For the Cahill family, Henderson Bowl football game between Basic, Green Valley is ‘a special night’

Players on the Basic High football team raced toward the end zone at Don Taylor Stadium to grab the Henderson Bowl trophy and begin celebrating.

The Wolves on this night in 2015 snapped a four-game losing streak against Green Valley in the annual Henderson Bowl game to cue one of those unforgettable moments for the program’s players and staff.

In the team photo taken before exiting the field, little Louden Cahill — coach Jeff Cahill’s son and then the Basic ball boy — can be spotted in the background.

Louden Cahill was born three months after Jeff became the head coach at his alma mater, and he has grown up with a front-row seat to the program that’s near and dear to his family.

Now, Louden Cahill says, it’s his time to experience that Henderson Bowl feeling as a player. Basic hosts Green Valley in the annual rivalry game at 6 p.m. today.

“We have a great team; a lot of talent,” said Louden Cahill, a sophomore wide receiver and safety. “It’s going to take a total team effort to beat Green Valley. If we play as a team, we can win.”

The Henderson Bowl started in 1991 when Green Valley opened as the second high school in Henderson, creating a natural rivalry with Basic, which opened in 1942 where the current Henderson City Hall stands.

The Gators dominated the initial years of the series with lopsided wins, but Cahill’s Wolves have turned the tide since the late 2000s and the game is usually close. Take last year, when Basic won on a missed field goal in the final seconds.

Jeff Cahill is the unofficial historian of the game — and rightfully so. He played in the first edition of rivalry, his dad, Dan, is a longtime Basic assistant, and all his siblings attended the school. The three Cahill girls were champion swimmers.

Dan Cahill returned to Southern Nevada decades ago after attending college in Ohio, where high school football is king and Friday nights are reserved for supporting the neighborhood school.

That’s his mentality at Basic, where he’s coached soccer, swimming and football.

Yet, the 76-year-old hasn’t had a season of coaching football like this — two of his 12 grandchildren are on the Basic team and his son is the head coach.

It’s a thrill for the whole family, especially grandma Linda, to watch her grandsons Madden Spielberg — a junior linebacker and wide receiver — and Louden Cahill being coached by family.

A bonus: Louden Cahill had his first varsity touchdown two weeks ago.

“It’s been really fun — really different,” Dan Cahill said of coaching his family.

Dan Cahill is called “Um’Pa” by his grandchildren. But on the field, like all the other players, Grandpa is simply “Coach.” Louden Cahill follows the same script — on the field, he shouts out “Coach” to his father. At home, of course, it’s “Dad.”

Spielberg and Louden Cahill say they aren’t treated as favorites. Rather, they are held to a higher expectation. Dan Cahill has an old-school approach and frequently yells; Jeff Cahill is considerably laid back.

“(They) expect a lot from us and hold us to a higher standard,” Spielberg said.

Spielberg remembers attending his first Henderson Bowl game when in elementary school. He noticed it had a different feeling from an ordinary Friday night, with more fans in the stands and greater intensity on the field.

The cousins are aware of how special tonight will be. For Spielberg, it’s his only home game in the series — and he plans to cherish it.

“I was 8 years old when I came to my first Henderson Bowl,” he said. “It was a great game, better environment. It gave me chills.”

Green Valley, which has been open for more than three decades, also has a legacy player in wide receiver and Oregon State commit Trey Glasper. His dad, Jamar Glasper, was a Green Valley standout in the late 1990s.

That kind of history adds to what will be some meaningful hours of community football tonight, the Cahills stressed. Over three decades, much has changed — and yet, this one game still has that same neighborhood feel.

Come kickoff, both teams will be trying to be city champions — a claim the winning team will boast. (Of course, Henderson also has Foothill, Coronado, Liberty and Silverado high schools today.)

“Henderson Bowl is a game everyone looks forward to,” Jeff Cahill said. “It’s going to be a special night.”