Top 5 high school football games for Week 5

All games at 6 p.m. Thursday unless otherwise noted

Desert Pines at Shadow Ridge

Desert Pines flexed its muscles on the ground, scoring four rushing touchdowns in its 35-14 win over Silverado in its 5A Division I opener. UNLV commit Greg Burrell had two of those scores and had a sack on defense, one of five for the Jaguars (2-1). Containing Shadow Ridge’s ground attack will be key for Desert Pines.

Shadow Ridge (3-1) fell behind 17-0 at halftime against Arbor View and couldn’t recover in a 45-28 defeat. The Mustangs, who entered last week averaging 378 rushing yards per game, were limited to 188 yards and 4.8 yards per carry last week while having a season-high 135 passing yards.

Faith Lutheran at Basic

Faith Lutheran snapped a two-game losing streak with a 30-14 win over Green Valley in its 5A Division II league opener. Defense was key last week. Faith Lutheran compiled 11 sacks and 21 tackles for loss. The Crusaders (2-2) continued their two-quarterback system with Alex Rogers throwing for 129 yards and a touchdown and Garyt Odom rushing for 95 yards.

Basic opened league play with a 14-13 road win at Sierra Vista last Thursday. The Wolves (2-1) had two interceptions, one came on the game’s final play as Zuri Whiters intercepted a Sierra Vista pass in the end zone to seal the win. Basic has limited opponents to 13 points in each of its last two games.

Legacy at Foothill, 7 p.m.

Foothill looks like the favorite in 5A Division II behind quarterback Mason Dew, who threw four touchdown passes in its 47-7 win over Durango in its league opener. The Falcons (3-1) take a break from league play this week when they play at Legacy on the Thursday Night Lights television game.

Legacy (1-2) got its first win last week in a 49-6 rout of Cimarron-Memorial in its 5A Division III league opener. Running back Phoenix Jennings rushed for 119 yards and four touchdowns. The Longhorns added two defensive touchdowns, an interception return for a score by Dominic Oliver, and Tobias Carrington-Pauley scored after recovering a fumble.

SLAM Academy at Moapa Valley, 7 p.m.

Moapa Valley is the standard in 3A, and last season charter school SLAM Academy, then in its fifth year playing football, reached the 3A state title game. The South’s two state semifinalists from last year will meet in a matchup that will determine who the favorite will be in the restructured eight-team, one-division 3A Southern League.

Moapa Valley (3-1) downed new 3A member and reigning 2A state champion The Meadows 51-7 last week. SLAM Academy (2-1) rolled to a 33-6 win over Pahrump Valley. Moapa Valley defeated SLAM Academy 29-13 last season and should have an edge with its home-field advantage in Overton.

Liberty at Bishop Gorman, 7 p.m.

We won’t have to wait for the playoffs to see the state’s two best teams collide. They have only met once in the regular season, when Gorman rolled to a 70-0 victory in 2003. Gorman rolled to a 56-14 victory at Liberty last season in the 5A Southern Region title game. Liberty remains the only Nevada team to beat Gorman since 2009 when the Patriots pulled off a 30-24 upset victory in overtime in the 2019 4A Desert Region title game on their way to the state title.

The Gaels (4-0), ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps and USA Today, wrapped up their nonleague schedule with a 56-28 win over No. 21 Centennial (California). All four of their wins were against out-of-state opponents, three ranked nationally by MaxPreps. The Patriots (3-1) opened up 5A Division I league play with a 49-7 rout of Coronado and have out-of-state wins against Hawaii schools St. Louis and Campbell.

Alex Wright Las Vegas Review-Journal