Prep football

Mesquite Virgin Valley, Pahranagat Valley Alamo and Pershing County Lovelock rank as favorites to win Nevada high school football championships, in the playoffs that begin Saturday afternoon.

Those three schools lead their respective classifications in the penultimate Pahrump Valley Times Nevada High School football ratings of the season.

Virgin Valley, the defending state playoff champion, won the Southern 3-A regular-season title with a 34-14 rout of Overton Moapa Valley last week.

Lovelock claimed the Northern 2-A league title with an 8-0 conquest of Battle Mountain. Yerington Rite of Passage won the 2006 championship and is sixth in the Times ratings.

Alamo, state 1-A champion the last two seasons, is seeking another title after wrapping up an undefeated Southern Division season with a 66-0 rout of Laughlin.

The final ratings will be for Class 4-A only Nov. 9.

The rankings

The final Class 3-A, 2-A and 1-A Pahrump Valley Times Nevada High School football ratings appear today. The final Class 4-A top 10 will be published Nov. 9.

The teams ranked below are all in the playoffs. They are listed according to their chances of winning a state championship in their respective classes.

CLASS 3-A

1. Virgin Valley 8-1

2. Truckee, Calif. 7-1

3. Moapa Valley 6-3

4. Sparks 6-2

5. Faith Lutheran 6-3

6. Spring Creek 6-4

7. Fernley 6-3

8. Boulder City 3-6

CLASS A

1. Alamo 8-1

2. Tonopah 8-1

3. Carlin 7-2

4. Coleville, Calif. 9-0

5. Wells 6-3

6. MV Christian 7-2

7. Smith Valley 5-4

8. Indian Springs 6-3

CLASS 2-A

1. Lovelock 9-0

2. Yerington 8-1

3. Needles, Calif. 8-1

4. The Meadows 6-3

5. Battle Mountain 7-2

6. Rite of Passage 6-4

7. Lincoln County 5-3

8. West Wendover 3-5