Sloan Canyon-Mater East showdown highlights top Week 6 football storylines

The offseason of change in Southern Nevada high school football, with 30 CCSD programs moving to independent status, made the battle for the top of the Class 4A Southern Region more straightforward.

Sloan Canyon and Mater East, regardless of who else would be in 4A, were the two preseason favorites to contend for the Southern Region title and reach the state title game.

We’ll get a preview of the 4A Southern Region title game later this year when Sloan Canyon, No. 3 in the Review-Journal’s Southern Nevada rankings, hosts No. 5 Mater East at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The winner between the two rising charter schools Thursday will likely get the No. 1 seed in the 4A Southern Region playoffs and will host the rematch in the title game on Nov. 13 for a spot in the 4A state title game.

Sloan Canyon (3-0) coach Nate Oishi, who is also the school’s athletic director, said he expected a sold-out, standing-room-only crowd at the small charter school in south Henderson. The former UNLV offensive lineman said Sloan Canyon’s one-day-at-a-time approach will be key in a high-intensity game.

“The saying on our team is every game is the most important game because it’s the next, so that we don’t let our emotions or anything like that dictate how we prepare,” Oishi said. “That’s key for any team we play.”

‘Fun and competitive’

There are plenty of similarities between Sloan Canyon and Mater East (3-0). Both are led by former UNLV football players, with Oishi and Desert Pines graduate Tim Hough, who played at UNLV and Arizona, in his first full season coaching at Mater East.

Oishi has many of his former UNLV teammates on his staff, including offensive coordinator JD Alexander, the son of UNLV wide receivers coach Del Alexander, and defensive coordinator Mike Hughes. Former UNLV tight end Gio Fauolo is on Hough’s staff as Mater East’s offensive coordinator.

“That always makes it fun and competitive. … We have fun, competitive talk with each other,” Oishi said. “But at the end of the day, it’s always great to see them and my teammates on the Sloan Canyon staff have a passion for giving back to grow and help the football culture in Vegas and help the athletes.”

Both teams have a plethora of talent. Mater East has dominated on the ground with senior running back Marcus Williams, who is averaging 118.7 rushing yards per game. Three-star athletes Justin McCullah and Mike Taylor, who both have multiple Division I offers, are two of the Knights’ top pass catchers.

Sloan Canyon returned most of its team from last year that defeated Mater East 50-22 in the 4A Southern Region semifinals and finished 12-1 with its only defeat coming in the state title game.

Senior Jermaine Wilson Jr. is averaging 151.7 rushing yards with five touchdowns and senior Brandon Quaglio is averaging 103.3 receiving yards per game as the top target for Pirates quarterback Cade Hoshino. Oishi said the experience of his returners has helped the Pirates build off last year’s success and not miss a beat this year.

“Last year, we were a younger team, only had about four seniors in the starting lineup and this year we returned a lot of the starters from last year,” Oishi said. “Having that senior leadership and having guys who started in our system and know our system has really helped the development of our team.”

Other storylines

Here is a look at some other Week 6 high school football storylines to watch.

One more out-of-state game: Arbor View got its first win of the season last week with a 55-34 win over Centennial to begin Division I West League play. But the Aggies have one more out-of-state test when they host Lincoln (San Diego, California) at 7 p.m. Friday.

Arbor View’s offense looked to form against Centennial, with Oregon State commit Thaddeus Thatcher accounting for six touchdowns. Texas A&M commit Damani Warren looked healthy with four catches, 74 yards and a touchdown as the Aggies look to use lessons from a tough out-of-state schedule to prepare them to challenge Liberty for the Division I Superintendents Cup.

Del Sol looks for 4-0 start: Del Sol (3-0, 1-0 Division III East) has matched its win total from last year and the Dragons have a chance to get to 4-0 when they host Chaparral at 6 p.m. Friday. Zachary Blanchard is in his first year as Del Sol’s head coach. The Dragons are averaging 223 rushing yards per game, and their defense is allowing 12.6 points per game.

CCSD’s move to independence grouped teams based on competitive balance to give teams like Del Sol a chance to have more competitive games and it’s working. Del Sol will still play Sunrise Mountain and Valley in the Division III East League in what should be a compelling battle for the Division III Superintendents Cup.

Can Rancho win the Bone Game?: Rancho and Las Vegas High renew their rivalry in the annual “Bone Game” at 6 p.m. Friday at Rancho. The Rams (1-3) picked up their first win in over a year with a 31-14 win last week at Cheyenne, but this week will be a step up in competition against Las Vegas (1-3), which is coming off a 35-28 loss to Foothill.

Rancho has not beaten Las Vegas on the field in the Bone Game since 1995 but was given a win in 1998 after Las Vegas played an ineligible player. The Bone Game is the oldest rivalry in Las Vegas high school football, which began in 1957.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.

Week 6 Southern Nevada high school football schedule

All games at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted

*Denotes a league game for CCSD independent teams

Thursday

Mater East at Sloan Canyon

Friday

Desert Pines at Shadow Ridge*, 6 p.m.

Coronado at Desert Oasis*, 6 p.m.

Centennial at Mojave*, 6 p.m.

Legacy at Clark*, 6 p.m.

Las Vegas High at Rancho, 6 p.m.

Basic at Canyon Springs*, 6 p.m.

Silverado at Durango*, 6 p.m.

Chaparral at Del Sol*, 6 p.m.

Bonanza at Cimarron-Memorial*, 6 p.m.

Pahrump Valley at Valley, 6 p.m.

Laughlin at Beaver Dam, 6 p.m.

Bishop Gorman at Mater Dei (California)

Foothill at Liberty*

Lincoln (California) at Arbor View

SLAM! Nevada at Faith Lutheran

Spring Valley at Green Valley*

Palo Verde at Moapa Valley

Sierra Vista at Boulder City

Eldorado at Sunrise Mountain*

Western at Cheyenne*

The Meadows at White Pine

Spring Mountain at Round Mountain

Beatty at Sandy Valley