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High school football teams in the 3A Sunrise League start this season with one less thing to worry about.
With the departure of Boulder City High, who moved out of the league to play an independent schedule, each of the Sunrise’s four teams teams will make the playoffs.
Those schools — Chaparral, Del Sol, Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley — will be battling or nothing more than seeding in the 3A playoffs. Not to say that isn’t important, because nobody wants to play defending state championship Desert Pines of the Sunset League in the first round.
The Sunrise appears wide open with no clear favorite to win it.
Virgin Valley, fresh of its first league title since 2007, returns all-city running back Jayden Perkins, who rushed for 1,300 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2016.
“The kids bought into the program and started hitting the weight room and doing the right things. It was fun to kind of get rolling,” Virgin Valley coach Yori Ludvigson said.
The Bulldogs went 9-2 overall and were undefeated in league play last season, but most importantly they finally won “The Hammer” game against Moapa Valley for the first time in seven years.
“It’s nice to have a rivalry again,” Ludvigson said. “You go years without winning and it deflates the rivalry, but it’s nice to have a fight across the border again and it will continue to be a great rivalry.”
Despite going a respectable 7-4 and making the regional semifinals, last year was considered a down year for Moapa Valley. Under the helm of Brent Lewis, the Pirates expect to be back to their dominant ways.
Members of the Virgin Valley High School football team, from left, Cresent Crandall, Jayden Perkins, Cade Anderson and Timmy Moeai pose for a portrait at the Las Vegas Sun's high school football media day August 2, 2017, at the South Point.
“I feel like we have enough pieces to compete and challenge,” Lewis said. “I think we are going to be really good defensively. I anticipate us probably running the ball a little more than we have.”
The Chaparral Cowboys, which have advanced to the state semifinals in back-to-back seasons, will start a sophomore at quarterback and have other unproven players at the skilled positions.
“We’ve lost a lot of good skilled players but somehow we always manage to come back and step the game up,” coach Paul Nihipali said. “We have skill but at those skilled positions we are looking for guys to stand up.”
Despite losing most of their firepower, the Cowboys are hungry to make it even further than they have the last two years.
“Now that we’ve been to such a high level there’s no going back,” Chaparral receiver Julius Hernandez said. “We’ve been in the semi-finals two years in a row and we want nothing less this year.”
Del Sol has a new coach in Mike Valenzuela, who led Mountain View to two consecutive 2A state title games before stops as an assistant with Sunrise Mountain and Faith Lutheran.
He has one of the best weapons in the division in running back Taariq Flowers, who ran for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns last season as a junior.
“(Flowers) is a big, fast explosive kid,” Valenzuela said. “What we’re going to do is try to get him the ball in more advantageous situations, where he’s not having to make three guys miss or breaking tackles behind the line of scrimmage. If I do my job right he’s going to be two yards into the second level and then he can really show his athleticism.”
Standings
Last year’s finish : Virgin Valley, Moapa Valley, Chaparral, Del Sol, Boulder City
Projected 2017 finish : Moapa Valley, Virgin Valley, Chaparral, Del Sol
Big 3
Chaparral: Wide receiver Julius Hernandez (20 catches for 188 yards and 2 TDs in 2016), running back and defensive back Tyray Collins (had 3 TDs and 3 interceptions last year) and running back Trayvius Hodge (5-foot-8, 181 pounds).
Del Sol: Running back Taariq Flowers (1,282 yards and 10 TDs in 2016), safety Barry Williams (56 tackles and 2 interceptions in 2016) and linebacker Jason Hoyer (34 tackles and 1 interception in 2016).
Moapa Valley: Quarterback Daxton Longman (threw for 1,403 yards and 15 TDs last year as a junior), fullback Logan Jackson (6-foot, 170 pounds) and Tyler Holmes who plays both sides of the line.
Virgin Valley: Running back Jayden Perkins (1,369 yards and 16 TDs in 2016), quarterback Cade Anderson (threw 3 TDs in 2016) and linebacker Cresent Crandall (33 tackles and 1 sack in 2016).
All-league predictions
Offensive MVP: Virgin Valley’s Jayden Perkins
Defensive MVP: Del Sol safety Barry Williams
Rising Star (best freshman or sophomore) : Moapa Valley’s Kellen Wallace
Coach of the Year: Moapa Valley’s Brent Lewis
Game of the Year: Moapa Valley 20, Virgin Valley 14 in “The Hammer” game
Newcomer of the Year: Del Sol’s Marquel Turner
Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.