'Our standard': Eldorado football beats Chaparral to win Cleat Game

Eldorado players pose with the Cleat Trophy after Eldorado defeated Chaparral in the “Cleat Game” at Chaparral High School Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Photo by: Steve Marcus

On the bus ride to the most important high school football game of the season, Eldorado junior Anthony Haro slipped on his headphones and tried to prepare for the moment ahead.

Like most athletes before a big game, he wasn’t pumping himself up with aggressive music. Instead, he chose something mellow — Katy Perry.

He closed his eyes and visualized how the Cleat Game rivalry against Chaparral would unfold. “I kept telling myself, ‘Three interceptions and two touchdowns,’” he said.

That mental preparation paid off.

Haro dominated the 28-18 victory, becoming the star of the game with exactly what he’d envisioned — three interceptions. He even exceeded his own expectations, scoring three touchdowns to help bring the cleat trophy back to Eldorado for the first time after Chaparral’s two-year reign.

“I’m proud of that kid, No. 28,” coach Darryl Tootle said of Haro, who wears jersey No. 28. “He put the team on his back tonight.”

Eldorado trailed 18-14 at halftime, but their defense stepped up in the second half, shutting out Chaparral to improve to 2-0 on the season. The defensive effort was highlighted by a crucial interception from Haro deep in Eldorado territory.

In a momentum-shifting play, he returned the ball the length of the field before being tackled just short of the goal line. A few plays later, Haro punched through the defense for a rushing touchdown that put Eldorado ahead for good.

Tootle refers to Haro as “his rookie” because the junior is seeing his first significant varsity action. But not many rookies start on both sides of the ball — and even fewer deliver their best performance when it matters most.

Eldorado should have beaten Chaparral last season, but were denied inside the 5-yard line with less than two minutes to play and then allowed Chaparral to drive the length of the field for the winning points.

“That was fun,” Haro says with a big grin. “We had to get rid of all the toxicity and poison from last year.”

Haro is easy to spot on the field — he’s got long, curly hair that flows to the middle of his back. At one point in the game, he said he heard yelling from the Chaparral sideline to “pull my hair” to tackle him. That’s a legal play.

That strategy didn’t work. He rushed for nearly 130 yards.

With about two minutes remaining on the clock, a Chaparral lineman suffered a neck injury that required transportation to the hospital by ambulance. The game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes while emergency personnel attended to the player.

Instead of resuming play, and with the outcome all but decided, there was a single kneel down before the clock ran out. Eldorado players didn’t race to grab the rivalry trophy — a common practice in this heated matchup.

Instead, they formed a somber handshake line, offering their support to Chaparral players and coaches in the wake of their teammate’s injury.

It was an unscripted moment that demonstrated how the decades-old rivalry between two of the Las Vegas area’s oldest high schools has matured, showing that some things matter more than football.

About five minutes after the game ended, the players finally raced to the endzone to claim their trophy. There were pictures, a water shower for the coach and plenty of hugs.

The players got the celebration they’d been waiting two years for — and it’s something they say will last a lifetime.

On Monday, the trophy will return home to its display case at Eldorado, positioned front and center near the main lobby for everyone to see.

“Happy for our boys,” Tootle said. “This is our standard; our expectation.”