Football Game Preview: Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon Pirate vs. Western Warriors

Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon has gone 4-0 against Western recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon Pirate will host the Western Warriors at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon has four straight victories, Western has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Sports Leadership & Management, who was ranked 25th at the time (Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon was ranked 19th). Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon walked away with an 18-7 win over Sports Leadership & Management on Tuesday. While the Pirate didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon found their leader in sophomore Tehani Shigematsu, who threw for 116 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 118 yards on only 13 carries. That's the most rushing yards Shigematsu has posted since back in February of 2024. Maya Nisson was Shigematsu's top target, picking up 60 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Western played a tough game on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were dealt a 40-6 loss at the hands of Boulder City. The Warriors were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 33-0.

Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-3. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 26.0 points per game. As for Western, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-6.

Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon beat Western 14-6 in their previous meeting back in December of 2024. Will Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon repeat their success, or does Western have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.