Two teams with losing records headed for playoffs

The eight teams have been decided for the upcoming 4A playoffs, and the only thing left is actual placement which will be decided after Thursday night's games.

There are no real surprises in the final 8, as everybody except Hug, Galena and Damonte Ranch advanced.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the current playoff system stinks. North Valleys will be the No. 8 seed, and the Panthers, currently 2-5, could be getting in with a 2-6 record because they finish with Manogue. And, if Reno loses to Carson on Thursday, the Huskies will be 3-5 and the No. 7 seed.

What's wrong with this? EVERYTHING.

It's high time the football coaches and administrators do what's right which is to cut the playoffs to either four or six teams. If you cut the playoffs down to four teams, you could play the two schools that you missed during the regular season. If you cut the playoffs to six schools, you could play everybody but one team. That's even better than the current situation. Mediocrity shouldn't be rewarded at the varsity level in high school sports.

We are stuck with the current format for the rest of the emergency realignment cycle. Hopefully the powers involved in the decision making will get it right the next time around.

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Bobby Hauck, the first-year UNLV head coach, was in Carson City Friday night to watch the Senators' Jon Parker perform.

According to reports, Hauck talked with Parker and his parents prior to the game. Carson coach Blair Roman said earlier this year that UNLV has already extended Parker a scholarship offer. Parker told this reporter that he wants to wait until the end of the season before making a decision.

Hauck got an eyeful last night, as Parker enjoyed maybe his best game of the season. Parker had scoring runs of 25 and 3 yards en route to rushing for 56 yards. He also blocked a punt and probably had the best block I've seen all year when he laid out a Galena player along the sideline on a return by Chance Quilling. He also played a solid defensive game.

Personally, I see Parker as a tight end at the next level. He tips the scales at 240 and has good hands and good feet.

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Former Carson High football players Justin Barlow and Blake Plattsmier, both of whom played key roles in Carson's drive to the Sierra League championship last season, were on Carson's sideline Friday night.

Barlow is red-shirting at Nevada this season, while Plattsmier is red-shirting at College of San Mateo.

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Nate White, a Carson grad, has returned home after umpiring in the Arizona Instructional League following a stint in the short-season Pioneer League.

White, who started umpiring while a student at Carson High as part of his senior project, said that he could get assigned to either the Midwest League or the South Atlantic League after ranking third out of 41 short-season umpires in minor league baseball.