Arbor View meets Palo Verde for Northwest League title

Losing 32 seniors - not to mention a talented transfer - and starting five sophomores on offense isn't typically a formula for success in high school football. Don't tell that to Arbor View (Las Vegas) coach Dan Barnson, though.

The Aggies, who are No. 6 in the MaxPreps state rankings, have already clinched the school's first playoff berth and are set to play what Barnson called "the biggest game in the history of the school, in any sport" this Friday when they host No. 2 Palo Verde (Las Vegas) with the Northwest League championship at stake.

"I know the girls soccer team won the school's first state title last year, but this is big," the fourth-year coach said last week before Arbor View (9-0, 7-0) beat Faith Lutheran (Las Vegas) 48-28 to set up the first-place showdown against Palo Verde (9-0, 7-0).

"These kids believe. They're a tight-knit group. Once they caught fire, they just kind of started to run with it."

The Aggies won just four games in their first three years of varsity football before back-to-back 6-4 records in 2008 and 2009. Arbor View narrowly missed the playoffs both times, but finally broke through this year against three of the teams that beat the Aggies the previous season.

"We crossed the hurdle this year of the big four," Barnson said in reference to Cheyenne (North Las Vegas), Cimarron-Memorial (Las Vegas), Legacy (North Las Vegas) and Palo Verde. "Every team we've never beaten, our kids had beaten at the younger levels. They believed. We didn't use that we had never beaten them before. Our approach was that instead of Thursday, it's Friday night."

Even Barnson admits nobody could have predicted his team would be undefeated at this point in the season. Arbor View had to replace its quarterback (Austin Anderson) and leading rusher (DeMarlo Virgil) on offense, along with running back Taylor Wooten.

Wooten transfered to Palo Verde, but never played a game for the Panthers. He is currently at Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.) where he has rushed for 814 yards and 10 touchdowns in four games for the 6-3 Bruins.

Still, Barnson and his staff had an idea pretty early that this team might be special.

"We knew last year in the offseason when it wasn't pulling teeth that the kids believed," Barnson said. "They were buying into what we were asking them to do."

Sophomore Henry Hoffend has taken over at quarterback for Anderson. The 5-foot-7, 150-pound Hoffend is in stark contrast to the 6-4 Anderson, who was an outstanding blocker in the team's double-wing offense and is a freshman at Southern Utah.

And rather than having a featured back, the Aggies have relied on a balanced rushing attack that has three players with more than 800 yards rushing: junior Christian Rodriguez (871 yards, 5 touchdowns), junior Roderick Eason (854, 10 TDs) and sophomore Donnie Gaskin (802, 10 TDs). In last week's win over Faith Lutheran, Eason had 288 yards and four scores, while Rodriguez added 252 and a TD as the Aggies rolled up 619 yards on the ground.

"They're young, but they believe in themselves and they believe in the system," Barnson said. "We don't have a go-to kid. They might not be the superstars of the city, but they feel like no one works as hard as us."

Arbor View has modeled much of its program after Palo Verde, right down to running the same double-wing offense that the Panthers have used so successfully under 15th-year coach Darwin Rost. Now the Aggies will find out how much they've closed the gap on Palo Verde.

"Our approach is to go 1-0 each week," Barnson said. "I truly feel when we've crossed a few hurdles the kids have been ecstatic, but they've said, 'Let's get the next one.' They're not satisfied. They want to go as long as they can."

PLAYOFF PREVIEW
Ah yes, it's that time again. Cue the Jim Mora sound bite! Click here to view MaxPreps' Nevada football playoff brackets.

The playoffs ("Playoffs?!") start this week in all four classifications. Here is a quick look at the Class 4A games:

Northern Region
No. 8 North Valleys (Reno) at No. 1 McQueen (Reno)
McQueen (8-1) has been dominating teams defensively during a five-game winning streak to end the season. The Lancers have allowed a total of 27 points in that span and already own a 54-19 win over North Valleys (2-7) back on Sept. 3. McQueen is led by running back Nick Shepard (999 yards, 12 TDs). The Panthers, who played all the heavyweights in the Northern League this season, will need a big game from quarterback Tim Herman (1,802 yards, 19 TDs).
Prediction: McQueen 42, North Valleys 14

