FIELDER’S CHOICES: Rivalry games salvage slate of duds

The computer — or maybe it's just numbers pulled from a hat — used by the Clark County School District to create the prep football schedule typically spits out a few good matchups each week.

But every once in a while, the schedule sets up for an unavoidable dud. And this week's slate is uglier than my aunt's Mexican Hairless dog.

Woof.

Consider: Less than half of the 20 Division I teams have winning records, and two of them (Arbor View and Las Vegas) have a bye this week.

Luckily, there are two rivalry games to help make up for the dearth of quality action elsewhere.

Basic heads across town to face Green Valley in the Henderson Bowl, and that means a traffic jam on Warm Springs Road. Moapa Valley visits Virgin Valley in the annual battle for the "Victory Hammer," and that means an even bigger traffic jam out in Mesquite.

My streak of three straight 7-1 records came to an end last week, but I still managed to hit better than 50 percent of my picks.

Basic at Green Valley — The Wolves have dropped four straight against their neighbors to the west, including last year's 42-32 loss to Green Valley when the lights went out at the start of the fourth quarter. Talk about symbolism.

The Gators' defense hasn't exactly been "lights out" this season, giving up 39.4 points per game. Do they have any available bandwidth to try to slow down Basic? I doubt it. ... Basic by 7.

Cheyenne at Mojave — In case you didn't believe me about how bad the schedule is this week, check this out: There are 15 games in Division I and I-A, and this is the only one involving two teams with better than .500 records. On the bright side, the winner will be alone in second place in the I-A Sunset League.

The Desert Shields have scored 111 points during their current two-game winning streak, while Mojave has allowed seven or fewer points in four of its six games. That means we could see a first-team-to-20-points-wins kind of game. Those are always fun. ... Cheyenne by 2.

Moapa Valley at Virgin Valley — Longtime readers know I'm a huge fan of this game. In fact, this might be my favorite rivalry in all of Southern Nevada, just ahead of The Killers vs. Imagine Dragons.

The defending I-A state champion Pirates have won 10 straight against their rival and almost always have a trick play or two ready for Virgin Valley. The Bulldogs are on a two-game losing streak and need all the help they can get, so here's my advice: Don't kick the ball to R.J. Hubert. ... Moapa Valley by 18.

Desert Oasis at Bonanza — Both of these teams sit 0-1 in the Northwest League, and with four of the league's five teams qualifying for the Sunset Region playoffs, the winner of this game is nearly assured of reaching the postseason.

Diamondbacks senior Ty'shun McClinton is second in Southern Nevada with 899 yards rushing, and Bonanza wide receiver R.J. McCarter has an area-leading 32 catches for 525 yards. Those numbers are neat and all, but the only one that matters is four. As in the Bengals' losing streak after Friday. ... Desert Oasis by 6.

Durango at Bishop Gorman — Setting a line on this game is pointless, so let's have some fun with what is sure to be a blowout.

Prop bet No. 1: Which will be greater, Gorman's total points or the Trailblazers' total yards? ... Gorman total points.

Prop bet No. 2: Who scores more points, Gaels kicker Derek Ng or Durango and Valley (vs. Silverado) combined? ... Ng.

Prop bet No. 3: Which will be greater, Durango's total points or the number of quarters played by Calvary Chapel against Laughlin? ... Calvary Chapel quarters played.

Spring Valley at Pahrump Valley — If you go strictly by records, this is the second-best game of the week behind the Cheyenne-Mojave contest.

The Grizzlies are 4-2 overall after their two-game winning streak was snapped by Mojave last week, while Pahrump is 3-3. That means the winner has the inside to the postseason, though you never know what can happen in the topsy-turvy Sunset League.

Spring Valley has a big-play receiver in Antony Vazquez, who is tied with Bonanza's McCarter for the area lead in receptions. That's usually a good thing to have on the road. ... Spring Valley by 3.

Shadow Ridge at Palo Verde — Poor, Mustangs. Shadow Ridge has played five consecutive ranked foes, including Bishop Gorman last week, and now it gets a hungry Panthers team coming off a bye.

Palo Verde has lost four straight, which might be a school record. It's definitely the Panthers' longest skid since 2004. The stats and info department had to dig deep into the record book for that tidbit, but it was worth it because the Panthers aren't dropping five in a row. ... Palo Verde by 7.

Spring Mountain at Pahranagat Valley — If I'm writing about Division IV, that means the Golden Eagles are headed to Alamo to try to halt the Panthers' winning streak.

Pahranagat Valley's streak is up to 86 games, and the Panthers are closing in on the national record for eight-man football, which is 92 straight by Shattuck (Okla.) from 2003 to 2009. If my math is correct, that means the Panthers can break the record with a win in the state title game. ... Pahranagat Valley by 21.

Last week: 5-3, 5-3 (with points)

Season: 35-13, 32-15-1 (with points)

Contact Fielder at Fielder@nevadapreps.com. Follow him: @FielderNVP