The FSM Essential Recap: Palo vs Centennial

Separated by an easy twenty-minute drive, Palo Verde High School traveled up north on the 215 highway to Centennial High School in the second round of the NIAA playoffs. Palo Verde’s defense was able to shut down Las Vegas High School quarterback Ja’shawn Scroggins and wide receiver Miles Davis to handily beat the Wildcats a week earlier. While Centennial came away victorious against a very tough Legacy High School using their explosive offense led by seniors Jordan Smith and Aaron Johnson.

After a few days of rain, the game took place on a cold but dry night at Centennial High School’s Carol Leavitt Field. The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 16-0 lead after a long kickoff return and a touchdown by senior-standout running back Jordan Smith, who ended his night with 91 yards rushing and three touchdowns. The Bulldog defense also played well, having scored on a safety after dropping the Panthers in the endzone.

Palo Verde tried to get drives going, but could never hit the deep ball, and quarterback Paul Myro wound up throwing three interceptions on the night. The three interceptions showed that the Bulldog defense was clicking on all cylinders. All season long, Myro had been a standout quarterback for the Panthers, and he also stars in baseball for Palo. However, Centennial did an excellent job of making him ineffective in this game.

By halftime, the Bulldogs had a 37-0 lead after another touchdown by Smith and some good chunk-yardage plays by Aaron Shields. Whenever a team is leading by at least 35-points, a running clock is instituted. Thus, the second half went a lot quicker.

In the second half, Palo Verde ran a lot of inside zone plays off of their double-wing set, but could not get anything going offensively against the Bulldog defensive line. Bulldog Head Coach, Dustin Forshee said after the game, “the goal was to shut-out Palo.” The Bulldogs did not end up shutting out the Panthers, as Palo scored with just under five minutes left. Senior-backup quarterback Jacob Gosz-Siqueiros put the first and only Panthers points on the board, with the final score 44-7 Bulldogs.

For Centennial, this is another chapter in a turn around that started two years ago. The Bulldogs were coming off a season that the varsity team only won a single game, ironically against Palo Verde. Forshee and the coaching staff knew that the 2019 season was the season they could make a playoff run because of the talent in that class, as well as the 2020 class. Smith, Aaron Johnson, Sammie Wallace, Thomas Lane IV, Gerrick Robinson, Sammy Norris, Colton Tenney, and Tyrone McCoy lead a talented group of Bulldogs that are trying to recapture past success.

The former UNLV offensive lineman, Forshee, runs a very balanced Centennial offense while another former Rebel, Gerald Robinson, coordinates a very stingy defense that is getting healthy at the right time. The Bulldogs may be the most balanced team left in the NIAA playoffs and will have their hands full against a strong Desert Pines team that is filled with division 1 talent, as well as a former Bulldog, receiver Michael Jackson.

The Jaguars will have their big-time tight end Darnell Washington, who is playing with a broken hand, ready to go as well as one of the best freshman receivers in the country, DeAndre Moore. Jackson and quarterback Rjay Tagataese will lead an offense that is coordinated by former Bishop Gorman offensive coordinator Craig Canfield, who is one of the best in the country. The Jaguars beat Arbor View on Friday after a very long week leading up to their game.

A burner Twitter account reported an ineligible Canyon Springs player to Arbor View via a direct message last week. The Aggies, who lost to the Pioneers on Friday, reported the player to the NIAA who then ruled the player ineligible on Tuesday. Canyon Springs appealed with a compelling case, but on Friday morning the arbitrator upheld the ruling. The Pioneers will remain out of the playoffs leaving the Jaguars to play the Aggies.

The arbitrator also stated that the NIAA and CCSD would investigate the Twitter account to send the information. The reason is that the move is a potential FERPA Law violation. There is also speculation that the burner account that the DM came from is run by a CCSD school administrator who was waiting to report the player in hopes of giving the Jaguars an advantage. It is a rule that if you work or coach for a school and have evidence that a player is ineligible, you must report it immediately to the governing body, the NIAA, which didn’t happen in this case.

The account that was used to report the player has since been deleted, but screenshots were kept and are in the NIAA and CCSD’s possession.