65°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

Highlights from Week 5 of high school football

Here’s a look at what happened during Week 5 of the high school football season.

WHAT WE LEARNED

1. Kickers can make all the difference. Just ask Canyon Springs coach Gus McNair. The Pioneers often haven’t had a strong kicker, and have struggled in the past to just make extra points. That’s not the case this season, and senior Cesar Barron-Rodriguez booted a 30-yard field goal in overtime to give the Pioneers a 33-30 home win over sixth-ranked Basic.

Barron-Rodriguez also had a 30-yard field goal earlier in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

The Pioneers aren’t the only ones who have benefited from having a solid kicker this season. Desert Pines, another team that has struggled to make extra points in the past, got a 25-yard field goal from Turner Klingenmeier in the final two minutes for a 44-41 win over Centennial in Week 1.

2. Going out of state and knocking off one nationally ranked team was one thing, but asking Liberty to do that twice in a season was too much. Liberty was unable to hang with Centennial-Corona (California) and its high-powered offense, losing 49-32. The Patriots came into the game ranked No. 21 in the nation by USA Today, but four first-half turnovers helped No. 12 Centennial pull away.

Liberty had shocked many in the nation with a 21-14 road win over Westlake (Texas) earlier in the season. Westlake was ranked No. 16 nationally at the time.

3. Basic’s Frank Harris might be the state’s most improved player. Harris has always had the body and athletic ability to be a standout on the football field, but the production wasn’t there last season.

He’s not having that problem this year. The 6-foot-3-inch, 205-pound Harris caught 11 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns on Friday in a 33-30 overtime loss to Canyon Springs. He was able to haul in the second TD pass despite having a Pioneers defender tugging on his jersey as the pass arrived.

Harris, who is a 7-foot high jumper, now has 22 catches for 388 yards and five TDs in four games. He caught 20 passes for 322 yards all of last season.

— —

UPSET OF THE WEEK

Shadow Ridge 28, Las Vegas 21 The Mustangs won only one game in 2015, and even though they brought a 2-0 record into the game with Las Vegas, few thought they would knock off the fourth-ranked Wildcats.

The doubters were wrong.

Shadow Ridge didn’t complete a pass, but it didn’t matter as the Mustangs were able to chew up the clock, rushing 58 times for 351 yards. Aubrey Nellems scored on a 1-yard run with 25 seconds to go to give Shadow Ridge the win and the team improved to 3-0. And the Mustangs also showed how tough the Northwest League is going to be, with Arbor View, Centennial and Legacy already ranked in the area’s top 10.

— —

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES

Passing

Kenyon Oblad, Liberty — 24-41 passing, 339 yards

Aaron McAllister, Basic — 20-32 passing, 320 yards, 2 TDs

Hayden Bollinger, Arbor View — 13-17, passing, 213 yards, 3 TDs

Mitch Moniz, Desert Oasis — 15-26 passing, 208 yards, 2 TDs

Rushing

Tanner Otteson. Tonopah — 16 carries, 216 yards, 2 TDs

Elijah Hicks, Las Vegas — 10 carries, 190 yards, 2 TDs

Jacob Leavitt, Moapa Valley — 11 carries, 180 yards, 2 TDs

Kade Bunker, Tonopah — 13 carries, 171 yards, TD

Malik Lindsey, Shadow Ridge — 29 carries, 158 yards

Receiving

Frank Harris, Basic — 11 catches, 190 yards, 2 TDs

Deago Stubbs, Arbor View — 7 catches, 152 yards, 2 TDs

Jaden Mitchell, Desert Oasis — 7 catches, 146 yards, 2 TDs

Ethan Dedeaux, Liberty — 7 catches, 137 yards

— —

QUOTABLE

“It’s the most wonderful thing. Kickers dream of this moment. It’s so amazing that I had this opportunity. It just feels great.”

— Canyon Springs kicker Cesar Barron-Rodriguez, who hit a 30-yard field goal in overtime to give the Pioneers a 33-30 home win over sixth-ranked Basic.

“We knew coming in this week, as well as our defense has been playing, that we were not going to stop this offense. They’re high-octane. We felt like we needed to take some chances on some things, be aggressive, go for turnovers.”

— Liberty coach Rich Muraco after his team allowed 519 yards of offense in a 49-32 loss to Centennial-Corona (California).

“Craziest 30 seconds ever. It’s big. Our backs were against the wall. Everyone expected us to lose. But we showed up big and we fought.”

— Shadow Ridge senior Malik Lindsey, who rushed for 158 yards in a 28-21 win over Las Vegas. The Mustangs took the lead with 25 seconds left, then held on after the Wildcats drove inside the Shadow Ridge 20.

“This was a statement game for us. We came out and we wanted it. I told my players that you don’t ask for respect; you take it by going out and proving yourself. When you do that, eventually it will happen.”

— Legacy coach John Isola following his team’s 45-14 win over Palo Verde.

“They manhandled us in the trenches. We are a young team who starts two freshmen and one senior on offense. With so much youth, you are going to hit some growing pains and this was one of them.”

— Del Sol coach Gary Maki after his team’s 34-8 loss to Chaparral.

“I feel good out there; I felt great being back and I felt 100 percent. I just had to get my feet wet against this team. We’re very thankful for Bonanza coming out and competing hard. I’m glad I came out today.”

— Bishop Gorman receiver Tyjon Lindsey, who caught a pair of touchdown passes in his first action of the season. Lindsey recently was cleared by the NIAA after transferring back to Gorman from Centennial-Corona (California), and also was recovering from a broken collarbone he suffered in a preseason scrimmage against Liberty.

— —

HOW THEY FARED

A look at how the top 10 teams in the Southern Nevada Football Coaches Poll fared in Week 5.

1. Bishop Gorman (5-0) beat Bonanza, 42-0. Next: vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida), Friday.

2. Liberty (3-1) lost to Centennial-Corona (California), 49-32. Next: vs. No. 7 Green Valley, Friday.

3. Arbor View (3-1) beat Faith Lutheran, 41-22. Next: vs. Shadow Ridge, Friday.

4. Desert Pines (4-1) beat Pahrup Valley, 56-6. Next: at Mojave, Friday.

4. Las Vegas (3-1) lost to Shadow Ridge, 28-21. Next: vs. Chaparral, Friday.

6. Basic (3-1) lost to Canyon Springs, 33-30 (OT). Next: vs. Silverado, Friday.

7. Green Valley (3-1) beat Eldorado, 65-0. Next: at No. 2 Liberty, Friday.

8. Centennial (2-2) beat Cimarron-Memorial, 48-6. Next: vs. No. 9 Legacy, Friday.

9. Legacy (4-0) beat Palo Verde, 45-14. Next: at No. 8 Centennial, Friday.

10. Silverado (4-0) beat Rancho, 48-6. Next: at No. 6 Basic, Friday.

For complete coverage of all of the games from Week 5, visit nevadapreps.com.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST