Nevada Preps: Top 5 football games for Week 11

All games at 6 p.m.

Faith Lutheran at Bishop Gorman

Even Gorman coach Brent Browner didn’t expect to face the Crusaders, who were upset 34-31 by Green Valley last week. Faith Lutheran (6-3) better figure things out in a hurry. The Crusaders have lost three of four games. Quite a drop from their 5-0 start. They are potentially a bigger challenge than Gorman (9-1) would typically expect to face in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. But it’s still Gorman, which hasn’t allowed a point through 21 quarters.

Palo Verde at Desert Pines

Desert Pines gave Liberty all it could handle last week before losing 16-7, dropping the Jaguars (7-2) to the second seed in the 5A Mountain League. That makes a deep postseason run considerably more difficult given Gorman is the likely Southern Region semifinal opponent for the winner of this game. Desert Pines should be that team to face the Gaels, but Palo Verde (5-5) has shown a resilience in making the playoffs and should not be overlooked.

Foothill at Liberty

After that victory over Desert Pines, Liberty (6-3) appears to be on a collision course with Gorman to represent the South in the 5A state title game. The Patriots shouldn’t have much trouble getting past Foothill (3-7), which comes off a 75-0 loss to the Gaels. Liberty has won five games in a row using a strong mix of juniors and seniors. A quality veteran team this time of year is always dangerous.

Green Valley at Arbor View

Who can figure out Green Valley? The Gators are 3-6, but have beaten Faith Lutheran and 8-2 Basic, and given 7-2 Coronado and Desert Pines tough games. They didn’t, however, provide Arbor View (8-1) much of a challenge when they met Sept. 16. The Aggies won 34-0. That was a typical Arbor View game. The Aggies have won seven games by at least 32 points.

Sunrise Mountain at Coronado

The Class 4A top seeds have first-round byes, and Coronado is the top team in action. The Cougars pulled out difficult victories the past two weeks in beating Spring Valley 21-19 and Sierra Vista 12-7. Defense is why Coronado is the top No. 2 seed in 4A that the No. 1s (other than Silverado) don’t want to face. Sunrise Mountain (4-6) enters the playoffs off one-sided losses to Silverado and Cimarron-Memorial.

Mark Anderson Las Vegas Review-Journal