Centennial’s football team had an offensive explosion against Burbank (California), but Bulldogs coach D.J. Campbell was quick to point out where his team struggled the most on Friday night.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 4 in the Review-Journal’s Southern Nevada football rankings, rolled to a 74-41 home victory over Burbank behind four passing touchdowns and two rushing scores from quarterback Blake Nadler.
But it was the other side of the ball that had Campbell’s attention.
“The second half, defensively, we just started getting a little bit too lax, started losing focus and gave up cheap touchdowns,” Campbell said.
“Defensively, in the secondary, we’re just lacking focus and attention to detail. That’s really what is killing us right now. I know 74 points in a win is great and anybody else would be elated right now, but I’m not satisfied with how my secondary played.”
Everything else went smoothly for Centennial on Friday. The Bulldogs led 21-0 in the first quarter and never looked back.
“Offensively, we were just rolling all night. … Offensive line is playing very well, we’re clicking in all phases: quarterback, running back and receivers,” Campbell said.
Nadler, a senior transfer from California, completed 11 of 18 passes for 231 yards. Minnesota commit Jayden Thomas had five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Nehemiah Dunlap-Myvett added two touchdown catches, and the Bulldogs returned two kicks for scores.
“Blake is a true field general, he manages the game so well,” Campbell said. He sees things that a lot of times we don’t even see. He’s very mature and he’s a leader. He’s very extremely demanding of the players, so he doesn’t let anybody slack off.”
Centennial (2-1) faces another out-of-state team, hosting Perry (Arizona) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Bulldogs lost a 52-49 shootout at Cathedral Catholic (California) on Aug. 21.
“I want us to, defensively, just lock in and focus on the little things and not let fatigue or any other external factors get us out of our game,” Campbell said. “(Perry is) going to be a tough one. It’s going to be a long day if we don’t focus on the little things.”
Losee gets 1st win since 2024
Losee found itself still in 5A after the wild offseason when 30 CCSD football programs moved to independent status, after the Lions went 0-10 last year.
Now, with a stable foundation under coach Spike Rossi, the Lions saw the fruits of their labor on Friday. Losee picked up its first win since Nov. 8, 2024, defeating Northern opponent Douglas 21-20 at home.
“It was exciting, it was just joy,” Rossi said. It was relief. Finally — we’ve been close, we’ve been knocking on the door, but to finally get over the hump, it’s what our program needed … to get that taste of what it’s like to win. But the challenge now is not to be complacent.”
Against Douglas, Losee used its run game to establish its offense. The Lions overcame committing four turnovers and blocked a Douglas field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter that sealed the win. Tristan Savea Tanielu had 115 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Lucas Mamac stepped in at quarterback in the second half and had a rushing touchdown.
Losee (1-2) lost to Bishop Gorman 41-0 in a game that was called at halftime on Aug. 14 because of weather and lost 19-16 at Barstow (California) last week.
The Lions play at Sloan Canyon at 7 p.m. on Friday and have two games against Texas teams (at Argyle on Sept. 11 and at Midland Lee on Oct. 2) before playing 5A/4A private and charter teams the rest of the regular season.
“We’re trying to get better every day,” Rossi said. “We’re trying to figure out and build those foundational skills and establish the brand of football that we believe in. We want other teams to know when they have to play Losee, ‘Oh, we better tighten that chin strap a little harder.”
Bouncing back
Legacy found itself in another dogfight on Friday against Northern opponent Reed, with the Longhorns coming off a 28-26 road loss at Palo Verde the previous week.
Despite falling behind 14-0 and being down as many as 23-6 later in the first half, the Longhorns outlasted Reed 41-37 at home. Jaelynn Love-Carter threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Ky’Ree Perkins with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter for the game-winning score.
“They don’t quit. They never quit,” Legacy coach Zach Monticelli said. “They trust each other. It was a complete full-team win. We came in banged up, we had a very physical game with Palo Verde and came up short in that one, and they fought all week.”
Cameron Turner rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown for Legacy (2-1), and played linebacker in the second half as the Longhorns head into a bye week and get ready for local play and try to contend for the Superintendents Cup in Division II.
“We always want to play tough games early in the year, we think they’re important,” Monticelli said. “We’re not scared to play anybody. My favorite thing that I’ve noticed is … we have multiple guys that keep stepping up.”
