The dust has settled on a wild regular season for most Nevada high school football teams.
Three league title races went down to the final week, and several other games drastically impacted playoff seeding.
Now the attention turns to the postseason.
The Class 5A Division II and III Southern League, 4A Desert and Mountain League and 3A Southern League playoffs begin Friday with league quarterfinals. There’s still a week left in the regular season for Class 5A Division I.
Several teams have secured first-round byes and will get an extra week of rest: Faith Lutheran, the 5A Division II Southern League champion; 5A Division III Southern champion Centennial and second-place Las Vegas High; and 4A league champions Mojave (Desert) and Spring Valley (Mountain).
Highlighting Thursday night’s results with playoff implications was the race for the 5A Division III Southern title. Centennial (4-5, 4-1) pulled off a 36-28 win at Las Vegas High (7-3, 4-1), and Desert Oasis blew past Durango 35-6 to give Centennial the league title.
Centennial won the 4A state title last season and moved up to 5A Division III. The Bulldogs started 0-4 and then won four of their final five games, all against league opponents, to get the title.
Desert Oasis’ win makes the Diamondbacks (6-3, 3-2) the No. 3 seed in the Southern playoffs, and Durango (6-4, 3-2) will be the No. 4 seed.
Here’s how the playoffs look across the other leagues:
5A Division I
Arbor View defeated Liberty 31-28 to claim the No. 2 seed. It’s the first win for the Aggies over Liberty since 2011.
The Patriots (3-6, 2-3) had long been the state’s second-best team behind Bishop Gorman, but the Aggies (7-1, 4-1) have emerged this season as the clear No. 2 behind the Gaels.
“Not being from Vegas originally, you don’t truly know the rivals,” Arbor View coach Marlon Barnett said Thursday. “Hearing the rivalry from the teachers, admin, our players, especially our seniors and parents, I’m super happy for these dudes. I’m happy they were able to overcome some adversity during this game and just bust their butts.”
Bishop Gorman (8-1, 5-0) plays at Coronado (6-3, 4-1) at 6 p.m. Friday. A win and the Gaels officially clinch the league title and a first-round bye. Coronado would be the No. 3 seed.
5A Division II
Faith Lutheran defeated Palo Verde 55-15 on Thursday to remain perfect. But the more interesting race was behind the Crusaders (9-0, 6-0), as Legacy, Shadow Ridge and Green Valley finished in a three-way tie for second place.
Legacy (6-4, 4-2) got the No. 2 seed on head-to-head point differential in games against Shadow Ridge (7-3, 4-2) and Green Valley (6-3, 4-2). Shadow Ridge is the No. 3 seed and Green Valley is the No. 4 seed since the Mustangs defeated the Gators 42-36 in the regular season.
4A
Mojave (9-1, 6-0) clinched the Desert League title with a 32-21 road win at Losee (8-2, 5-1) in a first-place battle. Spring Valley (7-2, 5-1) had already wrapped up the Mountain League title but lost 14-7 to Chaparral on Thursday.
Up next
Highlighting the playoff action is No. 4 Green Valley hosting No. 5 Palo Verde and No. 6 Sierra Vista playing at No. 3 Shadow Ridge in the 5A Division II Southern League quarterfinals. No. 2 Legacy hosts No. 7 Silverado in the other quarterfinal.
Durango hosts fifth-seeded Clark in the 5A Division III Southern League quarterfinals, and Desert Oasis hosts No. 6 Sunrise Mountain.
In 4A, Losee, the No. 2 seed, hosts No. 7 Rancho in the Desert League quarterfinals, and No. 5 seed Western plays at No. 4 Cheyenne in another Desert quarterfinal. The Warriors (2-7, 2-4) won their first game in 749 days when they defeated Bonanza 48-27 on Oct. 10. Western beat Rancho 42-7 on Thursday.
To conclude the 5A Division I regular season, Liberty plays at Basic and Foothill hosts Arbor View.
Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Week 11 scores
Arbor View 31, Liberty 28
Bishop Gorman 61, Desert Pines 0
Canyon Springs 54, Valley 6
Centennial 36, Las Vegas 28
Chaparral 14, Spring Valley 7
Cimarron-Memorial 21, Cheyenne 6
Clark 42, Sunrise Mountain 6
Coronado 29, Foothill 15
Desert Oasis 35, Durango 6
Eldorado 27, Cadence 0
Faith Lutheran 55, Palo Verde 15
Green Valley 35, Silverado 14
Laughlin 40, Beaver Dam 14
Moapa Valley 27, Virgin Valley 7
Mojave 32, Losee 21
Pahrump Valley 55, Boulder City 20
Shadow Ridge 42, Sierra Vista 0
Western 42, Rancho 7
Week 12 schedule
All games at 6 p.m. Friday unless otherwise noted
Regular season
Bishop Gorman at Coronado
Liberty at Basic
Arbor View at Foothill
Needles at Lake Mead Academy
Playoffs
5A Division II Southern League quarterfinals
No. 5 Palo Verde at No. 4 Green Valley
No. 7 Silverado at No. 2 Legacy
No. 6 Sierra Vista at No. 3 Shadow Ridge
No. 1 Faith Lutheran: Bye to the semifinals
5A Division III Southern League quarterfinals
No. 5 Clark at No. 4 Durango
No. 6 Sunrise Mountain at No. 3 Desert Oasis
No. 1 Centennial and No. 2 Las Vegas High: Byes to semifinals
4A Desert League quarterfinals
No. 5 Western at No. 4 Cheyenne
No. 7 Rancho at No. 2 Losee
No. 6 Bonanza at No. 3 Cimarron-Memorial
No. 1 Mojave: Bye to semifinals
4A Mountain League quarterfinals
No. 5 Cadence at No. 4 Eldorado
No. 7 Valley at No. 2 Canyon Springs
No. 6 Del Sol at No. 3 Chaparral
No. 1 Spring Valley: Bye to semifinals
