FIELDER’S CHOICE: Must see TV? Or another blowout?
It took moving all of the football games to Thursday night to finally get a close game on television.
Before Las Vegas High’s fourth-quarter rally last week, it seemed like “Thursday Night Lights” needed to be renamed “Blowout Central.”
Getting our classmates on television is a good concept, and it’s hard to blame the TV people for wanting teams like Palo Verde, Bishop Gorman and Silverado on. After all, they are the teams most people want to see (win or lose).
That said, the matchups haven’t been good ones. The first three games were decided by an average of 36.7 points (math credit, please).
It’s not always easy in July or August to know who is going to be competitive in September, but it seems like someone could have done a better job of picking games that aren’t decided by halftime.
And that leads us to this week.
Desert Oasis (2-1, 1-1) at Bishop Gorman (4-0, 3-0)
Um, wasn’t I just talking about this?
Desert Oasis is a much, much better team now than it was a year ago at this time. The Snakes are in position to contend for a playoff spot in the Southwest after Elijah Mitchell’s three-touchdown second half against Bonanza last week.
But at least for the moment there is one team in the Southwest that is way, way above everyone else. Gorman has outscored its opponents by a combined 191-20, including last week’s come-from-behind 62-6 win over Sierra Vista.
The kicker is those were all road games for Notre Dame West, which finally gets its first home game and a chance to break in the end zones.
There will be close games this week. I just can’t see this being one of them. Gorman by 24.
