3 storylines to watch on opening week of high school football

Three Storylines to Watch as Southern Nevada High School Football Kicks Off Opening Week The official start of the autumn sports season arrived on Thursday, but the real action begins Friday night with 21 games featuring teams from Southern Nevada. Thirty Clark County School District programs have elected independent status, rendering them ineligible for NIAA‑sanctioned state titles and directing them toward the Superintendents Cup instead. That leaves seven Class 5A and 4A Southern Region squads to compete for the Open Division, 5A and 4A championships, a group that includes Bishop Gorman as it pursues a fifth mythical national championship. **Out‑of‑state challenges** Despite the district’s shift to independence, Arbor View and Liberty have kept non‑league schedules filled with out‑of‑state opponents. Liberty opens its campaign at Hawaii power Mililani on Friday, while Arbor View travels to West (Utah) the same evening. Liberty’s non‑league slate also includes Skyridge (Utah) and Tafuna (American Samoa). Arbor View will face Carlsbad (California), Hamilton (Arizona) and Lincoln (California) in non‑league play. Sloan Canyon, which remains within the NIAA, hosts Central East (California) at home; the Pirates’ opponent is ranked No. 89 nationally by MaxPreps and No. 12 in California. **New coaching debuts** Several teams will introduce new head coaches this fall. The featured matchup pits Palo Verde (under Dru Smith) against Desert Pines (led by Rob Robles) at 7 p.m. at Desert Pines. Smith, a former Bishop Gorman assistant, becomes just the third head coach in Palo Verde history, following Darwin Rost and Joe Aznarez, as the school marks its 30th anniversary. Robles is the fourth Desert Pines head coach in as many seasons and aims to keep the Jaguars competitive in Division I of the CCSD independent ranks. Additional first‑time head