LAS VEGAS » One of Marcus Sherman’s most prized possessions is a blue three-ring binder that is 29 years old.
The pages are now French-vanilla white, but the copied hand-written designs have lost little tone.
"This," said Sherman, Valley High’s football coach, "is Norm Chow’s original playbook."
Sherman received the playbook in 1984 when he was a freshman safety and Chow was Brigham Young’s offensive play-caller. BYU won the national championship that year; the book became Sherman’s treasure.
Sherman remains a faithful believer in Chow, now Hawaii’s head coach. Sherman joked that Valley might be the only Las Vegas high school team still using a tight end — a staple in what Sherman still refers to as BYU’s version of the West Coast offense.
When the Rainbow Warriors needed a place to practice ahead of today’s game against UNLV, Sherman extended an invitation. The Warriors worked out for nearly an hour Friday on Valley’s FieldTurf.
Chow’s offense, out of necessity, has evolved. This season, the Warriors have used the pistol, read-option, West Coast and hurry-up. They have taken snaps from under center and shotgun. There have been fly sweeps, reverses, double reverses, a quarterback at receiver, a receiver at quarterback, and a play in which the ball was intentionally placed on the ground.
Chow said the universal goal is 28 points — a touchdown and PAT every quarter.
"But if the other team scores 50," Chow said, "you gotta score 51."
The Warriors have not outscored any opponent this season. The Warriors are winless in five games, including 0-3 against Mountain West Conference teams.
"We’re disappointed, but we’re not discouraged," Chow said.
Taylor Graham, who missed two games because of a non-throwing-shoulder injury, played well in practice this week and appears ready to re-enter the mix at quarterback. But Sean Schroeder and Ikaika Woolsey are expected to get the bulk of the snaps today.
The Warriors also are ailing at receiver. Keith Kirkwood did not make the trip while he continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms. Marcus Kemp is on the trip, but his availability is in question after he suffered a foot injury in a moped accident.
"We have seven more games to play (in the regular season), and not one person in the world is feeling bad for us," Chow said.
The Rebels, who lost 48-10 to the Warriors in 2012, are not taking pity on their opponent’s plight. The Rebels (3-2, 1-0 MWC) have won three in a row for the first time since 2003.
"It feels good within the team to have some success and to see the hard work we’ve been putting in pay off," UNLV quarterback Caleb Herring said. "A lot of people outside are focusing on the streak. We’re thinking about this game."
