Pahrump Valley beats Boulder City, earns home playoff

Evan Strain made the most of his return to quarterback. Pahrump Valley’s defense made sure Boulder City had little opportunity to spoil it.

Strain threw two long touchdown passes, the Trojans shut out the Eagles after halftime and Pahrump Valley closed its regular season with a 30–7 victory Friday that helped secure a home playoff game.

The Trojans finished 5–4 overall and 2–1 in league play. With Moapa Valley defeating Virgin Valley, Pahrump Valley claimed second place and will host the Bulldogs on Nov. 6, coach Toby Henry confirmed.

Henry said it marked the school’s first second-place finish in a conference that included both Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley.

For a team coming off a frustrating loss to Moapa, Friday offered a considerably better way to head into the postseason.

“Our kids played with a lot of confidence and were flying around,” Henry said. “Our defense played outstanding and we had over 400 yards on offense.”

Strain, back directing the varsity offense after Wyatt Cross had handled the position in recent games, supplied two of the night’s biggest plays.

Henry said Strain had spent time playing junior varsity while preparing for another opportunity.

“He played a few games on JV and got a lot of confidence,” Henry said. “He was ready for his opportunity. I was very proud of Evan, he did a great job.”

That confidence was tested before Pahrump Valley put any points on the board.

After punting on their opening possession, the Trojans built a scoring drive that survived penalties and a third-and-20. Under heavy pressure, Strain found Preston Dockter for a completion that carried Pahrump Valley into Boulder City territory and kept the possession alive.

Dockter handled much of the work from there, eventually taking the ball inside the 5 as the opening quarter ended. He scored on the first play of the second quarter, giving the Trojans a 6–0 lead with 11:56 remaining before halftime. The two-point attempt failed.

The lead did not last long.

Boulder City recovered a short kickoff and began at Pahrump Valley’s 42. A long touchdown pass tied the game with 11:02 remaining. A personal foul erased the Eagles’ successful two-point conversion, but they kicked the extra point on the retry to move ahead 7–6.

Then the game changed again.

Angel Ware appeared to give the Trojans excellent field position with a long kickoff return, only for holding to bring the ball back to Pahrump Valley’s 17.

Strain and Ryan Hamlin erased that setback in one play.

The pair connected for an 83-yard touchdown, putting the Trojans back in front just 23 seconds after Boulder City had scored. A successful two-point conversion made it 14–7.

The defense supplied the next opportunity. Paul Walker’s sack helped force a punt that Pahrump Valley partially blocked.

The ensuing possession reached fourth-and-4 near midfield. Henry kept the offense on the field, and Strain found Ware for a 51-yard touchdown with 6:46 remaining in the half. Another two-point conversion stretched the lead to 22–7.

Ware briefly left the game after going down early in the second half, hopping off on one leg. He later returned and caught passes.

Hamlin provided the only scoring after halftime. Taking snaps at quarterback during a third-quarter possession, he helped move the Trojans to the goal line and scored on a 1-yard keeper with 2:27 remaining. The successful conversion made it 30–7.

Boulder City never answered.

Now the Trojans get another meeting with Virgin Valley, which they defeated 21–14 in Mesquite during the league opener. This time, the Bulldogs will make the trip to Pahrump.

And the Trojans will enter that rematch with a winning regular season, a home field and a convincing defensive performance behind them.

Contact sports reporter Bill Evans at wevans@pvtimes.com.