BOYS SOCCER HONORS: Grizzlies’ Perkins makes good on predicition

Spring Valley’s Tyson Perkins told his coach before each of the last four seasons that he would break the school record for goals scored in a season.

The standout forward came up short by a large margin every time, until his senior year.

Perkins, who scored five goals as a junior, was the top goal scorer in Division I-A this season and was the third-leading scorer overall in Southern Nevada. It didn’t go unnoticed, as he was the coaches’ choice as the Division I-A Southern Nevada Player of the Year.

“Every offseason he would tell me, ‘Coach, I’m going to score this many goals and break the school record,’” Grizzlies coach James Tippett said. “Then he’d go out and score two goals, five goals. But he did it finally. I had to take him off the field for him to stop scoring.”

The 5-foot-10-inch, 140-pound Perkins had 31 goals and five assists this year, breaking the previous school record of 28 goals held by Seth McGinn.

“He’s absolutely deserving of the award because of what he did on the field,” Tippett said. “He scored a hat trick in three minutes (this season). He was competing with everybody in the state in goals scored. Regardless of who you’re playing, it takes some skill and determination to score that many goals.”

Perkins, who also was named the Sunset League Player of the Year, led the Grizzlies to the Sunset’s No. 4 seed in the playoffs before falling to Southern Region champion Sunrise Mountain, 2-0. It was the first playoff appearance since 2010 for Spring Valley.

“He was able to accomplish some things that Spring Valley players hadn’t done in the past,” Tippett said. “For him to win Player of the Year, it makes me really proud and Spring Valley proud … He always worked hard in practice. He tried to make his teammates better, and he taught the freshmen some things. I was pleasantly surprised with Tyson this year.”

Chaparral’s Gerardo Skewes was selected Goalkeeper of the Year after he posted a Southern Nevada-leading 13 shutouts and helped the Cowboys reach the state final. Sunrise Mountain’s Brett Underwood was named Coach of the Year. His Miners won their first 13 games of the season and finished 17-2 after losing to Truckee in the state semifinals.

In Division I, Coronado’s Justin Lyons (Southeast), Valley’s Eric Sanchez (Northeast), Cimarron-Memorial’s Garrick Quackenbush (Northwest) and Palo Verde’s Nolan Sherwood (Southwest) took league Player of the Year honors.

Foothill’s Derek Lawson (Southeast), Las Vegas’ Enrique Adame (Northeast), Cimarron’s Richard Crews (Northwest) and Shadow Ridge’s Nathan Kramer (Southwest) were selected Goalkeeper of the Year in their respective league.

Foothill’s Andrew Risheg (Southeast), Valley’s Angel Pantaleon (Northeast), Cimarron’s Mark Bailey (Northwest), and Shadow Ridge’s Travis Underwood (Southwest) each won Coach of the Year.