There has not been a shortage of drama in the new season structure for the 30 independent Clark County School District football teams.
That drama will be heightened next Friday in the final week of scheduled regular-season play for CCSD independent teams.
There are still several spots up for grabs in the battle for the inaugural Superintendents Cup, the playoff format constructed by CCSD football programs after they pulled out of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association last spring.
The 30 teams have been divided into three 10-team divisions. Each division has two five-team leagues. The top two teams from each league based on the standings will qualify to play for the Superintendents Cup across each division and compete in “crossover games” (semifinals) on Oct. 16 with the winners advancing to the final on Oct. 23.
The remaining teams in third through fifth place will play one another in consolation games during the final two weeks.
Here’s a look at where things stand for the battle for the Superintendents Cup across the three divisions entering next week:
Division I
What’s decided: Liberty, Coronado, East League participants: Arbor View West League No. 1 seed
Arbor View (4-3, 3-0 Division I West) clinched the West League’s No. 1 seed and will host one of the crossover games on Oct. 16.
Liberty (5-2, 3-0 Division I East) and Coronado (6-1, 3-0) have qualified from the East League to play for the Division I Superintendents Cup.
The two teams play at 7 p.m. Friday at Coronado in their regular -season finale, which will have seeding implications. The winner will be the No. 1 seed and host a crossover game and the loser will play at Arbor View on Oct. 16.
What’s on the line: West League No. 2 seed
Things are straightforward for the final Division I spot. Centennial (4-3, 2-1 Division I West) hosts Shadow Ridge (3-4, 2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday and the winner will be the West League’s No. 2 seed in the crossover games.
The winner will play at the Liberty-Coronado winner on Oct. 16. The loser will play the East League’s fourth-place team in a consolation game.
Division II
What’s decided: Legacy and Green Valley West League participants: Legacy (6-1, 3-0 Division I West) and Green Valley (5-1, 3-0) will be the top two teams in the West League and be eligible to play for the Division II Superintendents Cup.
Legacy hosts Green Valley at 6 p.m. Friday in their regular-season finale where the winner gets the No. 1 seed and hosts a crossover game and the loser will play at the East League’s No. 1 seed in the other crossover game.
What’s on the line: East League participants: Things could get complicated in deciding who from the East League qualifies to play for the Division II Superintendents Cup. Basic (6-1, 3-0 Division II East), Palo Verde (6-1, 2-1) and Silverado (3-4, 2-1) are all still eligible to qualify for the crossover games between the top two teams in each league.
Basic hosts Silverado at 7 p.m. Friday and a win by the Wolves — who defeated Palo Verde 37-34 on Friday — would secure their spot as one of the top two teams. Palo Verde plays at Canyon Springs (0-6, 0-3) at 6 p.m. Friday. A win by Silverado — which has a 22-6 loss to Palo Verde — would likely create a three-way tie with the three teams holding a 1-1 record against one another.
The first tiebreaker in that scenario would be point differential in games against tied teams. If there is still a tie, the ensuing tiebreakers (in order) are points against defensively among tied teams, offensive points scored amongst teams tied and a coin flip.
Division III
What’s decided: Sunrise Mountain East League No. 1 seed: Sunrise Mountain (6-1, 3-1 Division I East) defeated Del Sol 34-0 on Friday to lock up the East League’s No. 1 seed.
The Miners have the head-to-head tiebreakers over Del Sol and Valley, the other two East League teams, and they will host the West League’s No. 2 seed on Oct. 16 in a crossover game.
What’s on the line: East League No. 2 seed and West League spots: Valley (4-2, 2-1) plays at Del Sol (5-1, 2-1) at 6 p.m. Friday to determine the East League’s No. 2 seed. The winner will play at the West League’s No. 1 seed in a crossover game on Oct. 16 and the loser faces the West League’s fourth-place team in a consolation game.
Cimarron-Memorial (3-4, 3-0 Division III West) leads the West League and hosts Rancho (2-4, 2-1) at 6 p.m. Friday. If the Spartans win, they get the No. 1 seed and host the Valley-Del Sol winner in a crossover game. But if Rancho wins — and Bonanza (2-4, 2-1) beats Western (0-6, 0-3) on Friday — there will be a three-way tie with all three teams holding 1-1 records against one another.
Bonanza beat Rancho 13-7 on Friday to give the Rams their first league loss. Cimarron-Memorial beat Bonanza 34-27 on Sept. 18. The three-way tie with the same record of the three teams against one another would refer to the tiebreakers of point differential in games against tied teams, followed by points against, offensive points scored and then a coin flip.
Up next
In other action, Bishop Gorman (5-1) comes off its bye and will host Sloan Canyon (5-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Gaels have secured the No. 1 spot in the 5A Southern League standings with four regular-season games remaining.
The seven remaining Class 5A and 4A NIAA-playoff eligible teams — all private and charter schools — have scheduled one another to fill the voids left by CCSD’s move to independents. The CCSD schools banded together to not schedule any private or charter schools.
One of the state’s oldest rivalry games takes place Friday night when Chaparral plays at Eldorado at 7 p.m. Friday in the “Cleat Game.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Southern Nevada high school football scores, schedule
Week 8 scores
Arbor View 62, Mojave 0
Basic 37, Palo Verde 34
Bonanza 13, Rancho 7
Centennial 52, Desert Pines 26
Cimarron-Memorial 36, Cheyenne 12
Clark 54, Spring Valley 41
Coronado 48, Las Vegas High 0
Durango 16, Canyon Springs 0
Foothill 27, Desert Oasis 13
Green Valley 84, Silverado 54
Legacy 26, Sierra Vista 8
Liberty 42, Shadow Ridge 0
Lincoln County 48, GV Christian 14
Mater East 63, Cadence 0
Midland Lee (Texas) 61, Losee 6
Needles 20, The Meadows 12
Pahranagat Valley 36, Laughlin 14
Round Mountain 54, Beaver Dam 14
Sloan Canyon 42, SLAM! Nevada 6
Spring Mountain 69, Beatty 16
Steele Canyon (Calif.) 14, CIVICA Academy 6
Sunrise Mountain 34, Del Sol 0
Tonopah 64, Indian Springs 8
Valley 50, Chaparral 6
Virgin Valley 28, Eldorado 7
White Pine 13, Lake Mead Academy 10
Week 9 schedule
All games at 7 p.m. Friday unless otherwise noted
*Denotes a league game for CCSD independent teams
Friday
Beaver Dam at Spring Mountain, 1 p.m.
Green Valley at Legacy*, 6 p.m.
Faith Lutheran at Desert Hills (Utah) 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT
Palo Verde at Canyon Springs*, 6 p.m.
Clark at Sierra Vista*, 6 p.m.
Spring Valley at Mojave, 6 p.m.
Rancho at Cimarron-Memorial*, 6 p.m.
Valley at Del Sol*, 6 p.m.
Bonanza at Western*, 6 p.m.
Sloan Canyon at Bishop Gorman
Shadow Ridge at Centennial*
Liberty at Coronado*
Arbor View at Desert Pines*
Silverado at Basic *
Desert Oasis at Las Vegas High*
SLAM! Nevada at Mater East
Cadence at Losee
Moapa Valley at Pahrump Valley
Durango at Boulder City
Cheyenne at Sunrise Mountain
Chaparral at Eldorado*
Lake Mead Academy at Lincoln County
GV Christian at Needles
Pahranagat Valley at Tonopah
Beatty at Indian Springs
Round Mountain at Sandy Valley
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