Prep football cancellations could have impact on playoffs

A week aft nary games were canceled for the archetypal clip this season, COVID-19 reared its disfigured caput again Friday.

Two games were canceled — a Class 5A Desert League matchup betwixt Arbor View and Foothill and the 4A clash betwixt Chaparral and Sunrise Mountain.

There person been 35 games canceled this play successful Southern Nevada, but lone 3 person been league games. Along with the 2 from Friday, the 4A Mountain League opener betwixt Durango and Del Sol was canceled 2 weeks ago.

This is the 3rd cancellation for Foothill, and this 1 came connected the time the crippled was scheduled aft affirmative trial results astatine Arbor View.

“We’ve been a unfortunate of this 3 times,” Foothill manager Vernon Brown said. “The archetypal time, Desert Pines had problems. Against Basic, it was us, and past Friday. It’s been pugnacious connected us. It’s hard connected the kids. They were truly excited astir this crippled and had a large week of practice.”

The cancellation keeps Foothill 2-0 successful league play, a half-game down 3-0 Bishop Gorman, with games against Canyon Springs and Gorman left. Arbor View is 1-1, with games against Legacy and Canyon Springs remaining.

Should the teams decorativeness with the aforesaid record, the archetypal tiebreaker usually would beryllium a head-to-head result. Without that, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association would person to beryllium creative, due to the fact that determination isn’t capable clip to let for immoderate games to beryllium made up.

An NIAA spokesperson said Saturday the relation has “criteria successful place,” and that immoderate of its procedures already person been utilized due to the fact that of COVID-19 cancellations during the spring.

The teams’ records against communal opponents and the constituent differentials successful those games are among factors that could beryllium utilized to interruption the tie. If each other fails, and it is deadlocked successful each conceivable way, a coin flip could determine it.

“It was pugnacious losing Friday’s crippled being that it was a league game, but astatine the extremity of the day, we’re inactive undefeated successful league play astatine this point,” Brown said. “If we tin triumph adjacent week, we’ll decidedly person a playoff spot, and we’ll beryllium successful a bully presumption going into the Gorman game.”

It’s apt Foothill is already successful the playoffs, and Arbor View should beryllium 1 triumph away. The cancellations could wounded Chaparral, Del Sol, Durango and Sunrise Mountain much than the 5A teams, since nary of them has won a league crippled and chances are moving out.

Game of the night

Two teams that don’t person to interest astir their playoff destiny are Coronado and Shadow Ridge. They entered Friday’s showdown astatine Coronado with 2-0 4A Sky League records and with the league rubric successful mind.

Shadow Ridge utilized its almighty moving crippled to propulsion up 21-10 successful the 3rd quarter, erstwhile determination was a powerfulness outage that delayed the game. Coronado manager Fred Biletnikoff Jr. said helium didn’t deliberation the outage had immoderate interaction connected the game, but his squad was acceptable to pounce erstwhile it resumed.

The Cougars scored rapidly connected a 75-yard walk from Joseph Andrade to Jaylen Garrison with 6:46 to play and converted the 2-point walk to propulsion wrong three, past drove 70 yards successful 3 plays for a Mohammad Maali 1-yard TD tally with 2:02 to go. The Mustangs couldn’t answer, and the Cougars had their biggest triumph of the season, 25-21.

Look-ahead

Bishop Gorman volition look to tally its shutout streak to 4 erstwhile it hosts Palo Verde. Foothill volition play astatine Canyon Springs, and Arbor View goes to Legacy for a rivalry crippled successful 5A Desert League play.

In 4A, Coronado tin clinch the Sky League rubric with a triumph astatine Spring Valley, and Las Vegas tin assertion the Mountain League with a location triumph against Durango. Silverado (at Sunrise Mountain) and Desert Oasis (hosting Cheyenne) volition look to acceptable up a Week 10 showdown for the Desert League title.

Moapa Valley, a 3A team, puts its undefeated grounds connected the enactment astatine location against 4A Clark.

Contact Jason Orts astatine jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts connected Twitter.