New FSM Preview - 702HSFB - 5A Southern Region Finals and 4A Semifinals - 2022

New FSM Preview – 702HSFB – 5A Southern Region Finals and 4A Semifinals – 2022

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It’s the third and final round of the postseason before Championship week! The six teams remaining, in both the 5A and 4A divisions, will face off this week to decide who will go on to contend for a title in the 2022 Nevada State Championship games. In the 5A Region Finals, the Bishop Gorman Gaels (11-1) will host the Liberty Patriots (8-3).

 

 5-A Southern Region Finals

 

Bishop Gorman vs. Liberty   

 

Since the 2014 season, the Nevada State Champion has emerged from the annual Bishop Gorman vs. Liberty playoff battle.

That’s seven straight Nevada State Championships (outside of the canceled COVID-19 season) that have gone to one of these two teams. It’s worth mentioning that Bishop Gorman has won 6 of those championships. The Gaels have also looked like one of the best teams in the country all year.

The #5 ranked team in the country may have played above their national ranking through 2022. In a week two battle, Gorman led for three quarters over Mater Dei and went down to the wire with the unanimous #1 nationally-ranked team in the country. Gorman followed their close loss to the Monarchs by completely shutting out their Nevada opponents in the regular season by a score of 335-0.

It’s hard to see any holes in this year’s Gorman team, much like every year, but if any team could pull the upset against the Las Vegas powerhouse, it might be the team that did it in 2020.

 

At first glance of their 2022 season, many people may not see this year’s Liberty team as an actual threat to the reigning Nevada State Champs. Losing three straight games to out-of-state opponents alone turned a lot of people off from the 2022 Patriots, despite the fact that Liberty recovered in week five and started a seven-game winning streak leading up to this week’s matchup with Gorman.

It may be difficult to claim this year’s Patriots are on par with the team that beat the Gaels in 2020. But if you look back on that season, you’ll see some similarities between this year and the Patriots‘ 2020 title season.

In 2019, Liberty started the season going 0-5, losing to five straight out-of-state opponents, before going on a seven-game winning streak leading up to their matchup with the Gaels. In that same year, Bishop Gorman lost their second game of the season and went on to shut out their last four Nevada opponents of the regular season by a score of 257-0. It seemed crazy at the time to think that the 7-5 Patriots were going to beat one of the top high school programs in the country, almost as crazy as it seems today in 2022. Still, Liberty has proven to be a team you can never count out, no matter what their opponent’s national ranking is.

 

 

4-A Semifinals 

 

Silverado vs. Coronado 

 

For the second straight year, the Silverado Skyhawks (10-0) will face the Coronado Cougars (9-2) for a spot in the 4A Nevada State Championship game.

Last year, the Skyhawks dominated the Cougars, 42-7, in the Semifinals to move on and eventually win the 2021 state title. This year, Silverado defeated Coronado 43-0 in week 4 of the regular season. The reigning two-time undefeated champs haven’t missed a step stretching back to last year, and this year they seem to be coming for the title just as aggressively as they did in 2021.

As for Coronado, they have been scratching at the top of the 4A division since 2021.  Going 7-3 and winning the Big Sky League title last year, the Cougars have improved this year by going 9-2 but lost out on a league title to last year’s state runner-ups and the widely considered second-best team in the division, Shadow Ridge. In order for Coronado to join that top tier of 4A Nevada teams and be regarded with the likes of Silverado and Shadow Ridge, the Cougars will need to abruptly end the Skyhawks’ 22-game winning streak and claim one of the two spots in this year’s state title game.

 

Shadow Ridge vs. Las Vegas 

 

In another rematch of last year’s 4A Semifinals round, Shadow Ridge (10-1) will face the Las Vegas Wildcats (8-2) for a shot at a state title.

Since losing last year to Silverado 61-27 in the championship game, the Mustangs have shown that they just might be better than their 2021 title-contending team. Losing only one game this year and claiming the Big Sky League title, Shadow Ridge has looked determined to get back for another shot in the big game.

The only thing standing in the Mustangs’ way of redemption is the 4A Mountain League champs, Las Vegas. The Wildcats, much like Coronado, have been one of the top teams in the 4A division the last two seasons but haven’t reached the mountaintop quite yet. Losing out on a shot at the state title last year, Las Vegas is hungry for a chance to advance to this year’s title game and to make their claim as the top team at 4A.

 

The Prep Rally Playoffs Round 3 Picks:

 

Bishop Gorman vs Liberty

Ant: Bishop Gorman 56-10

Joe: Bishop Gorman 49-14

 

Silverado vs Coronado

Ant: Silverado 45-21

Joe: Silverado 63-0

 

Shadow Ridge vs Las Vegas

Ant: Shadow Ridge 30-24

Joe: Las Vegas 35-28

 

 

Franchise Sports Media has your 702 High School Football season covered. Please make sure you tune into The FSM Prep Rally with Joe and Big Antt all season for your Las Vegas High School Football coverage and interact with us on all our social media platforms and in the comments section. 

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– Griffin Kemp – Franchise Sports Media

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