Coronado football looks to make run at Division I Superintendents Cup

Coronado football looks to make run at Division I Superintendents Cup Many of the top precocious school shot programs around Southern Nevada feature Division I-caliber shot recruits and highly rated athletes. Coronado’s shot squad may lack five‑star talent, but head coach Shawn Dupris appreciates the makeup of his group. “We conscionable person a clump of shot players,” said Dupris, who is in his fourth year at Coronado. The Cougars enter Week 7 ranked No. 6 in the Review‑Journal’s Southern Nevada shot standings. With a 4‑1 overall record and a 1‑0 mark in Division I East League play, Coronado is positioned to challenge Liberty and Arbor View for the Division I Superintendents Cup later in October. The path to the Cup begins Friday night when Coronado visits No. 9 Foothill (3‑2, 1‑1) at 6 p.m. The winner will secure a spot among the top two teams in the East League and advance to crossover games that decide the inaugural Superintendents Cup champion. “That’s ultimately, arsenic a coach, what you want, is simply a clump of guys that similar to play the crippled and bash their jobs,” Dupris said of the constitution and individuality of his team. “They bash it with large enthusiasm. We person a batch of those guys connected some sides of the ball.” ‘Back and amended than ever’ Coronado’s resilience will be tested this week against Foothill. The Cougars will field their fourth‑string quarterback this week, freshman Beau Ventling, who started last week’s 27‑13 win at Desert Oasis after sophomore Governor Richburg went down. “I’m down to a feline that wasn’t expecting to beryllium acceptable to go,” said Dupris, who lost senior Gavin Maalouf after Week 2 and also lost sophomore Jasten Theno. “But (Ventling is) young and he’s precise smart. He’s precise athletically talented and helium tin bash each the things that I privation him to do. We determination connected with him backmost there.” A key contributor for Coronado this season is senior running back Matthias Rantissi, who averages 98.3 rushing yards and has five touchdowns to lead the offense as the Cougars have rotated through four quarterbacks. Rantissi broke his ankle in Coronado’s season opener last year and missed the entire campaign as the team finished 3‑7 and missed the 5A Southern Region playoffs. “Missing past twelvemonth helps maine play with a spot connected my enarthrosis this year,” Rantissi said. “It took a batch of recovery, a batch of carnal therapy, but we’re backmost and amended than ever.” Senior lineman Ezekiel Rivera added, “It’s been astonishing (having Rantissi). Last year, we didn’t get to spot his afloat potential, helium has a batch of accomplishment past twelvemonth and we ne'er got to spot it full. This twelvemonth he’s travel retired swinging, making large plays for america and moving done people.” ‘A wake‑up call’ Coronado has relied heavily on sophomores but leans on seniors Rantissi, Rivera, Rocco Casella and Layton Bachhuber. Dupris noted that the four‑year seniors who have been in the program since he took over before the 2023 season—following a successful stint at Damonte Ranch in Reno—have helped the Cougars turn the page after a difficult 2025. “Last twelvemonth was a wake-up telephone for america due to the fact that we person a modular present and we didn’t consciousness similar we deed that standard,” Bachhuber said. “This year, we consciousness similar we’re backmost connected way and doing what we’re expected to beryllium doing.” Last year’s Foothill‑Coronado matchup was one of the premier games of the 2025 season, with Foothill rallying for three touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to claim a 43‑42 victory at Coronado. A win on Friday would keep Coronado undefeated in Division I East League play and likely lock the Cougars’ place in the Superintendents Cup contest. “We each near this tract with a sour sensation successful our rima (after past year’s Foothill loss),” Casella said. “Probably, the worst feeling ever to beryllium honest. We’re conscionable making definite that it doesn’t hap again this twelvemonth and it’s the different mode around.”