Arbor View Aggies: 2020 Las Vegas High School Football Preview

 

Arbor View Aggies: 2020 Las Vegas High School Football Preview

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When you talk about Arbor View, the first thing that anybody can ever discuss is the double wing and the tremendous amount of talent that the school always seems to attract. Without a doubt, Arbor is often the most talented team in the Northwest, and one of Nevada’s most talented teams.

 

Over the last decade, Arbor has won 99 games, third-best in the city since 2010, winning the Northwest division six out of ten years. Across the city, the red of the Aggies is feared and respected as an elite program in Nevada. However, unlike Liberty and Bishop Gorman, the Aggies have failed to reach a state championship game.

A black smudge on the face of the entire program, not winning state is the one shortcoming of legendary Arbor View head coach Dan Barnson who retired in 2018 after a Regional championship season, giving the team over to the coach Matt Gerber. 

In his first year as head coach of the Aggies, Gerber won nine games; however, the Aggies lost their homecoming to the Centennial Bulldogs, the first regular-season loss to the division rival over a decade. The Aggies also lost to Canyon Springs in a televised playoff game 23-16, which would have been the first time the Aggies lost the first round of the playoffs in school history.

 

But an NIAA ruling that forced Canyon Springs to forfeit the win allowed the Aggies to continue their playoff run, which ultimately ended the next week at Desert Pines losing 35-7. 

 

This upcoming season Arbor is looking to regain their status as the best team in the North, putting themselves back on top, but their program’s promotion to the 5A has put them in a division with Bishop Gorman, a team that the Aggies have never beaten. Yet, Gorman is the least of the Aggies’ worries in the 5A with a young and talented Canyon Springs, and a Legacy team with two of the valley’s best offensive players returning for a senior encore. Arbor View’s 2020 season will be telling for the team’s future in the 5A. Last season showed some weaknesses that other squad can openly exploit.

 

Arbor View over the last few seasons has been lackluster on the back end in coverage. Last season, the defense kept the team in games; however, their production suffered, only racking up 13 sacks and four interceptions in 12 games, and giving up 19.1 points per game. The struggles of the defense are small compared to that of the offense; the differences in offensive production are overwhelming.

In 2018 the Aggies accumulated 4,866 yards of total offense, last season, the Aggies offense only managed to gain 3,884. Even after subtracting the two extra playoff games, the 2018 team still outgained the 2019 team by over 400 yards of total offense. The 2018 team also out-scored the 2019 squad by almost 14 points in the same amount of games. 

 

The stat line tells is that, although the Aggies did not have a drop in talent, the 2019 Arbor View Aggies had some offensive problems.

 

Three games can confirm this; Cimarron-Memorial, Legacy, and the Canyon Springs game. In recent history, Arbor View has always beaten Legacy and Cimarron by no less than two touchdowns. Last season, however, late in the game, Arbor found themselves trailing both Legacy and Cimarron late in the games. 

Arbor had to have some late-game heroics to turn the tide in their favor- winning both contests in overtime. The Canyon springs game was a significant upset, allowing a Canyon team that had only won two games to walk into Arbor’s home field, and beat them on live television; they also trailed for over half the game. Canyon scored two long touchdowns through the air and a long run from star running back Martin Blake.

 

In the 5A, Arbor will have to get back to the basics and tighten up their offense. The team already has a solid returning quarterback in junior Kyle Holmes, who played 11 games as a sophomore. The Aggies also return talented offensive linemen like offensive tackle Tim Vaughn to continue to churn out the yards on the ground.

The Aggies will also return players like senior Safety Ricky Davis Jr., senior defensive back Devin Ramirez, and stand out sophomore linebacker Anthony Jones. These are three players who can continue to hold down the defensive side of the ball, even after the departure of hard-working defensive coordinator John Gibbons to regional rival Shadow Ridge. 

 

 

The Aggies have a lot to prove in 2021, even though there will be no playoffs in the shortened spring season, and they’ll be heavily tested. If the Aggies pull together and find a way to improve on both sides of the ball, next season will be business as usual for the Northwest powerhouse. However, if the Aggies do not find a way around their shortcomings, then the spring season will be the beginning of the end for Arbor’s reign in the North.

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-JaRon Turner – Franchise Sports Media

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