USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Bishop Gorman will play for a Nevada high school football title regardless of the outcome in its next game.
A high school football team in Nevada will make the state championship game despite losing in the semifinals. A unique scheduling format provides a path to the title.
The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association introduced a brand-new postseason structure for 2026. It came in response to the departure of 30 Class 4A and 5A Clark County programs. Those schools opted to move to independent status this past offseason.
As a result, the NIAA got creative. It will give one lucky loser an opportunity to win some hardware.
Nevada high school football teams shook up the bracket.
“The high school principals of the 4A and 5A aligned football programs in the Clark County School District have formally notified the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, …, that their football programs will be on Independent Status for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 realignment cycle,” the NIAA said in statement in the summer.
Those schools are forced to remain independent for a minimum of two years and cannot participate in any NIAA-sanctioned postseason event.
Each of those programs were part of the Southern Region. The action came after Bishop Gorman, a top competitor in Las Vegas, threatened a lawsuit against the NIAA in response to scheduling restrictions.
The association tried to realign the classes and force the Gaels to play a nine-game league schedule. It refused.
Bishop Gorman is a nationally recognized program that plays a coast-to-coast slate. This year, alone, they’ve travelled to California, Utah, and Florida. Despite being a private school, the Gaels are still eligible to compete for an official NIAA state title.
The threat of a lawsuit created a dilemma. The loss of those 30 now-independent programs resulted in an interesting format for playoff scheduling. There are no losers!
One team will play for a championship after losing a playoff game.
Bishop Gorman will face Faith Lutheran in the NIAA state semifinal. The new playoff format pits the two top teams from the 5A Southern Region against one another to decide their fates.
According to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the winner will move onto the Open Division state championship. The loser will advance to the 5A state title game.
Bishop Gorman is the best team in Nevada. They boast a No. 7 national ranking as one of the top programs in high school football.
The Gaels went 9-1 in the regular season with the lone loss coming to sixth-ranked Columbus in Miami. They’ve beaten everyone else on the schedule by a combined score of 408-64.
Faith Lutheran, meanwhile, is considered the fourth-best program in the state. They went 6-4 during the regular season, with one of those losses coming to the Gaels, 45-3. Revenge will be on their mind, but a loss won’t end the year.
The winner of this contest will advance to play Losee in the Open Division championship. That game will be played in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The loser will face the 5A Northern Region champ, either Spanish Springs or Bishop Manogue, for an opportunity to win a title of their own. Wild!