One of the longest-running high school football rivalries in Southern Nevada takes center stage on Friday night.
Henderson rivals Green Valley and Basic face off in the annual Henderson Bowl at 7 p.m. Friday at Basic as one of the highlight games of a Week 4 Southern Nevada football schedule.
Basic, which opened in 1942, is the oldest high school in Henderson. Green Valley opened in 1991 as the second high school in Henderson, which began the rivalry between the two oldest high schools in Henderson.
“This game is always special,” Basic coach Jeff Cahill said. “It’s a big deal for our school and our kids. Anytime you’re playing for a trophy, it means something and it goes back so far. It’s one of the best rivalries in town and both sides get pumped up for it.”
Always a close game
The last three meetings between Basic (1-1) and Green Valley (1-0) have come down to the wire.
Green Valley has won the last two meetings, with a 42-40 victory last year and 25-24 in 2024. Basic won the 2023 meeting 19-17, but Green Valley won a rematch in the playoffs that year.
“It’s going to be a close game,” Cahill said. “It’s going to come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes in the end.”
Green Valley had a bye last week, but opened its season with a 43-8 win at Canyon Springs on Aug. 21. The Gators are under first-year coach Brandon Harton and have one of the city’s top quarterbacks with Michael Lewis, who can beat teams with his arm and legs.
“The biggest thing will be to contain the quarterback,” Cahill said. “He played against us last year and he really hurt us with his legs and he’s pretty good. We’re definitely going to have to keep him under wraps.”
Family affair
Basic beat Sierra Vista 34-12 last week. After opening with a 42-8 loss to Foothill on Aug. 21, Cahill said he was impressed with Basic’s physicality against Sierra Vista and praised quarterback Andrew Rodriguez, defensive end Irae Pulalasi and linebacker Dominic Fredrickson for leading the Wolves.
Much of Basic’s strengths start with Cahill’s son Louden. The senior had two touchdown catches and an interception on defense for Basic last week. The Henderson Bowl is always a special game for the Cahills, with Jeff being a Basic graduate and Jeff’s father Dan, who serves on staff as an assistant.
“(Louden) was born like two months before I got the (Basic head coaching) job, so he’s been around for all of (the Henderson Bowls I’ve coached),” Jeff Cahill said. “We have pictures of him as a baby inside the Henderson Bowl, so he’s looking forward to the game and he wants to raise that Henderson Bowl for Basic.”
Other Week 4 storylines
Here is a look at three other storylines to watch during the fourth week of the high school football season.
Liberty hosts Ninth Island Classic: Two of the top local teams will face off against quality out-of-state opponents this week as Liberty hosts its annual Ninth Island Classic.
On Friday, Liberty (1-1) hosts Skyridge (Utah) at 7 p.m. The Patriots, No. 2 in the Review-Journal’s Southern Nevada football rankings, shut out Tafuna (American Samoa) 42-0 last Friday, when BYU commit running back Ezra Sanelivi had three of his seven carries go for touchdowns. Skyridge (2-1) defeated Liberty 45-27 last year.
Foothill (2-0) faces Mililani (Hawaii) at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Liberty. The Falcons outlasted defending 5A state champion Spanish Springs 28-24 in Sparks last week. Mililani (3-0) defeated Liberty 31-24 on Aug. 14 and the Trojans are MaxPreps’ top-ranked Hawaii team.
Arbor View plays nationally ranked opponent: No. 4 Arbor View (0-2) had a week off to get ready for Hamilton (Arizona), which is ranked No. 16 nationally by MaxPreps. The Aggies have played a challenging out-of-state schedule, which began with close losses to West (Utah) 20-14 and Carlsbad (California) 24-17.
The Aggies hope the tough schedule prepares them for a run at the Superintendents Cup, which begins with league play against rival Centennial on Sept. 10, followed by another nonleague game against Lincoln (California) on Sept. 18.
One bright spot for Arbor View has been the production of a fully healthy Damani Warren at wide receiver. The Texas A&M commit has 11 catches for 211 yards in two games after playing in six games last year after battling injuries.
Going for 3-0: Several teams have an opportunity to improve to 3-0 this week. It starts on Thursday when Sunrise Mountain (2-0) hosts Rancho at 7 p.m. San Diego State commit Roman Pulefaasisina has seven tackles for loss and four sacks for the Miners through two games.
On Friday, three teams put their perfect records on the line. At 6 p.m., Spring Valley (2-0) hosts Desert Oasis (1-1), and Clark (2-0) hosts Boulder City. No. 5 Sloan Canyon (2-0) hosts Losee (1-2) at 7 p.m.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Southern Nevada Week 4 high school football 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)
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
Silverado at Moapa Valley
Virgin Valley at Spring Creek
CIVICA Academy at Elite (California)
Eldorado at Cheyenne
Lake Mead Academy at Cadence
White Pine at Yerington
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
