Bishop Gorman's Bizarre Nevada Playoff Path: Why All 3 5A Southern League Teams Will Play for a State Title

The Gaels have essentially locked up the No. 1 seed after crushing Faith Lutheran, but Nevada's unprecedented postseason format means they still have to win their way into the Open Division championship game.

Bishop Gorman is in position to earn Nevada’s No. 1 Open Division seed, but the state’s unusual playoff format requires the Gaels to win a semifinal while the third-place Southern team advances directly to the championship game. | Jules Carney

Bishop Gorman football took care of its biggest remaining piece of Nevada business Friday, rolling past Faith Lutheran 45-3.

The Gaels are 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Class 5A Southern League after beating their only two league opponents, Somerset Academy Losee and Faith Lutheran, by a combined score of 86-3. The win over Faith Lutheran has put Gorman in position to secure the No. 1 seed in Nevada's Open Division playoffs, according to the .

Normally, that would be fairly straightforward.

There isn't much about Nevada's Class 5A postseason that is normal this year.

Only three Southern Nevada teams — Gorman, Faith Lutheran and Losee — remain eligible for the NIAA's Class 5A postseason after 30 Clark County School District programs broke away from the association's traditional football structure for the 2026 season.

The result is a playoff format in which all three remaining Southern teams are guaranteed an opportunity to play for a state championship.

Stranger still, the team that finishes third has the most direct route to the Open Division championship game.

How Nevada's Unusual Playoff Format Works

Under the postseason format detailed by Las Vegas Review Journal, the first- and second-place teams in the Southern 5A standings will meet in an Open Division semifinal.

Gorman is in position to finish first, while Faith Lutheran and Losee meet Oct. 16 in a game that could determine second place.

The winner of the semifinal advances to the Open Division championship game at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 20. The loser isn't finished. That team moves into the Class 5A state championship game against the Northern Region champion.

Meanwhile, the third-place Southern team advances directly to the Open Division championship game.

So if Gorman finishes first, as expected, it still has to win a semifinal to reach the Open Division title game. The team that finishes third gets there without playing a semifinal at all.

It's an odd setup, but it's also the product of an unusual season for Nevada high school football.

How Nevada Football Got Here

The current format grew out of a lengthy dispute over competitive balance, playoff qualification and the structure of Class 5A football in Southern Nevada.

The Review-Journal reported in January that the NIAA rescinded a previously approved 10-team Open Division and returned to its HRM points system.

The proposed Open Division would have grouped many of Southern Nevada's top programs together. It also would have limited Gorman's ability to continue playing the kind of national schedule that has become a major part of the program's identity.

Eventually, 30 CCSD schools elected to play as football independents for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

They remain NIAA members in other sports, but their football teams aren't eligible for NIAA state championships. Instead, the CCSD programs will compete for the Superintendent's Cup.

That left Gorman, Faith Lutheran and Losee as the only three Southern 5A programs competing in the NIAA postseason.

Gorman Has Spent Much of Its Season Looking Outside Nevada

The split has made Gorman's schedule look different, too.

Without regular-season games against Las Vegas public-school programs such as Liberty and Arbor View, coach Brent Browner has continued to test his team against some of the best programs in the country.

Gorman beat California power St. John Bosco 38-28 and lost 33-28 to Christopher Columbus of Florida before producing perhaps its best performance of the season against Mater Dei.

The Gaels beat Mater Dei 25-8 in California, ending a five-game losing streak against the Monarchs.

Then Gorman returned home and handled Faith Lutheran with little trouble.

The Gaels did it without junior running backs Corey Hinton Jr. and Noah Cole. Freshman Trey Washington stepped in and rushed for two touchdowns while also catching a 34-yard touchdown pass.

"We've been working at this for a very long time, so to see how much work we put in and see all the hard work pays off is good," Washington told the .

Quarterback Ace Amina completed 10 of 13 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, and Gorman led 35-3 at halftime.

First Place Still Comes With Work to Do

Gorman has dominated its two Southern 5A opponents so far, and there is little mystery about where the Gaels currently stand in the league.

What is less conventional is what comes next.

Finishing first won't send Gorman directly to Allegiant Stadium for the Open Division championship game. The Gaels would first have to beat the Southern runner-up in the semifinal.

If Gorman wins, it advances to the Open Division final.

If it loses, it would move into the Class 5A championship game against the Northern Region champion.

Either way, Gorman would still have a chance to finish the season as a state champion.

The same is true for Faith Lutheran and Losee.

That's where Nevada high school football stands in 2026: three Southern Class 5A teams, three guaranteed places in state championship games and a playoff bracket in which finishing third provides a more direct path to the Open Division final than finishing first.