Monday, Nov. 8, 1999 | 10:47 a.m.
One year later, Cimarron-Memorial and Las Vegas will finally get the chance to take care of some unfinished business on the football field.
Scheduled to play in the first round of the 1998 zone tournament, the Spartans and Wildcats never got the chance to match up after Las Vegas High exited the playoff picture for using an academically ineligible player.
Cimarron went on to capture its first-ever state title, but many in town were left wondering how the Spartans might have fared against the Wildcats, who were red-hot at the time.
This Friday night, the two schools will get to settle that question once and for all, with a berth to this year's 4A state championship game hanging in the balance.
"They're the defending state champs and we have to go over to their place, so we'll have to be ready," Wildcats coach Kris Cinkovich said. "You want to beat the best team and generally you're going to have to. The greater the challenge, the sweeter the reward if you're fortunate enough to win."
Cinkovich's squad advanced to the zone title game with a 49-13 victory over Durango on Friday night, pushing the Wildcats' unbeaten mark to 11-0 this season.
Cimarron-Memorial (10-1) also had a fairly easy time earning a berth to the zone finale, avenging its only loss of the season with a 35-6 win over Western.
That sets up a highly anticipated meeting between Nevada's only unbeaten team and its defending state champions Friday at Cimarron at 7 p.m.
True to form, however, Spartans coach Greg Spencer refuses to get caught up in the hype.
"It doesn't matter to us who we play," Spencer said. "Vegas is a good football team, well-coached. But we'll probably show up on Friday."
The game will match up an explosive Las Vegas offense that has averaged 45 points per game with a stingy Cimarron defense that has allowed just 7.4 points per game this season.
Despite his defensive unit's success, Spencer acknowledged that the Wildcats' pass-oriented offense presents a challenge. On Friday night, Las Vegas quarterback Anthony Marini threw for 397 yards and four touchdowns.
"We're run-oriented, and on our side we're used to playing teams that run the football," Spencer said. "We haven't faced a lot of teams that throw the ball. But we'll try to figure something out."
After watching Cimarron film on Sunday, Cinkovich had high praise for the Spartans, who have played in the state title game the past two years.
"The bottom line is no matter what your mode of attack is, it's the kids that have to make the plays," Cinkovich said. "Cimarron's kids play hard all the time and when you do that, good things will happen more times than not."
On Cimarron's side will be home-field advantage. The Spartans' last home loss came on Sep. 4, 1998 -- a 34-6 defeat at the hands of California's University High.
Also, a year ago the Spartans proved they could take down an unbeaten favorite, knocking off then 11-0 Cheyenne in the zone championship to advance to the state title game against Elko.
Las Vegas holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series between the two teams, with the clubs splitting regular-season meetings and the Wildcats winning the only playoff matchup.
In other action, Bishop Monogue eliminated Boulder City from the 3A playoffs, 59-13, on Saturday and The Meadows finished its regular season with a perfect 9-0 record, courtesy of a 27-12 win over Faith Lutheran Friday night. The Mustangs will host Tonopah in the 2A state semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m.
* CROSS COUNTRY: On Saturday, Green Valley's Abby Miller became the first girl in Nevada history to capture four straight titles. The senior finished the 3.1 mile Reed High School course in 18:51, besting her own course record time of 19:17.
Miller's victory also spearheaded the Gators' first-ever 4A girls team championship. Green Valley finished with 49 points, 19 ahead of second-place McQueen and 50 better than third-place Durango. Two Gators joined Miller in the top 10: freshmen Emily Eskin (third) and Jackie Favreau (sixth).
In 4A boys competition, Bonanza senior Cory Jeffers raced to his second consecutive individual title, easily outdistancing the field with a time of 16:39.
Basic posted the south's top boys team score, finishing in second place, six points behind victorious South Tahoe.
In smaller school action, Boulder City captured both boys and girls 3A team titles, while Faith Lutheran took home the 2A/1A girls championship.
* SOCCER: Also on Saturday, Bishop Gorman and Green Valley earned berths to this week's 4A state boys soccer tournament, which will be played Friday and Saturday at Carson High School.
The Gaels (17-0-1) captured the Sunset Region title with a 2-0 victory over Durango behind a pair of goals from Chetan Champaneri. Gorman will face northern champion South Tahoe (17-0-4) in a matchup of unbeaten clubs on Friday.
The Gators (16-1-2) grabbed the Sunrise Region championship with a 1-0 win over Las Vegas. Tyson Miller scored the game's lone goal for Green Valley. The Gators, who are looking for their second state title in three years, will take on Douglas (15-4-2) on Friday.
* VOLLEYBALL: The pairings for this week's 4A state girls volleyball tournament are set, and Northern Nevada's Division II will be well-represented when the event kicks off Thursday at Chaparral High School.
The four top finishers from Division II earned trips to Las Vegas this week, all defeating their Division I counterparts in last week's Northern Zone Tournament.
In Thursday's opening-round matches, Silverado (17-4) will take on Churchill Country (20-1), Gorman (19-1) will battle Carson (16-5), Durango (17-3) will play Douglas (16-5) and Green Valley (19-1) will clash with Reno (14-7).
This year's tournament will feature a best 3-of-5 games, single-elimination format, a change from the previous best 2-of-3, double-elimination format.
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