Other Friday highlights
Here are some other highlights from Friday’s high school football action:
Foothill beats 5A champs: Foothill quarterback Ryder Dobbs threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Nixon Gasperosky late in the fourth quarter to lift the Falcons to a 28-24 road win over defending Class 5A state champion Spanish Springs, which had won its past 14 games. Dobbs completed 27 of 42 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns for Foothill (2-0), Gasperosky had two touchdown catches and Owen Preslan-Aldrigde added 11 catches for 114 yards.
Jackson perfect for Desert Pines: Jaguars quarterback Jerome Jackson completed 12 of 12 passes for 185 yards and six touchdowns to lead Desert Pines to a 59-6 road win at Cheyenne. Desert Pines improved to 2-1 under first-year coach Rob Robles.
Silverado freshman QB shines: Silverado freshman quarterback Carmine Barilla completed 19 of 30 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns to lead Silverado to a 54-0 rout of Cimarron-Memorial. Jaxon Steward had seven catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns for the Skyhawks (1-1), who lost 57-16 to Legacy on Aug. 14.
Valley goes to 2-0: Valley is showing last year’s 5-5 record and playoff appearance isn’t a fluke. The Vikings defeated Rancho 40-21. Dashawn Jackson had two touchdown catches, a rushing touchdown and more than 200 all-purpose yards. Nah’lage Butler threw two touchdowns and added a rushing score.
Up next
Bishop Gorman continues its challenging out-of-state schedule at Lone Peak (Utah) at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT on Friday.
Other top teams that play out-of-state teams include Liberty hosting Skyridge (Utah) at 7 p.m. Friday, and Arbor View playing at Hamilton (Arizona) at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT on Friday. Foothill plays Mililani (Hawaii) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Liberty.
The top local game features Henderson rivals Green Valley and Basic in the annual Henderson Bowl at 7 p.m. Friday at Basic.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Southern Nevada high school football scores, schedule
Week 3 scores
Friday
Basic 34, Sierra Vista 12
Boulder City 21, Eldorado 0
Centennial 74, Burbank (Calif.) 41
Chaparral 51, Western 0
Clark 27, Virgin Valley
Coronado 55, Canyon Springs 14
Desert Pines 59, Cheyenne 6
Durango 42, Pahrump Valley 34
Foothill 28, Spanish Springs 24
GV Christian 18, The Meadows 13
Indian Springs 52, Pyramid Lake 6
Legacy 41, Reed 37
Liberty 42, Tafuna (American Samoa) 0
Lincoln County 49, Cadence 0
Losee 21, Douglas 20
Mater East 26, Victor Valley (California) 7
Moapa Valley 42, Mojave 14
Mountain View (Ariz.) 63, Las Vegas 0
Palo Verde 42, Desert Oasis 18
Sandy Valley 58, Beaver Dam 56
Shadow Ridge (Arizona) 58, CIVICA Academy 19
Silverado 54, Cimarron-Memorial 0
Simi Valley (California) 35, Shadow Ridge 7
Sloan Canyon 35, Muir (California) 20
Spring Valley 42, Bonanza 7
Spring Mountain 20, Laughlin 0
Valley 40, Rancho 21
Valley View (Calif.) 55, SLAM! Nevada 12
Valor Christian (Colo.) 46, Faith Lutheran 9
Saturday
Bishop Gorman-Columbus (Florida)
Week 4 schedule
All games at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Thursday
Rancho at Sunrise Mountain
Friday
Bishop Gorman at Lone Peak (Utah), 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT
Arbor View at Hamilton (Arizona), 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT
Shadow Ridge at Laguna Beach (California) 6 p.m.
Desert Oasis at Spring Valley, 6 p.m.
Corona del Sol (Arizona) at Mojave, 6 p.m.
Cimarron-Memorial at Sierra Vista, 6 p.m.
Boulder City at Clark, 6 p.m.
Del Sol at Bonanza, 6 p.m.
Pahrump Valley at Chaparral, 6 p.m.
Skyridge (Utah) at Liberty
Green Valley at Basic
Perry (Arizona) at Centennial
Damien (California) at Faith Lutheran
Losee at Sloan Canyon
University (California) at Mater East
Virgin Valley at Spring Creek
CIVICA Academy at Elite (California)
Eldorado at Cheyenne
Lake Mead Academy at Cadence
Lone Pine (Utah) at Indian Springs
Saturday
GV Christian vs. Pershing County, 11 a.m. at Beatty
Needles vs. West Wendover, 3 p.m. at Beatty
Mililani (Hawaii) vs. Foothill at Liberty
The Meadows vs. Battle Mountain at Beatty
