FIELDER’S CHOICES: Time to find out if I’m a conceited punk or know my stuff
October 14, 2015 - 9:44 pm
There is a scene in the movie "White Men Can't Jump" in which one of the players at the Two-On-Two For Brotherhood Basketball Tournament corrects the way his partner talks trash.
I can't put their exact quote in a family newspaper, but it was something to the effect of, "This (stuff) is TOO easy!"
That's basically how I feel right now.
After seven weeks of prep football action, I am nailing 72 percent of my picks straight-up. Three of my losses this season came last week when I missed every play in my prop bet extravaganza. (#Karma Right, Durango fans?)
Another loss happened when Skeet picked a game, which is the last time I let him do that.
"This (stuff) is TOO easy!"
Since picking winners straight-up and against the spread isn't enough of a challenge for me, I decided to double down this week and included an over/under total with every game. Now we'll find out whether I'm just a conceited punk or actually know something about Southern Nevada prep football.
Canyon Springs at Las Vegas — The Pioneers' offense has been playing Xbox and chillin' for the past month. Canyon Springs has scored 41 points during its four-game losing streak, and more than half of those points came in a 45-21 loss at Foothill on Oct. 2.
The Wildcats haven't allowed a point since Sept. 18, which is pretty spectacular until you realize Las Vegas had a bye last week and the scoreless streak works out to 97 minutes, 9 seconds of game time. I take showers longer than that. ... Las Vegas by 10 (under 46).
Green Valley at Coronado — The Gators' running game has faltered the past two games, save for Kawika Jones' 74-yard TD run against Basic last week. But at least Green Valley found a playmaker at receiver in sophomore Marquez Powell. The sophomore has 18 catches for 209 yards and four TDs in his past three games.
The Cougars had a bye last week, giving them a chance to regroup after a 43-0 debacle at Las Vegas on Oct. 2. Coronado was so out of sorts against Vegas that, at one point, Cougars coach William Froman forgot he had declined a penalty 30 seconds earlier. ... Green Valley by 5 (over 54).
Clark at Mojave — It looks like the Chargers and Rattlers will battle with Spring Valley for the final two playoff berths in the Division I-A Sunset League. That's a relief since last season the Sunset dealt us a train wreck of a five-team tiebreaker.
The Chargers have won two straight, while injuries are catching up to Mojave. The Rattlers lost leading rusher Elijah Smoot to a season-ending injury last week and could be down to their third-string quarterback Friday. Almost sounds like the Dallas Cowboys. ... Clark by 4 (under 38).
Bishop Gorman at Legacy — Two years ago, the Gaels went to Legacy and won only 31-18. This is another classic letdown spot for Gorman, which will have one eye on next week's showdown with Don Bosco Prep (N.J.).
The Longhorns are unbeaten in the Southwest League, so this is a battle for first place. It's sort of like the match between Seth Rollins and Sting at WWE Night of Champions last month. We all knew "The Architect" was going to win, but they still had to call it a WWE world heavyweight title match. ... Gorman by 46 (over 63).
Desert Pines at Rancho — Welcome to the Forfeit Bowl. It's too bad Quest Academy (two forfeit losses) isn't playing Calvary Chapel (three forfeits). We could have dropped some burgers and hot links on the grill and just and made it a doubleheader.
The Jaguars' two forfeits for using an ineligible player mean they can't finish better than third in the Division I-A Sunrise League. That's bad news down the line for the second-place finisher in the Sunset League and even worse news for the Rams, who will get an angry Desert Pines squad this week. ... Desert Pines by 50 (over 65½).
Del Sol at Sunrise Mountain — The Dragons will try to play spoiler as Sunrise Mountain looks to clinch its first playoff berth in school history.
The Miners are fourth in the Sunrise League and riding a three-game winning streak. They also have five wins this year, which is one more than they accumulated in the past five seasons combined. The stats and info department deserves a raise for digging up that tidbit. ... Sunrise Mountain by 7 (under 48).
Cimarron-Memorial at Desert Oasis — Another game, another spot where one team can clinch a playoff berth. In this case, it's the Diamondbacks that punch their ticket to the postseason.
The Spartans put up a fight last week against Centennial and have shown improvement under interim coach Dave Snyder Jr. If Tyree Riley, the area's second-leading rusher, can keep the Diamondbacks' offense on the sideline, Cimarron has a shot. ... Desert Oasis by 6 (over 48).
Eldorado at Basic — Quite frankly, it was either this game or the Division III Southern League tussle involving Lincoln Country and Needles. But I don't know anything about Division III, and I decided to write about the Sundevils for the first time this season.
Eldorado has a nice wide receiver duo with Shane Barnes (29 receptions, 583 yards and four TDs) and Carl Crayon (25, 338 and 4). It also has one of the most unusual team statistics I've seen: three backs between 113 and 119 yards rushing this season. OK, maybe that's not quite as weird as what happens after you eat the Halloween Whopper, but it's still kind of funky. ... Basic by 14 (over 46).
Last week: 7-3, 5-2 (with points)
Season: 42-16, 37-17-1 (with points)
— Contact Fielder at Fielder@nevadapreps.com. Follow him: @FielderNVP