Sollenberger Classic: Role reversals in Las Vegas showdowns

WHAT: Ninth Annual Sollenberger Classic
WHERE: Bishop Gorman HS (Las Vegas)
FRIDAY: Brophy Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) vs. Bishop Gorman, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY: Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) vs. Reed (Sparks, Nev.), 7 p.m.
TO HONOR: The late Barry Sollenberger, a former AIA employee and sports historian.

LAS VEGAS — The team buses rolled out of Mountain Pointe (Phoenix, Ariz.) on Thursday morning and headed for Las Vegas for the second time in just over a calendar year.

When the return trip from the Sollenberger Classic comes about on Sunday it will be hard to match the amount of confidence and momentum the Pride gained in its first foray at Fertitta Field.

A win over Reed (Sparks, Nev.), a quality program out of Sparks, Nev., on Saturday night is important to get the 2014 season off well, but in no way can it match the results of Mountain Pointe's program-shifting win over national power Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) a year ago.

"It's going to be different because we are playing Reed," said Pride coach Norris Vaughan, whose team practiced at Gorman upon arrival on Thursday. "Beating Gorman on their field on national TV was huge. It gave us a lot of confidence and served noticed to everyone else, I guess."

Reed arrived Thursday as well, and practiced at The Meadows School, while Brophy College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) got here a day earlier in preparation for its matchup with host Bishop Gorman.

"This event has grown tremendously," said Brophy coach Scooter Molander, whose program defeated Gorman 16-6 in the first cross-boarder game in 2008 at University of Phoenix Stadium. "This is a great opportunity for the four programs involved."

The four schools got together Thursday for a banquet on Gorman's jaw-dropping facility. The seating arrangements were equally impressive. Each table had a player or a coach from every school.

"I've never seen anything like this and it's a great idea to have these young men interact instead of mad dogging each other," Molander. "It's more than just a game. It's a learning experience and I think it's a great idea"

Now that the pleasantries are over Molander and the Broncos, coming off a rare 5-7 losing season, face the task of taking on Gorman, which begins the year at No. 13 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 and No. 1 by USA Today.

"We have our work cut out for us," said Molander, whose team practiced at Faith Lutheran (Las Vegas, Nev.). "They are really good and have a lot of size that we have to scheme to match up with."

Very few teams in the nation have been able to hang with Gorman since Tony Sanchez took over the Gaels, although they have just a 1-2 record in the Sollenberger. In five seasons under Sanchez, Gorman is 70-5 with five state titles. The Gaels have taking on all comers nationally.

"Things have been good and the kids have worked hard," said Sanchez, whose program hasn't lost against and in-state opponent since the 2008 state title game. "We are excited about this team. All four teams are chomping at the bit to hit someone else."

The Pride came in as underdogs last year and the us-against-the-world mentality lead to a monumental 28-21 win that was the impetus to the program's first state title.

This time around Mountain Pointe is nationally-ranked — No. 21 by USA Today — coming in with high expectations and the clear favorite.

Meanwhile, Reed is coming off a state runner-up finish, looking for its first state title after a great run of making it least to Nevada's large school state semifinals four times in last five years, and relishing the role of being overlooked in this game.

It's essentially the same resume the Pride had coming into last year's game.

"I am definitely excited to play Reed," Pride senior center Collin Lambdin said. "It's kind of a role reversal because I'm sure they've been thinking about beating us like we wanted Gorman. We welcome their best game so at the end of the season if we end up on the top no one can question how we got there."

Reed coach Ernie Howren isn't shying away from the depiction of the role reversal. He saw how Mountain Pointe came in and lead from start to finish against a program in Gorman.

"Anyone who has followed or seen tape knows Mountain Pointe is an extremely great football program," Howren said. "We don't have any problem saying we are the underdogs. Coach Vaughan has a great program and we are not quite at that level."

All that could change for Reed come Saturday night.

"We are not afraid of talking about what we want to accomplish," Howren said. "At some point we have to bring home a state championship. That's the ultimate goal and we do believe in progression early in the season in our non-league games so a win would set the tone for the season."

Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothill News staff writer, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.