Bishop Gorman and St. John Bosco’s national high school football showdown has nationwide attention.
Every time the Gaels play in a national game, it’s a big deal in Southern Nevada. But as the second week of high school football begins, several other key storylines are taking focus.
After a wild opening week last Friday, several teams are seeking a more normal Week 2 to play a complete game. Others are getting a look at rivals and another team is gearing up for a state title game rematch.
Here’s a look at three storylines to watch for in Week 2 of high school football around Southern Nevada aside from Gorman’s showdown with St. John Bosco.
1. Week 1 redo
It’s become an unfortunate tradition that the early weeks of the high school football season in Southern Nevada are impacted by lightning delays. Last week, 10 games were not played or completed because of weather.
Centennial led Coronado 7-0 in the first half before the game was canceled. Both teams play California schools this week, with Centennial playing at Cathedral Catholic and Coronado hosting Lancaster.
Las Vegas High was up 33-14 against Eldorado when the game was called at halftime and the Wildcats return to host Desert Pines this week.
Durango trailed Spring Valley 27-6 before the game was called at halftime and the Trailblazers play at Shadow Ridge on Friday. Green Valley’s season opener against Foothill never started and the Gators play at Canyon Springs on Friday.
Sunrise Mountain and Bonanza play on Friday and both teams were up in their respective games last week before cancellations – Sunrise Mountain 32-0 over Western, and Bonanza 10-7 at Chaparral.
Temperatures on Friday are expected to be around 103 degrees at 6 p.m. and mostly sunny, with a 10 percent chance of rain.
2. State title rematch
Week 2’s action isn’t limited to just Friday. Sloan Canyon will face McQueen at 1 p.m. Saturday at UNR’s Mackay Stadium in a rematch of last year’s Class 4A state title game. McQueen pulled off a 27-20 upset victory to hand the Pirates their lone loss in 2025.
In the state title game last November at Allegiant, Sloan Canyon led 20-13 entering the fourth quarter. But McQueen scored twice in the fourth quarter and got the game-winning score with 1:35 left to win the title.
Sloan Canyon’s season opener against Central East (Fresno, California) was called in the first half with the Pirates leading 14-7. Sloan Canyon has 39 returners back from last year’s team that won the 4A Southern Region title, including its top skill position players – QB Cade Hoshino, WR Brandon Quaglio and RB Jermaine Wilson Jr.
McQueen graduated some of its top skill position players, but brings back QB Ryder Tucker, who threw for 2,357 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Lancers have been promoted to 5A this year after finishing first place in the 4A Northern League standings last year.
3. Rivalry games
Having an early bye week has allowed Sierra Vista and Desert Oasis to reschedule their rivalry game. Persistent lightning delays caused the two teams’ annual “Bell Game” to be postponed from last Friday to this week.
Both teams had an open spot for Week 2 and decided to reschedule their game. Sierra Vista and Desert Oasis are two of the most southwest public schools in the area. The game is also called the “Railroad Rivalry” since a railroad track runs between the two schools, and the teams play for a bell as the trophy.
Sierra Vista has won the last two meetings against Desert Oasis – 21-15 in 2024 and 23-16 in 2025 – after the game wasn’t played in 2023. Desert Oasis (Division I) and Sierra Vista (Division II) are both looking to be contenders for the Superintendents Cup in their respective CCSD independent divisions.
Foothill’s season opener against Green Valley did not get started because of weather. It is unclear if both teams will reschedule the game. But the Falcons will get another Henderson rival to start their season when they host Basic at 6 p.m. Friday in the “Battle of Boulder Highway.”
Foothill and Basic are located within a 10-minute drive of one another and Boulder Highway runs between the two schools. Friday will be the season opener for Basic, which went 0-10 last year. The Falcons are expected to showcase one of the top offenses among the CCSD independent teams behind QB Ryder Dobbs.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Southern Nevada high school football
Week 2 schedule
All games at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Friday
Basic at Foothill, 6 p.m.
Arbor View at Carlsbad (California), 6 p.m.
Centennial at Cathedral Catholic (California), 6 p.m.
Sierra Vista at Desert Oasis, 6 p.m.
Green Valley at Canyon Springs, 6 p.m.
Legacy at Palo Verde, 6 p.m.
Durango at Shadow Ridge, 6 p.m.
Tafuna (American Samona) at Mojave, 6 p.m.
Sunrise Mountain at Bonanza, 6 p.m.
Valley at Cimarron-Memorial, 6 p.m.
Clark at Douglas, 6 p.m.
Galena at Pahrump Valley, 6 p.m.
Army Navy Academy (California) at CIVICA Academy, 6 p.m.
St. John Bosco (California) at Bishop Gorman
Faith Lutheran at Bakersfield Christian (California)
Lancaster (California) at Coronado
Desert Pines at Las Vegas High
Chaparral at Cheyenne
Hurricane (Utah) at Moapa Valley
Virgin Valley vs. SLAM! Nevada, at Faith Lutheran
Cadence at Desert Star (Arizona)
Parker (Arizona) at Needles
West Wendover at Lincoln County
Pahranagat Valley at Beatty
Saturday
Sloan Canyon at McQueen, 1 p.m. at UNR
