Vegas high football players Cruz Littlefield, Zach Loveland, Elijah Hicks, and Stone Pearson before the 2015 Season.
Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015 | 2 a.m.
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51-, we mean 50-14
Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Ray Brewer and Case Keefer recap all of the week one football action, including Desert Pines' 50-14 victory over Arbor View. That's the correct score, even though Keefer repeatedly tries to give the Jaguars an extra point.
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The Las Vegas High football team is in an unfamiliar spot.
Once the powerhouse program in the Sunrise Region, winning six straight regional titles through 2008, the Wildcats enter a new season under the radar. They weren’t ranked in the preseason top 10, will have an inexperienced quarterback and have some significant questions at other positions.
“We have some work to do,” Las Vegas coach James Thurman said. “There is always room to improve and we are always trying to get better. It’s kind of nice being under the radar.”
They just aren’t completely under the radar.
Las Vegas has one of the best running backs in Southern Nevada in sophomore Elijah Hicks, a preseason all-city selection. During his freshman season, Hicks went from a backup to the Wildcats' feature tailback, rushing for 849 yards and 10 touchdowns and averaging about six yards per carry.
And the Las Vegas offensive line is solid with returners Stone Pearson (5-foot-10, 240 pounds) and Manuel Caudillo (6-foot-3, 240-pounds), meaning they’ll be able to move the football with the rushing game while breaking in a new quarterback.
Whoever wins the job between junior Ronnie Broadhead and sophomore Zach Matlock will have accomplished receivers to work with in the passing game. Senior Zach Loveland had 27 catches for 340 yards last season, and the Wildcats return two others who had double-digit receptions in 2014.
“This year, we don’t have a clear-cut guy,” Thurman said last week. “We have two guys who do different things. It could be a game-time decision, which makes things interesting.”
Defensively, Las Vegas has to replace a three-year starter at linebacker in Jacob Littlefield, who signed with Air Force. His younger brother, junior Cruz Littlefield, takes over as one of the leaders of the defense and could also threaten to have a 100-tackle season. Thomas Dorsey is also expected to be a leader at linebacker.
“We have some pretty tough kids,” Thurman said.
Las Vegas opens the season against visiting Green Valley at 7 p.m. Friday to renew a rivalry from 2013 when both schools were in the Northeast League. Green Valley in the regular season beat Las Vegas on a last-second field goal and again later in the season to knock the Wildcats out of the playoffs.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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