RICHARD STEPHENS / PVT The Beatty High School football team continued preseason workouts, with the Hornets' opener coming up at home Friday night against Laughlin in an interdivisional game. Advertisement

EDITOR'S NOTE: NevadaPrep.com is one of the prominent Web sites dedicated to high school athletics in the Silver State. The following article was written by Ben Rowley for the Web site, now owned by Herb Hall of Yerington. He purchased nevprep from its founder, Chuck Hildebrand, late last spring.

There is plenty up for grabs in the Nevada Class A Central Division this season.

Though Tonopah is still the consensus favorite, the Muckers have work to do in filling key losses, including impressive quarterback Mitch Lehner.

However, head coach Curt McElroy hasn't changed his aspirations. He wants to continue the three-season stranglehold the team has on the division by adding another perfect league record and returning to the state title game.

However, Indian Springs looks primed to challenge Tonopah for the division crown. The Thunderbirds bring back most of the athletes that took them to the playoffs last year. Nonetheless, head coach Sope Faga is among those still pointing to the Muckers as the kings of the hill.

"Until someone knocks them down, they're the team to beat," he said.

Beatty and Round Mountain were competitive last season and should be in the hunt again this year. Beatty's second-year coach Gus Sullivan now has his feet wet and solid athletes returning, but must develop a reliable quarterback.

Sullivan hopes to lead the green and gold to greener pastures this year. The Hornets' season starts Friday night at home against Southern 1-A Division's Laughlin. Kickoff is at 7.

Sullivan, a retired law enforcement officer and the current Justice of the Peace in Beatty, is entering his second season as head coach.

Though the team had a sub-par record and did not make the playoffs, Sullivan spoke positively of his first season at the helm. He called it a get to know you kind of year, where the team learned how Sullivan worked and he learned about a whole different generation than what he's used to.

"And I didn't expect that much. I got a lot more than I did expect out of the boys," he said.

With his maiden voyage out of the way, the coach said he certainly hopes more wins and a playoff run are on the horizon. "We have a bunch of good players coming back," he said, and added many worked hard in the off-season on weight and conditioning programs.

The Hornets will rely on junior Joe Serrano and fullback Junior Dare, a senior. Serrano, though only about 5-foot-3, is quick, tough, and has worked hard in the off-season, the coach said. He characterized Dare as a good runner who played well for them last year after coming back from a knee injury.

Beatty will also benefit from a friendly schedule. Last year the Hornets were well acquainted with the yellow bus, playing all but two of their games on the road. This year it's the exact opposite.

However, the team must overcome the departure of last year's starting quarterback and offensive leader Matt Everts. Sullivan said he never found a quality back up for Everts last year and finding and developing a reliable quarterback is their "biggest hurdle" this season.

Another offensive obstacle is size on the line. Sometimes size comes and goes in peaks and valleys in smaller towns. "We're kind of in one of those valleys," Sullivan said. "We don't have a lot of big size on our line."

The coach wasn't as concerned about his defense, stating Beatty is usually a strong defensive team and he expects the same this year.

After working as an assistant coach under Bruce Moen, Sullivan said he was at the right place at the right time to take over when Moen resigned. The Beatty native considers it a privilege and pointed to community support as a big reason Beatty sports are special.

The team raised enough money for new uniforms this year, the bleachers are always packed during games, and there's even rumor that the local fire department is planning firework shows during home games, Sullivan said.

Round Mountain's head coach James Swigart has more stability this year, bringing back his entire coaching staff for the first time, but must develop a young team.

And don't forget about perpetual wild card Spring Mountain, which usually has an athletic, though inexperienced, squad. If fundamentals are learned and chemistry is right, the Golden Eagles will be dangerous as well.

In fact, most coaches agree there's an unprecedented even playing field in the 1-A this season.

"There's a balance this year that hasn't been around in quite a while," Faga said.