Why some teams would rather not make prep football’s top playoff tier in Las Vegas

Bishop Gorman players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Arbor View 69-7 in the Class 5A, Division-I, high school football state championship at Allegiant Stadium Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. Photo by: Steve Marcus

High school football across Las Vegas kicks off Friday with an unusual twist: A new points system brought on by offseason realignment will determine which four teams advance to the “open division” playoffs at season’s end.

The change also raises an important question: Do many schools even want to be selected for the open division playoffs?

That’s because perennial power Bishop Gorman — the nation’s third-ranked team that beats most in-state opponents by a running clock and has won all but one state title since 2009 — will undoubtedly be the top seed.

Gorman, with at least 20 players holding Division I college scholarship offers, tops the Sun’s preseason poll.

The competition among the other teams is unlike any other season, with plenty of parity for the label of next best.

No. 2 Arbor View returns most of its offense but has questions on defense; No. 3 Liberty — the team that knocked off Gorman in 2019 — is coming off a losing season; and Coronado, Faith Lutheran and Shadow Ridge each have plenty of questions with first-year varsity players in key spots.

However, one of those teams will likely win a state championship. The others will get blown out by Gorman in the open playoffs.

The points system, which takes results, strength of schedule and the Max Preps state rankings, will grab the top four teams in the 18-school Class 5A for the open playoffs.

The next eight teams based on points will play in the Class 5A playoffs, where a Southern Region champion will play the Northern Region champion from the Reno area for the classification’s state title.

Reno schools are immune from the open division, although Bishop Manogue — the two-time defending state champion — is ranked No. 4 in the state rankings by Max Preps in the preseason.

Using Max Preps to determine playoff qualifiers is concerning.

Max Preps lists Desert Pines at No. 10 in the preseason, but the program is a shell of its former dominant self. Desert Pines has a roster of mostly talented sophomores and went through its second coaching change of the offseason in July. Max Preps also projects that Silverado — a program that didn't win a game last season — will win the Class 4A state championship.

Max Preps says its rankings are “determined by a computer algorithm that analyzes game results and schedules entered into the Max Preps database. The algorithm considers factors such as winning percentage, league wins, head-to-head results and strength of schedule.”

An algorithm. Really?

The new postseason approach, which is employed in other states to varying degrees, will ultimately force coaches to approach games differently — especially at the end of the season.

There could be scenarios where schools run up the score to enhance their credentials. Teams might also change their scheduling approach, knowing an ugly loss in nonleague play — a time traditionally reserved for finding tough opponents to prepare for conference play — could be the tipping point.

There is no perfect solution to realignment, and there’s always going to be a program in the wrong classification. It’s been that way since the 1990s, when Boulder City High was briefly moved out of the lower classification for small towns, causing an uproar.

Surely, officials will continue to shuffle the realignment deck every two or three years, searching for the right fit. Who knows? Maybe the open division will pan out to be just that.

Regardless, let’s remember what’s important: the athletes.

They only get a handful of home games in front of family and friends, a few spirit assemblies and the thrill of playing with their friends.

Here’s hoping everyone has a safe and fun season. Open division or not, Friday nights remain special.