By DAVE BELCHER
Moapa Valley Progress
Southern 3A – Sunrise
Boulder City
Last year the Eagles finished the season 7-4\3-1, taking second in the 3A Sunrise League and earning a first round home playoff game. It was the first time in four years they qualified for the playoffs.
The last time the Eagles won a state title was in 1999. They have won a total of 11 state titles in their history.
In the first round of the playoffs last year they beat Del Sol 28-20. They were then beaten by Pahrump Valley in Pahrump Valley 32-30 in the semi-finals.
The Eagles lost 15 players to graduation from last year’s team. They will return 5 players who are seniors this year, and 11 who are juniors.
Last season the Eagles were led by Thorsten Balmer who ran the ball 237 times for 1619 yards and 26 touchdowns. Balmer graduated last year.
Parker Reynolds, quarterback, will return this year. Last year he threw for 1353 yards with 11 touchdowns while throwing 4 interceptions completing 94 passes on 177 attempts.
Jimmy Dunagan, who was the leading receiver for the Eagles, also graduated.
The Eagles will return Deavin Lopez, a junior, as receiver. Lopez caught 15 balls for 341 yards and a touchdown.
Head Coach Chris Morrelli is in his fifth season leading the Eagles.
Rancho
The Rams finished their first season in the 3A in last place in the Sunrise with a 1-9 /0-4 record. They only graduated six seniors from last year’s team, but gave 17 sophomores and eight juniors experience.
Rancho ran the ball last year 305 times while throwing just 102 times. They ran for 831 total yards while throwing for 247.
Starting quarterback was sophomore Ruben Vazquez who completed 22 of 78 passes for 190, and 6 interceptions, without a touchdown. The team didn’t have a touchdown pass all season. In fact, the Rams scored only six touchdowns all year.
Areaun Everett is their leading rusher returning this year with 49 carries for 281 yards and a touchdown.
Head Coach Gary Maki is in his seventh season as the Rams head coach. He has a 9-50 record.
The Rams have won four state titles in their history, the last one in 1988. The last time they were in the playoffs was 2010. They have won just one game in the last three seasons and a total of four since 2011.
Sunrise Mountain
The Miners finished last season in third place in the Sunrise with a 3-7/2-2 record.
They travelled to Cheyene in the first round of the Playoffs and were pounded by the Desert Shields 42-6.
The Miners ran for 1477 yards of rushing while throwing the ball for 1280 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Sunrise Mtn. lost ten players to graduation last year.
Demaurier Alexander, an upcoming senior, was 22-45 for 311 yards, a touchdown, and an interception last year. He carried the ball for 452 yards on 77 carries scoring 4 touchdowns.
The Miners leading receiver returns with his 31 catches for 685 yards and 8 touchdowns.
TheMiners have been in the playoffs the last four years. The school opened in 2009.
Virgin Valley
The Bulldogs started as the top ranked team in the 3A south. Then they were beaten in Boulder City by the Eagles 27-20.
They beat Rancho 35-0, then beat Spring Valley 20-19. Then they lost their final two games; Sunrise Mountain at home 28-18 and Moapa Valley 35-0 at home; which eliminated the Dawgs from the playoffs.
The team lost 13 from last years team.
But they return their leading rusher in Wyatt Delano who carried the ball 168 times for 1215 yards and 15 touchdowns.
They also return starting quarterback Meb Hollingshead. Hollingshead threw for 1041 yards on 67-126 passing with 13 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Hollingshead also ran the ball 36 times for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season.
The Dawgs will have a big line returning this year. That should be able to create a few holes for Delano to run through. Jeremy Perkins and Tauaomalo Fiso will lead that line which will help the Dawgs make the Moapa Valley game the league championship game with the winner the top seed from the Sunrise.
Head Coach Matt Woods was in his first year as the top Dawg in Virgin Valley. He took the program over from Yori Ludvigson who was 24-16 in his four years. Ludvigson is now the athletic director for Virgin Valley.
The Bulldogs have 10 state football championships in total. Their last one came in 2006.
The Dawgs will start their season with Clark at home. The Chargers were 1-9 last year in the 4A.
Southern 3A – Sunset
Cheyenne
The Desert Shields lost 38 of 46 players from last year’s team to graduation. They return eight from the varsity team. They finished in second place, behind the Pahrump Valley Trojans who won the league title.
Majae Madison is one of their returning stars. As a sophomore last year he ran the ball 115 times for 877 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Also returning is receiver Rayvion Brown who caught 33 passes for 738 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Last year Cheyenne finished the season in Moapa Valley in the second round of the playoffs. It ended with a 42-19 loss against the Pirates.
With all the losses on their team coming in this year the Desert Shields will still have athletes who will help make them a contender in the Sunset. They finished last season with a 9-3 overall record a second place 4-1 record in the Sunset. They have never won a state title or even been in the state championship game.
Del Sol
The Dragons finished last season in the first round of the playoffs in Boulder City. There the Eagles beat Del Sol 28-20.
The Dragons got 2482 yards total in the air, as last years quarterback Andrea Nevarez threw the ball 286 times while completing 159 for 2444, 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
The Dragons ran for 1545 total yards and 25 touchdowns.
The Dragons have all new leadership on offense. That will fall on the shoulders of Maalik Flowers who will come in as a senior this year and possibly quarterback or running back. He saw limited time behind the center last year.
