Las Vegas High School Football Games - NIAA Playoffs - 2026 | Mater East Wins the 4A South

Week 14 High School Football Games: NIAA Playoffs Championship Friday

Week 14 put two trophies’ worth of football on one night! In East Las Vegas, Mater East and Sloan Canyon played the rematch everybody in the 4A South had circled since September, and it came down to one score. At Bishop Gorman, the Gaels and Faith Lutheran met in an Open Division semifinal built by a brand new playoff format, where both teams leave with a state title game on the schedule. Weird, but whatever. We’ll take it.

If you missed last week, here is our Week 13 recap, with Gorman’s 54-0 win over CIVICA and both 4A South semifinals.

FSM Prep Rally Game of the Week: Sloan Canyon at Mater East

Mater East 20, Sloan Canyon 14. The 4A Southern Region championship was every bit the one-score fight this rivalry promised.

You know the backstory. These two met on Sept. 17 in Henderson, and Mater East won 27-19 on the field. Then the Knights had to forfeit that win, and the result flipped to Sloan Canyon in the standings. Mater East still earned the top seed and the home field for the rematch, and on Friday night the Knights made sure there was nothing left to argue about.

It’s also payback for last November. Sloan Canyon ended Mater East’s 2025 season 50-22 in the region semifinals on the way to the state title game. One year later, the Knights are the ones moving on. Now THAT is a turnaround.

I’m gonna put it out there. Sloan Canyon vs Mater East is now THE high school football rivalry game in Las Vegas. Two relatively new programs chock full of ex-UNLV players who I shot when they were in college. Some ultra-talented athletes on both sides of the ball, and some palpable bad blood from the coaches all the way down to the ball boys. Trust me, I’m on the sideline with music producer ears. I hear everything. Even the ball boys were lathered up for this one.

These teams bring out the best and worst in one another. I’ve shot a lot of Sloan Canyon games. They are a disciplined and well-coached bunch. When they see Mater East, though, they turn into a pack of hyenas.  That may be because they see a pack of wild dogs on the other side of the field. Both teams cost themselves in this game due to some untimely and stupid penalties. If there’s anything to clean up in the offseason, this is it!

I hate dumb penalties. I hate turnovers more. The Pirates put the ball on the ground several times, and it proved to be their undoing at the end. Late in the 4th quarter, after forcing a bad punt to get the ball back deep in Mater East territory, the Pirates were marching through the red zone when quarterback Cade Hoschino, on a QB keeper, coughed it up. The Knights recovered, effectively ending the game.

First rule of thumb, boys, protect the ball.

It was a helluva game. Mater East OC Coach Gio Fauolo mentioned to Hannah in the postgame interview that the Pirates played a lot better this game than the last one, but it was his squad that took home the NIAA Southern Regional hardware on this night, and they can taste a state championship.

After the game, Hannah caught up with Knights Marcus Williams and Justin McCullah, two of the guys who made this title happen. It’s all in the Prep Rally episode above.

What it means: Mater East is the 4A South champion and plays the 4A North champion for the state title on Nov. 21 in Reno. Sloan Canyon finishes 8-3, one score short of a second straight trip to the state final.

Watch the highlights in the Prep Rally episode above!

FSM Prep Rally Game of the Week: Faith Lutheran at Bishop Gorman

Bishop Gorman 53, Faith Lutheran 0. The Gaels led 47-0 at halftime of the Open Division state semifinal and never let the Crusaders on the board.

The Gaels came in 9-1 with seven straight wins and a 54-0 shutout of CIVICA the week before. Faith Lutheran came in 6-4 after winning at Sloan Canyon 20-16 to close its regular season. Gorman won the first meeting 45-3 on Sept. 25, and Friday looked a lot like that night. Gorman is STILL hungry. That man, Ace Amina, threw 5 touchdowns in the first half! I heard he left the city at halftime on the first thing smoking after the ground stop was lifted. Enjoy your vacation, Ace! See you when you get back next week!

Seriously, let’s address the elephant in The Valley. Bishop Gorman is head and shoulders above the rest of this city when it comes to talent. That can’t be denied. We can talk about the “unfair” dynamic of being able to recruit. If I’m a CCSD school, I have a valid argument. But Faith Lutheran, Mater East, Sloan Canyon, Somerset Losee, SLAM, and CIVICA can all recruit too, and they’re all in their infancy. Pound for pound, I don’t believe they have the athletes that Liberty, Arbor View, and Centennial have at the moment, but they’re all coming. And they’re coming for the best players in CCSD. They will be armed with smaller classrooms, better resources, and bags of NIL money. I predict that these schools will get closer to that Gorman-type machine, while our CCSD schools get pushed further away from it.

My hope is that the DJ Campbells and Sam Norrises stick around to give these kids a reason to do the same. Browner, Hough, McNair, and Oishi are cooking with gas right now.

Anyway, the NIAA playoffs look weird this year because, with 30 CCSD programs going independent, only three 5A South schools are left in the NIAA: Gorman, Faith Lutheran, and Losee. So Faith Lutheran, who lost this “playoff” game, are not done. Gorman plays Losee for the Open Division state title, and Faith plays the 5A North champion for the 5A state title. This is stupid, but whatever. I think the NIAA did what they could under these circumstances.

The whole Nevada public school system refuses to play Bishop Gorman. It is what it is. At the end of the day, who needs who? I think once we get to the true answer to that question, we’ll see even more changes.

Kalani talked with Gorman QB Ace Amina and head coach Brent Browner after the win. Watch it in the Prep Rally above.

What it means: Gorman is 10-1 with eight straight wins and is one win from another Open Division state title, with Losee waiting. Faith Lutheran is 6-5 and its season is not over. The Crusaders play the North champion for the 5A state title.

(Scores via FSM on site.)

That’s a wrap on the NIAA playoffs Semifinals! Four Las Vegas teams are playing for state titles: Mater East in the 4A final on Nov. 21, Bishop Gorman against Losee for the Open Division title, and Faith Lutheran against the 5A North champion for the 5A title. FSM will be there. Nominate your player for Las Vegas High School Athlete of the Week, and find every Las Vegas high school football story in one place. Follow @thefranchiselv for highlights all week. Thanks for visiting FranchiseSportsMedia.com for your Las Vegas Sports news today.

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