Liberty-Basic showdown tops high school football games to watch tonight

Here are five games to watch in Week 10 of the high school football season.

Liberty (7-1, 4-0 Southeast League) at Basic (6-2, 3-1) — To the winner goes the spoils, and the Southeast League title. With their national ranking, it seemed as if the Patriots would run away with the league title, but the Wolves have lost just once against Southeast opponents — a 37-35 stunner against Foothill last week. This game might come down to which quarterback plays better. The Patriots’ Kenyon Oblad leads Southern Nevada with 2,622 passing yards, and Basic’s Aaron McAllister is second with 2,325. McAllister leads with 31 touchdown passes, and Oblad is third with 25. 

Foothill (4-4, 2-2 Southeast League) at Green Valley (4-4, 1-3) — Thursday’s winner is in the playoffs, and the loser heads home. The Falcons are rolling after upsetting Basic last week and need just one more win to reach the postseason for the 16th time in the past 17 seasons. A win by Green Valley would send the Gators to their sixth consecutive playoff berth. Green Valley started 3-1 but has struggled in league play, which would be forgotten with a win Thursday. The winner will hit the road to face Northeast League champion Canyon Springs next week.

Chaparral (4-5) at Cheyenne (5-4) — While Class 4A is still finding out who its playoff teams will be, Class 3A postseason begins Thursday. The best matchup might be between the high-flying Cowboys and the ground-and-pound Desert Shields. Chaparral’s Kentrell Petite and Devin Gaddy have combined to receive 84 percent of quarterback Santiago Vialpando’s 2,046 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. Cheyenne’s top rusher, Deriontae Green, has rushed nearly as many times (92) as quarterback Matthew LaBonte has completions (95). Green and Corwin Bush have combined for 1,147 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns.

Pahrump Valley (6-3) at Moapa Valley (6-3) — One team to the west, one to the east, one trending up from last year, one with a down year, meeting in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. The Trojans missed the playoffs last year and every year since 2012, while the Pirates won the league and finished second in the state but are the Sunrise Region’s No. 2 seed this year. The Pirates were decimated by graduation, but Jacob Leavitt is still there, and he rushed for 18 touchdowns. Pahrump will need to rely on its defense, a unit that gave up more than 30 points only three times all season and held opponents to three touchdowns or less the other six times.

Beatty (7-1, 5-1 Class 1A Southern League) at Pahranagat Valley (8-0, 6-0) — The streak still lives, and the Hornets have the final chance to squash it in the regular season. The Panthers have won 101 consecutive games and have only once had a game end within four points. Beatty represents the best chance to beat Pahranagat, which will enter the postseason as the favorite to win its ninth straight state championship.

Visit nevadapreps.com for a full schedule and complete scoreboard.