The Sharks from Rosemary Clarke Middle School are becoming intimately familiar with future league opponents due to the lack of teams from most Clark County schools.

The education process continued this past weekend as the Sharks traveled to compete in a tournament hosted by the Faith Lutheran Crusaders in Las Vegas.

The Shark B Team completed a perfect weekend, going 3-0 in pool play before streaking through the bracket play to claim the tournament title.

The B Teamers opened pool play against the host Crusaders with a 25-19 and 25-17 victory. The next victim was the Mustangs from Mack Lyon, the future Moapa Valley Pirates. The Mustangs were corralled 25-8 and 25-17. The Sharks completed pool play by dispatching the Pahranagat Valley Alamo Panthers 25-18 and 25-23.

The Sharks streaked past the Mustangs 25-14 and 25-19 to advance to the finals against the Panthers.

The Shark B Team completed an impressive weekend of play by handling the Panthers 25-19 and 25-15 for the tournament title and completed the tournament with a 10-0 record.

The Shark A Team could not shake the early morning cobwebs, losing to the host Crusaders 20-25, 25-10, 7-15 in the opening round of pool play.

The Sharks started slowly again against the Mack Lyon Mustangs, winning the first game 26-24 before rolling 25-13 in the second game. The pool round was completed with a 25-19, 25-17 victory over Alamo.

The single elimination bracket began with a match against the Panthers. The Sharks were never challenged and prevailed 25-18, 25-11.

Casey Scheller led the attack with multiple service aces and kills. The setting tandem of Ashley Lindgren and Alyson Kunzi distributed the ball leading to multiple kills by Taylor Hill, Megan Peterson and Ali Gomez.

The finals set up a rematch with the host Crusaders. The match seemed to be a carbon copy of the first match of the day with the Crusaders winning the first game 20-25 before the Sharks rebounded for an easy 25-10 win, forcing a decisive third game.

The final game turned out to be one of the most exciting, competitive matches of the season.

The Sharks broke out to leads of 6-3 and 9-5 and was on the verge of victory at 13-11 following a pass from Kunzi to Lindgren and a set to Scheller for a kill. At 13-12 another kill attempt by Scheller went just inches long and turned what could have been a 14-12 lead to a tie at 13-13.

The Crusaders took a 13-14 lead, but the Sharks battled back to tie the score again. A service error by the Sharks gave the Crusaders a 14-15 lead and caused a greater commotion with the referees.

One referee called the match, even though pre-tournament instructions indicated the final game did not have a cap, meaning the match would be played until a team won by two points.

The referees left the premises, leaving the teams, coaches and fans stunned. A long rally resulted in a kill attempt by the Crusaders that landed in by a few inches and a well-deserved 14-16 win by the Crusaders.

The Sharks will be back in action Saturday against the Meadows Mustangs.

Football team plays Saturday

The Rosemary Clarke Middle School football program is ready to wrap up its season.

The Sharks, coached by Leo Verzilli, will play at home against Las Vegas Faith Lutheran, in a twin bill beginning at 10 a.m. Both the A and B teams have lost once this season, according to Verzilli.

"Our season has been a success; the kids have come a long way," said the coach. "We are very proud of them and the time and effort they gave."

The lone loss was to Overton Moapa Valley, with the victories against Boulder City, the Moapa Valley Bisons, and Bullhead City, Ariz.

"At the start of the season, we knew we had speed and average size," said Verzilli. "But they all came together as a team and I applaud their effort."

In a 28-0 win against homestanding Bullhead City last weekend, Shane Irvine rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns; quarterback Josh Schulz threw for 30 yards, and Dajhan Celius had 30 yards rushing and two touchdowns on returns -- 60 yards on a punt and 98 yards on a kickoff.

Also contributing to the offense were Robert Torres (23 rushing yards) and Alex England (13 yards on the ground).