Looking for a great night of community fun in Las Vegas? Try a prep football game

My love affair with high school football started as a ninth-grader at Chaparral High School.

Nick Garritano, the big man on campus who captained the team and was also a standout in baseball, made a 52-yard field goal to force overtime against Clark in a back-and-forth battle of the city’s best teams. My Chap Cowboys won in overtime.

There was such a sense of community in the bleachers that day, with students and supporters all rooting for the home team, that I was instantly hooked on Friday nights. Over the next 30-plus years, and thanks to my employment, I’ve kept coming back.

Another season of games begins Friday, where teens in all corners of the valley will live out their gridiron dreams.

Each game should be cherished. After all, teams get about five home games a season.

That’s five opportunities for players to take photos with family after the game, hear the band play the fight song as they run onto the field and compete their hardest with classmates in the bleachers.

It’s time we, the adults in the community, support the kids by showing up on game day. There isn’t anything better than a grilled stadium hot dog, a halftime performance from the cheerleaders and band and being part of a true neighborhood event. (I’ll take my dog with mustard.)

Here’s the best part: Admission is just $5 for adults; $3 for children.

You never know what you will see — a game-winning field goal, national power Bishop Gorman playing a who’s who of the country’s best teams, a slick play that’s worthy of one of the highlight shows or the teenager who lives on your block who deserves a few hours of your time.

Las Vegas is home to some of the best events the sporting world has to offer.

For some, that’s catching the Golden Knights, Raiders or Aces at sports’ highest competition level. For others, it’s rolling out the red carpet for UNLV basketball. And for others, it’s the nostalgic feeling of keeping a scorebook at an Aviators minor league game.

But there’s just something about the pageantry of a high school sporting event that tops it all for me. This is sport at its purist, where the final score could be considered secondary to being part of the activity.

Sure, the Las Vegas area has more than 2 million residents, many of whom have moved here from different states and don’t have that decades-old attachment to a local school.

However, I know better than to label Las Vegas as a transient city where residents have no attachment to the community. It’s the opposite. The people who call our town home are caring, supportive and giving. They want to be involved and long for that togetherness.

The local high school can provide that environment on Friday nights — or during the week with volleyball or soccer matches.

The value of high school sports has never changed in connecting teens more closely to the school community. More importantly, they learn that being a good teammate — someone who dedicates themselves to training and is accountable — is a valuable trait later in life.

Bravo to all students who are starting a new school year today. We’ll be rooting for you to have success in the classroom and on the athletic field.

I’ll also be rooting for you on Friday nights. Have fun, be safe and create some lifelong memories. Here’s hoping some of your neighbors will join me.

Schedules can be found here.