No. 7 Spanish Springs (Sparks) at No. 2 Carson (Carson City)
The Cougars (5-4) dropped four straight games to end the regular season, including last week's 33-6 loss to crosstown rival Reed (Sparks). Spanish Springs hopes it is a blessing in disguise as Carson (8-1) enters the game still licking its wounds from a 21-17 upset loss at Reno last week that cost the Senators the No. 1 seed. Carson, which won the first matchup with the Cougars 23-13, has been without injured standout junior running back Dylan Sawyers (hip).
Prediction: Carson 28, Spanish Springs 17

No. 6 Douglas (Minden) at No. 3 Reed (Sparks)
Quietly, the Tigers (4-5) had been playing pretty well down the stretch, winning three straight before their 30-29 loss in the regular-season finale against Galena (Reno). Reed (8-2) is the defending region champion and is riding a three-game winning streak. Aside from a 41-14 hiccup against Bishop Manogue (Reno) on Oct. 9, the Raiders have been arguably the best team in the league. Reed won the regular season meeting 25-14.
Prediction: Reed 42, Douglas 21

No. 5 Reno at No. 4 Bishop Manogue (Reno)
The Huskies (6-4) faced the top three teams in the Northern League during the final three weeks of the season and accounted themselves well in losses to Reed (45-29) and McQueen (23-7) before upsetting Carson (21-17). The Miners (7-2) have won two in a row, but have been inconsistent at times this season. Will the team that blasted Reed 41-14 show up or the team that was routed 38-0 by McQueen? Bishop Manogue does own a 28-10 win over Reno already and has played well at home this season.
Prediction: Bishop Manogue 31, Reno 28

Sunrise Region
No. 4 Southeast League Del Sol (Las Vegas) at No. 1 Northeast League Las Vegas
Las Vegas (9-1) is hoping to avoid another upset in the first round against the No. 4 team from the Southeast League. Last season, the Wildcats were tripped up in the opener by Foothill (Henderson), while Del Sol went on to reach the Class 4A state title game. This game features three of the top prospects from the Class of 2012 in Las Vegas quarterback Hasaan Henderson, Las Vegas running back Farrell Victor and Del Sol's Chris Marshall, who has rushed for more than 1,700 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Prediction: Las Vegas 42, Del Sol 21

No. 4 NE Rancho (Las Vegas) at No. 1 SE Liberty (Henderson)
Rancho (5-5) clinched its playoff berth last week with a 39-29 victory over Valley (Las Vegas). Rams running back Shamel David has rushed for more than 1,100 yards, but could find tough sledding against Liberty (8-1), which is making the first playoff appearance in school history. The Patriots have won eight straight games and appear to be playing their best football when it counts most.
Prediction: Liberty 35, Rancho 6

No. 2 NE Canyon Springs (North Las Vegas) vs. No. 3 SE Silverado (Las Vegas)
Canyon Springs is 0-2 against the Southeast League this season, losing to Del Sol and Basic (Henderson) the first two weeks. The Pioneers (6-3) feature a strong 1-2 punch in the backfield with running backs Malik Brown and Donnel Pumphrey, who combined for 373 yards in last week's 38-14 win over Desert Pines (Las Vegas). Silverado (6-3) is making its first playoff appearance since 2007. The Skyhawks will need another strong defensive effort like last week when they held Del Sol's Marshall to 20 yards on 15 carries.
Prediction: Silverado 24, Canyon Springs 21

No. 3 NE Desert Pines (Las Vegas) vs. No. 2 SE Foothill (Henderson)
The Jaguars (5-4) missed out on their chance for a home playoff game thanks to a 38-14 loss to Canyon Springs and now must travel to Henderson for the opening round. The Falcons (9-1) beat Desert Pines 31-12 in Week 2 as quarterback Parker Riggin went 22 of 29 for 228 yards and Kyle Keplinger had two touchdown runs. Foothill bounced back from its loss to Liberty two weeks ago by beating Coronado (Henderson) 45-24.
Prediction: Foothill 35, Desert Pines 14

RECRUITING NEWS
Silverado (Las Vegas) cornerback Ladale Jackson made a verbal commitment to Utah State on Oct. 21, according to Nevadapreps.com. Jackson chose the Aggies over scholarship offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada, UNLV and Utah.

The 5-11, 165-pound Jackson captured the Class 4A state title in the 400 meters as a junior and was third in the 200. He is also expected to run track at Utah State.

"(The Aggies) really like my breakout speed and the way I can cover and come back to the ball quickly," Jackson told Nevadapreps.com.

David Schoen works at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and is a former Associate Sports Editor and Turn2 columnist for the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune. You can reach him at ByDavid1@aol.com.