High school football playoff field set after wild week

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 awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.