Trojans drop nailbiter to Sundevils on Homecoming night

Pahrump Valley hosted their homecoming football game on Friday night with a defensive battle between the Trojans and the Eldorado Sundevils.

Both teams entered the game coming off huge wins in the week prior and they are both vying for the final playoff spot in the 3A southern regional tournament.

The Trojans defeated the Sundevils last season 40-0 when they traveled to the Las Vegas based high school, so Eldorado was looking to get some payback.

Pahrump Valley was missing five starters for the game, including their top running back and receiver Cole Venturo, who was still suffering from concussion symptoms.

Senior quarterback Scott Oscarson had a tough day in the passing department.

He only managed to complete five of his 16 pass attempts for 92 yards and two interceptions. This was the first game since the Trojans’ early season matchup against Virgin Valley, and just the third game of the season, where Oscarson didn’t have a passing touchdown.

Despite not having a great day throwing the ball, Oscarson was able to put together a decent rushing game. He finished with 11 carries for 63 yards.

The lone touchdown of the night for the Trojans came on the ground with a rushing touchdown by junior running back Tristan Church.

Church had his best game of the season against the Sundevils, finishing the night with 10 carries for 114 yards and one touchdown.

Going into the game, Church had only run the ball 14 times for 122 yards all season.

In addition to having his best offensive game of the season, Church also had one of his best defensive games of the year.

He had 13 total tackles against Eldorado, nearly doubling his season total of 17 tackles entering the game.

Senior safety Aiden McClard aided the Trojans defense in the turnover department. He recorded two interceptions against the Sundevils.

Even with the strong play on the defensive side of the ball, Pahrump Valley wasn’t able to hold back the Eldorado offense as they were able to get into the end zone twice and escape with a 14-8 victory.

Unfortunately, with the loss, the Trojans were eliminated from playoff contention due to Eldorado holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Pahrump Valley for the last spot.

The Trojans will have their final game of the season this Friday, Oct. 21, when they host the Mater Academy East Knights. This will be senior night to honor some of the Trojan players from this season.

This will be the first matchup ever between these two schools. The Knights are entering on a 2-game losing streak after losing by a combined score of 87-7 to Eldorado and Boulder City over the last two weeks.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Contact sports writer/editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow @the_dannysmyth on Twitter.