a shortage of talent when the Aggies and Cougars clash.
Friday’s game features two of the state’s top quarterbacks in Arbor View’s Thaddeus Thatcher and Coronado’s Aiden Krause. Thatcher, a sophomore, has passed for 1,246 yards and 16 touchdowns. Krause, a senior, has 1,005 yards through the air and 11 touchdown passes.
Dupris said Krause, a Georgetown commit, showed a lot of maturity against Liberty.
“He’s understanding that he doesn’t have to hit a home run every time,” Dupris said. “He can check down or take off and run and make those smart decisions.”
Thatcher has the attention of several Division I programs thanks to his production in Barnett’s Air Raid offense. Thatcher has tons of weapons at the skill positions like sophomore receiver Damani Warren.
“Everybody eats in this offense,” Barnett said. “It’s hard for teams to pinpoint one guy. We tell our receivers and running backs that all five guys are eligible to touch the ball — that’s how we’re going to be balanced — whether it goes to Damani or Jayden Williams or Kai Cypher or Zac Fares.”
Arbor View opened up 5A Division I league play with a 35-7 win against Basic last week. The Aggies forced four interceptions, but Barnett said he was just as impressed with his team’s running game. Arbor View finished with more than 150 rushing yards.
“I’m a firm believer that you throw the ball to score and run to win,” Barnett said. “I’m an Air Raid guy through and through, but at the end of the day sometimes you have to run it out and trust your backs and your o-line to do what they do, and that’s what we did last week.”
Not looking ahead
Arbor View could have the edge Friday based on the transitive property.
The Aggies defeated Lincoln (California) 45-44 on Aug. 24. Coronado lost 38-14 to Lincoln on Sept. 6.
Still, the Cougars showed they’ve grown with their win over Liberty. Dupris said he’s been getting a lot of texts and calls from people in the community, but he said he’s told his team to avoid the outside noise. He knows the group is in for another tough test.
“We can’t buy into that,” Dupris said. “That one’s over and we’re trying to do the same thing this week.”
Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
