Nevada high school football state championship game matchups set

14 Oct 2023

A three-month-long grind for 14 teams that started in the 100-degree heat in August will end under crisp fall skies.

And, for some, on the state’s grandest football field.

The matchups for all seven high school football state championship games are set.

Allegiant Stadium will host four title games on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Highlighting the quadrupleheader is Bishop Gorman (10-1) and Arbor View (10-1) facing off for the Class 5A Division I crown at 7 p.m.

The other state title games at Allegiant are:

■ 1A: Pahranagat Valley vs. Tonopah, 9 a.m.

■ 3A: SLAM Academy vs. Truckee, 12:20 p.m.

■ 4A: Canyon Springs vs. Mojave, 3:40 p.m.

The state title action gets started in Reno on Saturday when Faith Lutheran and Bishop Manogue meet for the second consecutive year for the 5A Division II state title at 1:30 p.m. at McQueen High School. The 2A title game between Northern schools Pershing County and Incline will also be held at McQueen at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Centennial will take on Galena in the 5A Division III title game at noon Nov. 25 at Bishop Gorman.

Arbor View made program history Friday night. The second-seeded Aggies showcased their running back depth and pulled away in the second half for a 37-21 home win over No. 3 Coronado to advance to the school’s first football state title game.

Even as the Aggies celebrated the accomplishment, coach Marlon Barnett made sure to remind his team to not be content with just reaching the state title game.

“It feels great, but I just told the guys that the job’s not finished,” Barnett said.

Breakthrough season

Arbor View has been one of the top programs in the state over the past decade behind Gorman and Liberty. But this year, in Barnett’s first season, the Aggies defeated Liberty for the first time since 2011 in the regular season and beat Coronado in the regular season and postseason to earn their shot at the title.

“When I got the job and we had our team meeting, I told them our vision is to be a championship contender from Day 1,” Barnett said. “We’re right in the spot where we said we would be.”

Bishop Gorman is right where it was expected to be. The Gaels are looking for their fourth straight state title and 15th since 2007.

On Friday, Gorman faced Liberty in a rematch of last year’s title game. Though the state powerhouses met a round earlier than expected, the result was the same, as the Gaels romped to a 49-3 victory.

While Arbor View’s air-raid attack and deep running back room have been impressive, Gorman’s offense is in a class of its own. The Gaels showed that against Liberty, racking up 463 yards of offense, led by 306 passing yards from quarterback Maika Eugenio.

Last year, Gorman had an 18-day layoff between the state semifinals and title game since 5A Division I is a seven-team, all-Southern classification. There won’t be a long layoff this time since the regular season for 5A Division I teams ended a week later than other teams.

Gorman coach Brent Browner isn’t a fan of his team having a first-round bye and having only one playoff game before the state title game, leaving the Gaels with a maximum of 12 games under this alignment.

“That is a weird dynamic,” Browner said Friday. “I don’t want a bye first round. I’d rather play somebody first round, play the second round. Let’s just go into it like we did before and get more games for the kids. But playing (Liberty) made it exciting and made it worth it.”

Maybe that will get fixed during realignment. But let’s not worry about that headache right now.

There’s still one more week of great high school football action to enjoy.

Title game breakdown

■ 5A Division II: The game of the week is this title game between Faith Lutheran (11-0) and Manogue (9-3). The schools met for last year’s title, and Manogue pulled away for a 40-21 win at Allegiant Stadium. The Crusaders stopped a Shadow Ridge 2-point conversion in overtime to pull off a thrilling 35-34 overtime win Friday to claim the Southern League title.

■ 5A Division III: Centennial (6-5) has a chance to win a second straight title in a different classification. The Bulldogs won the 4A title last year and moved up to 5A Division III this season. On Friday, Centennial rolled to its fifth straight win, 34-7 over Desert Oasis, to advance to face Northern champion Galena (9-2). Last season, Galena lost to Legacy for the 5A Division III title.

■ 4A: Mojave (11-1) and Canyon Springs (8-5) are seeking their first football state titles in program history. Mojave rolled to a 34-0 win over Canyon Springs on Aug. 30.

Mojave came up with a late red-zone stop to hold off Losee 14-10 in the Desert League title game Friday. Linebacker AJ Tuitele, a Washington State commit, is third in the state with 143 tackles. Canyon Springs emerged from a wide-open Mountain League and rolled past Eldorado 41-21 for the league title.

■ 3A: SLAM Academy (8-4) will get another shot at Northern power Truckee (12-0). The Bulls have lost to the Wolverines — winners of 34 straight — in the past two 3A title games. SLAM Academy lost its first three games of the season but has lost just once since the start of September.

Week 14 scores

5A Division I state semifinals

No. 1 Bishop Gorman 49, No. 4 Liberty 3

No. 2 Arbor View 37, No. 3 Coronado 21

5A Division II Southern League final

No. 1 Faith Lutheran 35, No. 3 Shadow Ridge 34 (OT)

5A Division III Southern League final

No. 1 Centennial 34, No. 3 Desert Oasis 7

4A Desert League final

No. 1 Mojave 14, No. 2 Losee 10

4A Mountain League final

No. 2 Canyon Springs 41, No. 4 Eldorado 21