Damani Wills returns as a senior receiver having caught 30 passes for 415 yards and a touchdown last year.
The Dragons finished last year with a 5-6/2-3 record finishing third in the Sunset.
It was ten years ago the Dragons played Gorman in the state championship. They have made the playoffs the last three years in a row.
Pahrump Valley
The Trojans were the surprise team of last year. They won the Sunset league championship with a 7-4/5-0 record.
They beat Boulder City 32-30 in the second round of the playoffs. Then they travelled to Fallon and were beaten 58-20 by the Green Wave in the State Semi-finals.
The Trojans won the 2005 league championship which was their first since the seventies.
Pahrump has lost fourteen from last year’s championship team.
Dylan Wright was the starting quarterback and returns as a junior. The Trojans threw the ball just 45 times all year with Wright throwing 33 times for 535 yards on 14 completions with 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
There is not a lot of experience returning making a repeat from last year a long shot. The Trojans open against Lowry at home. Last year Lowry scored 14 points in the fourth quarter for a comeback win in Lowry 41-40.
Valley
The Valley Vikings were 4-6/2-3 last season. They lost a chance at the playoffs in the tie breaker to Del Sol.
They will return their quarterback Jarrett Zibert who threw the ball 221 times completing 105 for 1700 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Their leading rusher and receiver both graduated.
Valley has a disadvantage this year in that they will be playing their home games elsewhere because the school district claimed their turf field was unsafe last spring. It still hasn’t been replaced, though, and it won’t be ready until the spring.
Valley last won the state championship in 1078. They qualified for the playoffs two of the last three seasons. They start the season this week at Bonanza High School.
Western
The Warriors were winless last year with a 0-9/0-5 record. This is a program having only two wins since the 2012-13 season. Last season they had 1288 yards total with only 4 touchdowns. The quarterback spot will be battled out between Ali Muhmond and Christopher Williams who were two of the three quarterbacks that saw equal playing time. They start their season against Rancho.
Democracy Prep
The Blue Knights after their first season in the 3A have decided to go Independent this year.
Northern 3A
Churchill County
The defending State Champion returns loaded. Elijah Jackson returns as the starting quarterback as the Greenwave are favorites to win the state title. Jackson threw the ball 175 times completing 109 passes for 1952 yards and 22 touchdowns. He threw 7 interceptions including two in the state Semi-final against Pahrump. He also ran for 856 yards on 73 carries and 3 touchdowns.
They did lose leading rusher Sean McCormick to graduation.
Leading receiver Brock Richardson will return, though. He had 47 catches for 1093 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Also returning this yearis the second leading receiver Tommy McCormick who had 35 receptions for 634 yards and 6 touchdowns.
As a team the Greenwave compiled a total of 5,436 yards of offense, 1,996 passing and 3,340 in rushing. They scored 78 total touchdowns.
The defense was just as tough as they intercepted 25 passes. They finished with 22 sacks and allowed 15 touchdowns. They were undefeated at 12-0.
Fallon starts the season against California High School from San Ramon California. The game will be played in South Lake Tahoe.
Truckee
The Wolverines were last year state runner to Fallon in a 28-7 loss in the final. Truckee beat Moapa Valley in the state semi-final in Moapa Valley, 23-16.
Truckee lost most of its team to graduation including their entire backfield. That is, all except one runningback Tyler Estabrook who carried the ball 30 times for 393 yards with 3 touchdowns. He will also be the receiver with the most yards coming back.
They finished with a 11-2/8-1 record last season.
Truckee will start the season at Bear River, Grass Valley California.
Fernley
The Vaqueros were 7-5/6-3 last season.
Fernley returns several key players from last years team. Miles Steele returns as a quarterback. He threw for 548 yards passing while running for 364 yards with 9 touchdowns rushing and 4 touchdowns passing.
Brandon Reyes was the leading rusher who ran for 749 yards and 12 touchdowns. He returns for his senior season.
Fernley starts the season at Bishop Union in Bishop California.
Elko
The Indians finished in third place last year with a record of 6-4/6-3. They were the third seed from the north winning the three-way tie over Fernley and Spring Creek.
Elko has lost their quarterback and one of two runningbacks from last year’s team. Colby Tiner returns with his 721 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Elko will start the season at home against South Tahoe a week after everyone else on Aug. 30.
Spring Creek
The Spartans finished with a 6-4/6-3 record. They were the 4th seed from the north last year.
Jeff Guthrie returns at quarterback having thrown for 928 yards last year on 150 attempts and completing 71 with 8 touchdowns. He also threw for 6 interceptions.
Reed Westwood was the leading rusher last year and will return this year with his 1022 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Also returning is the leading receiver with Kyle Owsley. He caught 24 passes for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The Spartans start their season at home vs. Fallon Aug. 30.
Lowry
The Buckaroos were 6-6/4-5 last season. They lost both their quarterback and leading rusher from last year. Preston Snow returns as rusher with 345 yards and 3 touchdowns. Chance Huitt is the favorite to start at quarterback as he threw for 151 yards on 17 attempts completing 11 with 2 touchdowns. The Buckaroos start the season in Pahrump Valley.
South Tahoe, Sparks and North Valleys. These three teams should struggle this year as they rebuild programs after losing players to graduation. South Tahoe started a freshman quarterback last year with a team who won just 1 game.
Dayton
The Dust Devils have chosen to move to an independent status this year. In the last four seasons they have won just one game.
