Trojans vs Cheyenne

The Trojans will be looking to bounce back after the defeat by Desert Pines last Friday and they are not sulking over the loss.

“Cheyenne is a well-coached quality program and is a solid team,” Trojans coach Joe Clayton said. “But I think they are a beatable team and we can play with them.”

Even so, there are some lingering doubts that some sports pundits are having, whether or not Pahrump can shift gears after such a brutal loss to Desert Pines and can the Trojans win on the road.

The doubts should be about Cheyenne and not Pahrump.

For the Trojans proved they could win on the road when they trounced Boulder City. Something they had not done in 10 years.

Until Desert Pines, Pahrump did well against the run, especially against Chaparral.

Clayton is definitely looking at running against Cheyenne. He feels the Desert Shields have not proven they can defend the run.

“Their run defense is not all that and they have given up a lot of rushing yards,” the coach said.

He did concede that they have played some quality programs, but against Western he pointed out they gave up a 50-yard run.

Clayton said for his team it’s all about ball control and limiting mistakes.

“Take care of the football and control the clock,” he said. “The more we have the ball, the less time the other team has to score.” A mantra he has lived by since taking over the Trojans.

Cheyenne is the team that needs to prove themselves after a slow 0-3 start and coming off a weak performance against Western in which they won only 27-6. Virgin Valley, a top team in the Class 3A in the Sunrise League clobbered Western 56-14.

The Trojans will return Aaron Fuentes and Case Murphy to the lineup after a week off. This should help Pahrump with the run defense and pass defense.

The opponent:

Cheyenne (2-3, 1-0) uses the spread formation and can score quickly. Don’t let their record fool you, they have played all four Class 4A (bigger schools) to open the season.

The Desert Shields proved they can be lethal with the pass with 527-yards passing and the run with 557-yards rushing. They have a pretty balanced attack. Matthew LaBonte also is a run threat.

The Desert Shields relied on the run to defeat Western.

Cheyenne running back Corwin Bush rushed for 147 against Western and fellow running back Deriontae Green rushed for 85.

The Desert Shields likes to run the ball with Deriontae Green (199) and Corwin Bush (318) . They also pass the ball and Bush is their lead receiver with 294 yards.

Predictions: Las Vegas Sun - Ray Brewer, Cheyenne 30 Pahrump 13; Case Keefer, Pahrump 27 Cheyenne 22.

Pahrump Valley Times pick: Pahrump 35 Cheyenne 12.