RICHARD STEPHENS / PVT Tony Dare of Beatty runs for yardage in a football game earlier this season against Laughlin. The Hornets are out of the Southern Nevada playoff picture at 0-5 in the league, 1-6 in all games. Advertisement

Tonopah is in the Southern Nevada Class A football playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. A win against Indian Springs Thursday will solidify the Muckers' No. 2 seed.

Round Mountain needs a victory against Henderson International School to qualify for the second straight year.

Beatty won't make it; the Hornets (0-5, 1-6) lost 54-12 to Round Mountain and will close the season against defending state champion Pahranagat Valley Alamo. All games are Thursday because of the Nevada Day observance.

Round Mountain, coached by Jim Swigart, in his sixth season at the northern Nye County school, and Henderson are tied for fourth at 2-3 in the league. The Knights are 2-6 in all games, while Henderson is 3-5.

In 2008, Round Mountain lost 45-28 to Tonopah in the first round of the playoffs. This season, the Knights will be a No. 4 seed with a win and would take on Alamo (5-0 league, 7-0 in all games) in the first round Nov. 7, at Pahranagat Valley.

Tonopah (4-1, 4-4) and Spring Mountain (4-2, 5-3) are possible first-round opponents; the Muckers and Eagles clashed just last Friday, with Tonopah running away to a 61-20 victory.

The Round Mountain-Henderson matchup is the biggest of the weekend, because of the playoff implications.

Round Mountain lost its first five games (32-12 to Mineral County Hawthorne, 64-14 to undefeated Coleville, Calif., 22-12 to Laughlin, 52-20 to Alamo and 56-6 to Spring Mountain before beating Indian Springs 58-18.

The Knights lost 29-28 to in the final 34 seconds to Tonopah, then defeated Beatty to get back into the playoff picture.

Halfback Joaquin Ramirez leads the Knights' offense, which is averaging 25.8 points per game. Ramirez is an all-purpose player; he is a threat as a runner and pass receiver and as a linebacker.

Henderson has lost four of its last five games after a 2-1 start. The Wolverines are led by running back/defensive end Jay Sutorius and fullback/linebacker Charles Pachas.

Tonopah was led to victory by pistol back Denver Otteson, who rushed for 284 yards and three touchdowns in the victory against Spring Mountain. The Muckers led 34-8 at halftime and cruised to their fourth straight victory.

The top four Southern teams and the 1-2 finishers in the East and West divisions advance to the first round of the state playoffs Nov. 7. The semifinals are Nov. 14, with the championship game Nov. 21 at a northern Nevada site.

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Barring any surprises in the final week of the regular season, the top eight teams in Southern Nevada Class A league volleyball will be defending state champion Lake Mead Christian Academy, Alamo, Tonopah, Henderson International School, Lund, Beatty, Round Mountain and Indian Springs.

Thursday, Alamo (7-1 league, 17-4) is at Beatty (4-4, 8-9), Tonopah (5-3, 13-8) is at Indian Springs (2-6, 4-12) and Round Mountain (4-4, 8-9) goes to Henderson (4-3, 10-9). Lake Mead (8-0, 27-4) played its final league match Tuesday against Sandy Valley (0-8, 1-10), while Las Vegas Trinity (1-7, 5-15) was at Henderson.

The regionals are Nov. 6-7 at Desert Oasis High School in Las Vegas, with first-round pairings No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5.