Thursday recap: Western gets 1st win in 749 days, plus playoff update

It had been 749 days since Western’s football team won a game. A 22-0 home win against Valley on Sept. 23, 2022, was the last time the Warriors celebrated a victory.

Western gave its homecoming crowd plenty to cheer for Thursday night.

The Warriors exploded for more than 500 rushing yards and snapped their 20-game winless drought with a 48-27 home win over Bonanza. It was the first varsity high school football win for most of Western’s team and first-year coach Brett Ridenour.

“I’m happy for the kids,” Ridenour said. “We have juniors who this is their first-ever win. We have seniors who this is their first win. … As happy as I am for myself, I’m even more happy for the kids.”

Western started 0-6, and Ridenour said he knew that was likely. But he pointed to the final three games on the Warriors’ schedule as their “money time” to get some wins and potentially move up in the standings to get a home playoff game for the first time since 2007.

Kawikakekona Ogawa had four rushing touchdowns, and Quincy Johnson scored on a 90-yard fumble recovery against Bonanza. Romeo Lujan, who finished fourth in the 400-meter dash in the Class 4A state track meet, had more than 200 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Western made a drastic change in the middle of the season. Ridenour, a product of Arbor View, put away his spread offense after a quarterback injury and hearkened back to his playing days under coach Dan Barnson and brought out the double-wing offense for the Warriors three weeks ago.

Senior offensive lineman Ryan Patane approached Ridenour and told him that he could step and play quarterback. Ridenour praised Patane for being clean under center for nearly 70 offensive plays, and he also credited captain Sean Misipeka for stepping up to play fullback and block in the new offense.

“Tonight, it was kind of weird. It wasn’t your normal win,” Ridenour said. “We scored our first touchdown four minutes into the game, and our kids were acting like they just won a ring. We had to keep them calm the whole game. So finally, when the final buzzer went off, it was like ‘What do we do?’ … It was weird because the kids had never won before, so they didn’t know how to act.”

Ridenour was the offensive coordinator at Arbor View last year and brought a lot of Aggies’ assistants over. Western has nearly 60 kids practicing after having 14 kids in its playoff game last year. Ridenour said he and his staff hit the hallways to get kids to play football and added he’s been getting a lot of interest in more kids wanting to play.

The struggles for the Warriors include starting with players who had little to no football playing experience, and having players who have family responsibilities and jobs. But Thursday’s win was an example of the hard work from Ridenour, his staff and players paying off and changing the culture at Western.

“It’s easy to judge a book by its cover … A lot of people look at Western in a certain light, but being here in the trenches on the campus with the kids at the school every day, it’s a great place,” Ridenour said. “It has great kids who could start at many different schools in the town. We’re just looking to build it.”

Playoff picture

The battles atop the 5A divisions became a little bit clearer Thursday. In 5A Division I, Bishop Gorman handed Arbor View its first loss, and the Gaels maintained their stranglehold on the top division.

Faith Lutheran defeated Legacy to remain perfect, and the Crusaders are alone atop the 5A Division II Southern League after Green Valley’s loss to Shadow Ridge. The Crusaders (7-0, 4-0) could lock up the league title with a win at Green Valley (5-2, 3-1) at 6 p.m. Friday.

Durango and Las Vegas High are on a collision course to determine the 5A Division III Southern League title Friday. The Wildcats (6-2, 3-0) host the Trailblazers (6-2, 3-0) at 6 p.m. with first place on the line.

In 4A, Losee (8-1, 5-0) has a bye next week before a showdown against Mojave (7-1, 4-0) for the Desert League title on Oct. 24. Spring Valley (6-1, 4-0) and Chaparral (5-2, 4-0) are in a tight battle atop the Mountain League.

There was a shake-up in 3A. Virgin Valley (6-2, 3-1) upset SLAM Academy (4-4, 3-1) to create a three-way tie atop the 3A Southern League with Moapa Valley (7-1, 3-1). The Pirates won at Pahrump Valley to give coach Brent Lewis his 200th career victory.

In other sports

Is anyone having a better season than Coronado’s boys soccer team? It isn’t official yet, but the Cougars (19-0, 14-0 5A Southern League) are 14 points ahead of second-place Palo Verde in the league standings and can wrap up the No. 1 seed with a win against Green Valley on Monday.

Coronado is outscoring opponents 111-9 and looking to become the second team to put together a perfect season with no ties, according to known records from the NIAA.

— Girls soccer: Parity has been the name of the game for 5A Southern League teams. Faith Lutheran (11-1-4, 7-1-4) and Bishop Gorman (12-4-1, 8-4-1) are tied in the league standings with 25 points.

Not far behind is Liberty (6-1-6, 6-1-6) with 24 points and Coronado (11-4-1, 7-4-1) with 22 points. Arbor View (20 points) and Shadow Ridge (19 points) are next.

— Girls volleyball: Bishop Gorman and Coronado are running away with their respective leagues. The Gaels (20-8, 8-0) have not dropped a set against 5A Desert League opponents, and the Cougars (14-4, 7-0) are atop the Mountain League.

Up next

Faith Lutheran at Green Valley and Durango at Las Vegas High are the marquee games next week. Other top games include Coronado at Desert Pines, Liberty hosting Foothill and Shadow Ridge playing at Silverado. All games are at 6 p.m. Friday.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.