High school football rewind: The pageantry returns

Everything was right with the world Friday night.

The pageantry of high school football returned to Southern Nevada in full force. It was all there, the bands, the cheerleaders and the fans in the stands.

And for Clark County School District teams, there was the undeniable scent of fresh artificial turf after the district installed or repaired new turf fields at all of its high schools.

No, the first week of football didn’t go off without a hitch. Three games were canceled in Southern Nevada: Legacy-Faith Lutheran, Sunrise Mountain-Pahrump Valley and Bonanza-Cheyenne. But it could have been worse.

As an email from a coach Friday morning said, “We were an inch from not playing today.”

A Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association spokesman told the Review-Journal on Friday that games in different sports were canceled statewide for various reasons, including COVID concerns, brush fires and a shortage of players.

Those issues will be delved into deeper over the next week, but this isn’t the space for that.

This is a space for celebration. Football and fall high school sports are back. Week 1 might not have been perfect, but it was a lot better than the nothingness of last fall.

With that in mind, let’s look at some of what transpired in the opening week.

Impressive opening statements

Making too much of an opener is always dangerous. That’s especially true this season, with most teams not having played since 2019, not to mention the aforementioned impediments.

Still, a few teams and players stood out, starting with a familiar face.

Cam Barfield ran for 136 yards and five touchdowns to lead Bishop Gorman to a 42-21 win over another national power in St. Louis from Hawaii. The Gaels reeled off 28 unanswered points after the game was tied at 14.

It took a while for Liberty to get rolling against an always-tough Arbor View squad. But the Patriots pulled away for a 42-14 win, led by a defense that limited Arbor View to 88 yards of offense.

Despite the loss, the Aggies had one of the night’s biggest plays anywhere, opening the game with Tanner Aitken’s 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Green Valley and Desert Pines also got off to impressive starts in Class 5A play, and Shadow Ridge made an early 4A statement with a 31-22 win over 5A Centennial.

In 3A, Boulder City, Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley cruised in games that ended up with a running clock in the second half.

Game of the night

Let’s go back to Thursday. Desert Oasis’ 9-8 win over Spring Valley wasn’t a work of art by any stretch.

But it was the first fall high school football game in Nevada in two years. For all its faults, it was competitive. It also had a redemption story, as Zion Gonsalves missed an extra point in the first quarter but drilled a 42-yard field goal that proved to be the game winner.

“These kids got a year stripped away from them, so I feel great for the kids,” Desert Oasis coach Brant Smith said. “They deserve this.”

They certainly do.

Liberty to take on the best

For the fourth straight year, Liberty will play in the Polynesian Classic at Bishop Gorman. The Patriots’ opponent on Friday, Sept. 10, just won’t be the one they originally expected.

East High in Utah won’t be allowed to travel and was forced to drop out, but Liberty coach Rich Muraco kept the game on the schedule and looked for a new opponent. The one he found? Mater Dei (California), ranked by some outlets as the No. 1 team in the nation.

“It’s not easy to find a team that could come in late notice like that,” Muraco said. “It ties your hands because there aren’t a lot of teams looking for games in August. But Mater Dei lost a game because their opponent couldn’t travel. As I’ve said before, I like to challenge our program and play the best.”

Early look ahead

On Friday, Gorman will play a rare in-state game in nonleague play, hosting Bishop Manogue from Reno. The last time those teams met, the Gaels cruised to a 69-26 win in the 2018 Class 4A state championship game.

Arbor View will look to rebound, hosting a Faith Lutheran team whose opener against Legacy was canceled. Shadow Ridge heads to Silverado in a battle of 1-0 teams that are among the favorites for the 4A championship.

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.