NOTES: Centennial’s Savon Scarver carves up defenses

Savon Scarver’s track obligations prevented him from working out with Centennial’s football team for a portion of the summer.

But the time away hasn’t hampered the Bulldogs’ senior wide receiver.

Scarver entered the season projected to be one of the area’s top playmakers and hasn’t disappointed through the first two games, attracting the attention of a handful of Mountain West schools in the process.

“He brings that speed to our team,” Centennial coach Leon Evans said Tuesday before practice. “He’s a flat-out burner, and he can flat-out fly when the ball’s in his hand, and we’ve got to find creative ways to get the ball in his hands.”

Scarver set the Division I state-meet record in the 300-meter hurdles (37.83 seconds) and also placed second in the 110 hurdles and the 200 in May as the Bulldogs finished second as a team.

However, football remains the Columbus, Ohio, native’s first love.

“I’ve been running track my whole life, but I’m honestly a football player running track,” Scarver said. “Football is my No. 1.”

The 6-foot, 175-pound Scarver was a second-team all-state selection as a junior after making 51 receptions for 891 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Scarver has 13 catches for 182 yards and a score for the Bulldogs (1-1), who are off this week. He caught a 42-yard TD and added a 9-yard scoring run on a fly sweep in Centennial’s 49-31 victory over Green Valley on Thursday.

“I want to prove myself every time I’m on the field,” Scarver said. “I feel like people say what they want to say and people think what they want to think, but when it comes down to it, you’re going to see me on the field working hard every day, trying to make big plays for my team.”

Scarver already has scholarship offers from Adams State (Colorado), Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, UNR and UNLV. He also has started to garner interest from Brigham Young and Utah State, according to Evans.

“He should have some new ones if he continues to produce like he has,” Evans said. “My biggest thing with Savon is his maturity level. He came in like most ninth-graders, real squirrely, but he’s turned around big-time. He’s put himself in good position to go on and play a lot of football after high school.”

JONES EARNS CALL-UP

Bishop Gorman senior midfielder Arlie Jones will miss both of the Gaels’ matches this week as she participates in the U.S. under-18 women’s national soccer team training camp.

Jones, a Southern California commit, was one of 26 players selected for the camp, which runs through Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.

POLL POSITIONS

Durango’s boys soccer team, which won its first six matches before a 2-0 loss to Palo Verde on Friday, is ranked No. 4 in the first USA Today/National Soccer Coaches Association of America Region VIII poll released Tuesday. Chaparral checked in at No. 14.

Bishop Gorman’s girls soccer team is No. 7 in the USA Today/NSCAA Region VI rankings, while four-time defending state champion Arbor View is ranked No. 12.

RECENT COMMITMENTS

Bishop Gorman sophomore Campbell Holt to Southern California for baseball.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