PHOTOS: Countdown to Kickoff: PVHS Trojan Camp is back

After five long days away from the practice field, the Pahrump Valley High School football program returned bright and early Monday morning, donning their newly-fitted shoulder pads and helmets.

In his inaugural season with the program, lineman coach George Baker said following day one of Trojan Camp that the team looked sharp on both sides of the ball, despite the anticipated mental block from the time off and adjusting to newly-fitted pads.

“With the Fourth of July break and coming right back in wearing pads, getting adjusted to the pads is a little difficult sometimes,” Baker said. “We spent a good 45 minutes to an hour working on technique. We want to make sure that our kids are safe and that we’re teaching the proper techniques. I don’t ever as a coach want to have to look at myself in the mirror if a kid gets hurt and have to answer to myself, let alone anybody else.”

Splitting into two squads for day one of camp, the Varsity and JV teams filled each side of the PVHS football field working on multiple offensive tackling drills and defensive formations.

“I watched film on the defense last year and I think we’ve got a lot of guys that are back and are just more mature now. They’re bigger, they’re stronger and they’ve got a year under their belt,” Baker said. “They understood the mistakes they made last year. Defensive lineman coach Mike Colucci has done a great job of making the defense very, very understandable. We don’t run a super-complex defense, but we run a tough defense.”

Adopting the Seattle Seahawks tackling program that was made famous by current Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, Baker strongly emphasized these drills and rugby tackling principles will not only help to bolster the defense, but also to prevent injuries.

“We’re not sitting and watching for the boot counter-reverse screen,” Baker said. “We’re getting caught a couple of times. I really noticed last year that the offensive line did a great job of getting where they needed to be. They knew where to go. One of the things that I really want to get through to the offensive and defensive line is that the better that you understand the small details and you execute the small details, the better you’ll be in the fourth quarter.”

Head coach Thom Walker, who is now in his fourth season at the helm, said the first day back at Trojan Camp at home went well.

“We’ve got some weapons this season, like junior DE/OLB Iyan Bosket, that are putting us in the best position to be successful,” Walker said. “He’s six-four, walking around at 210, he’s a monster. He led the team in tackles last year.”

Last season, Bosket averaged 10.3 tackles per game, nearly three more than departing senior C/DB/WR Rhett Swaner.

Next Monday, the team will travel to Southern Utah University’s Football Team Camp #2 in Cedar City, Utah from July 14 to July 17 to compete against some of the best local programs outside of Nevada.

Participating in SUU hosted camps in the past, the week looks to show the bright spots of the offense and highlight where the team can tighten up on defense. Last season, the offense was led by returning two-sport junior Kayne Horibe, who was ranked third in passing in the Nevada 3A division with 2,017 yards.

“A lot of people shine without pads on,” Horibe said. “So it’s nice to see who still shines with them on.”

Coach Walker said the Trojans are looking for seven-on-sevens against other schools but for right now don’t have anything scheduled until August 15.

The Trojans will set the tone after SUU camp in a scrimmage against the defending Nevada 4A division champions, Mojave High School.

Set to open the 2025 season versus four straight 4A programs including an away season opener on August 22 against Pinecrest Academy Cadence, Baker said he’s excited to get fully underway.

“When we go to SUU next week we’ll see what they can do,” Baker said. “But I’ll be honest, with coming from where I’m coming from at Liberty High School and seeing what I’ve seen in the Clark County School District, we’re not anywhere far off from any of those schools.”

Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.