By Ray Brewer
The Las Vegas High football team was supposed to breeze through the Sunrise Regional playoffs last fall.
After all, the perennial power Wildcats had won the last six regional championships and were virtual locks every season to play in the state semifinals.
In 2009, however, they failed to win a playoff game for the first time in 11 years, losing in the Sunrise quarterfinals to Foothill, the regional's lowest-seeded team. It arguably was the biggest upset of the decade, and a major wake-up call for Las Vegas coach Chris Faircloth about how he operates his program.
Playing league games in a weak Northeast Division didn't help prepare the Wildcats for the playoffs. Faircloth, determined to make sure his team is battle-tested, hit the phones early in the offseason to beef up his 2010 schedule.
And beef it up he did.
The schedule was released last week with Las Vegas hosting Cimarron-Memorial on Aug. 27 and traveling to respected Utah power Snow Canyon on Sept. 3. Cimarron lost in the Sunset title game last year and traditionally is one of the top teams in the Northwest Division, the state's top league.
"We needed to be thrown into the fire," Faircloth said. "It exposes your team to find out where your weaknesses are. I don't think we got some things addressed (last year) that we could have taken care of".
The result was a 27-20 loss to Foothill.
The Wildcats tough non-league schedule is highlighted by a Sept. 11 game in Salt Lake City against Utah's Mt. Crest High. The game is part of the six-team Rocky Mountain Bowl and will be played at the new 20,000 seat Rio Tinto Stadium, home of Salt Lake's Major League Soccer team.
It's the type of game Faircloth feels will be an accurate indicator of his team's weaknesses.
"We need to get our tails kicked a little bit to get into shape," he said. "There will be some real good football games played (in Salt Lake). Hopefully we aren't the punch line in some jokes at the end of the day".
Las Vegas' other loss last year was to eventual Sunrise champion Del Sol in early September. Del Sol jumped out to an early four-touchdown lead, but Las Vegas chipped away at the deficit and lost 33-28.
"It would have been a lot better if they beat us 45-7 instead of us scrapping back in," Faircloth said. "It would have been the wake-up call we needed".
The Clark County School District puts the schedule together each year, but coaches can make their schedule stronger by booking out-of-state opponents during the initial weeks of the season. Las Vegas' game against Cimarron is part of the Hall of Fame week, 10 games arranged by coaches where the funds paid to participate are used for the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's Hall of Fame.
For non-league games, the district typically matches teams of expected equal talent. So, there surely is a misprint on Sept. 3 when power Palo Verde hosts Liberty.
Not this year.
Liberty, fresh off its first playoff appearance and victory in the school's seven-year history, is an early favorite to win the Southeast Division. They return nine starters on offense and have one of the area's most physical teams.
A match-up against Palo Verde, one of the state's marquee programs, is something the Liberty players are eagerly anticipating. It's a chance to prove they belong with the state's elite.
"It's a tremendous honor for us to be playing Palo Verde," Liberty coach Rich Muraco said. "We are glad people are starting to take us seriously and matching us up against the area's top team. The kids are exciting to be playing them".
Here are some more highlights from the schedule.
Key dates
• Thursday, Aug. 12 — First day of non-contact practice.
• Monday, Aug. 16 — First day of contact practice.
• Saturday, Aug. 21 — First day for scrimmages.
• Friday, Aug. 27 — Several large-school division teams open play.
• Saturday, Nov. 27 — State semifinals.
• Saturday, Dec. 4 — Large-school state title game in Reno.
Games of note
Saturday, Aug. 21
• Bishop Gorman vs. Hamilton (Ariz.) in Sollenberger Classic — Gorman's monster schedule starts in Arizona against the state's defending large-school champion. The classic is one of two games the Gaels have lost in the last three years, falling to Brophy Prep in the opening game of the 2008 season.
Friday, Aug. 27
• Cimarron-Memorial at Las Vegas High — There will be hard hitting in this early season clash of titans.
Friday, Sept. 3
• Liberty at Palo Verde — Two contenders in arguably the most intriguing non-league game of the season.
Friday, Sept. 10
• Las Vegas High vs. Mt Crest, Utah, at Salt Lake — Big-time game with regional appeal for one of Southern Nevada's best.
Friday, Sept. 17
Friday, Sept. 24
• Palo Verde at Cimarron-Memorial — The best rivalry in the state's toughest league.
• Centennial at Shadow Ridge — This rivalry game gets little attention, but the athletes on both sides always look forward to playing for the Jim Marsh Cup.
Friday, Sept. 25
• Bishop Gorman at De La Salle, Calif. — Biggest game of the year for the state's best team.
Friday, Oct. 1
• Gorman at Desert Oasis — This game could decide the Southwest Division title. After all, Desert Oasis gave eventual state champion Gorman a minor scare in 2009.
Friday, Oct. 8
• Foothill at Silverado — The Victory Bell game is one of the Southeast Division's most anticipated contests each fall.
Friday, Oct. 15
• Las Vegas High at Rancho — Even with Las Vegas winning the last 14 meetings, this game remains as Nevada's most storied rivalry.
• Eldorado at Chaparral — Both teams will struggle in 2010, but winning the Cleat Game would make the season a success.
• Basic at Foothill — The Battle for Boulder Highway will be a rematch of last year's Sunrise semifinals — not to mention one of the state's most heated rivalry games.
Friday, Oct. 22
• Del Sol at Basic — Del Sol picked up a pair of victories against Basic in 2009, winning by a combined three points. This will be a rematch of the state semifinals, where Del Sol erased a double-digit halftime deficit for a close victory.
Thursday, Oct. 28
• Green Valley at Basic — The annual Henderson Bowl has become the state's most significant and anticipated rivalry.
Las Vegas Sun
