5 high school football games to watch this week

Desert Pines (8-2) at Moapa Valley (9-1) — The game of the week, and maybe the Division I-A season will happen in Overton.

This is a rematch of last year's I-A state title game, and most figured they'd meet again in this year's final. But Desert Pines had to forfeit two games, knocking the Jaguars to the Sunrise League's No. 3 seed and setting up this meeting in the I-A state quarterfinals.

Desert Pines won the regular-season meeting 34-20 (and later had to forfeit), but expect Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis to have some tricks up his sleeve this time.

This game will feature some of the top athletes at any level in the state. Desert Pines' Isaiah Morris has rushed for 1,466 yards and 19 TDs, averaging 12.5 yards per carry. Moapa Valley counters with do-it-all stud R.J. Hubert, who leads the area in scoring with 162 points. Morris is second with 156.

Chaparral (8-2) at Faith Lutheran (9-1) — The area's other I-A state quarterfinal also figures to be a good matchup.

Faith Lutheran has won nine in a row, and has allowed just 10.4 points per game in that stretch.

The Crusaders have lived on takeaways this season, with 39 so far.

If Chaparral can hold onto the ball, the Cowboys have the athletes to make things interesting with Richard Nelson (16 total TDs) and quarterback Andrew Solis (1,335 passing yards, 16 TDs) leading the way.

Desert Oasis (6-3) at Palo Verde (4-5) — This is probably the most compelling of the Sunset Region's first-round playoff matchups.

The Diamondbacks haven't pulled off a signature victory yet this season, and even though Palo Verde has a sub-.500 record, a win over the Panthers certainly would count.

Palo Verde rested many starters in a 70-3 loss to Bishop Gorman last week, so it'll be interesting to see how the Panthers respond.

Legacy (3-6) at Centennial (7-2) — On the surface, this Sunset Region playoff game looks like it should be lopsided in Centennial's favor.

But the teams met in the first week of the season and the Longhorns went step-for-step with the Bulldogs, losing 27-26 on a missed extra point with 1:12 to play.

Legacy's Naim Geeslin is one of the area's top rushers, and had 220 yards the first time the teams met. If he has another big game, the Longhorns could pull off the upset.

Las Vegas (6-2, 2-1 Northeast) at Liberty (7-1, 3-0) — While the I-A and Sunset Region teams are in the playoffs, the Sunrise teams still are finishing the regular season.

This game was supposed to be for the Northeast League title, but Silverado's upset of Las Vegas last week knocked off some of the game's luster.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the Wildcats respond to their first loss since the season opener.

Second-ranked Liberty is in search of its fifth league title in the last six seasons.

Go to nevadapreps.com for a full schedule and complete scoreboard.