PVHS Trojans Football program shines at Red Rock Media Day

For the first time in the program’s history, the Pahrump Valley High School football team proudly represented Pahrump in the 2025 High School Football Media Day, held Tuesday at the Red Rock Casino and Spa.

Presented annually by the Las Vegas Sun, the 16-year event allowed the rare opportunity for football programs from the 3A, 4A, and 5A Southern Nevada divisions to get firsthand experience on how to conduct themselves during a professional media interview.

The day-long event provided lunch to participants and was presented by the Athletics, the Las Vegas Aviators and Zero Teen Fatalities. Sponsors of the event included the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games, Navy Recruiting Command and Red Rock Casino.

Head coach Thom Walker, along with three of his senior captains, DE/OG Jack Walker, QB Kayne Horibe and WR/SS/RB Austin Alvarez, were interviewed by the managing editor of the Las Vegas Sun, Ray Brewer.

Coach Walker, Horibe and Alvarez were put on the hot seat as they were questioned about their recent performance at the University of Southern Utah’s summer camp and their upcoming schedule against rivals Virgin Valley, Moapa Valley and Boulder City high schools.

When asked by Brewer how it feels to play in a tough traveling 3A division, coach Walker said that in the decade he’s spent with the school, the community has always rallied behind the sports programs.

“I’ve been with these guys since they were eight- and nine-years-old. It’s a great community, it’s fun and the boys work extremely hard. They’ve always been known for that,” Walker said during his interview with Ray Brewer. “Going up against the other teams that are usually better, I think we’ve gotten kind of even. Our crowds show up hard and people don’t like playing against us at home.”

Brewer followed up his question by asking Horibe how he felt about the offense this year, heading into the upcoming season.

“Our offense looks great. We have a new line coach that is really helping out a lot and it is giving me time to step up in the pocket,” Horibe said. “We can still run the ball just as well as any program but the passing game for sure is a plus.”

Turning his attention to Alvarez, Brewer asked what will make the program successful this season.

Alvarez, while still battling a slight calf strain, took his time to answer and responded with poise.

“I would say that it’s going to be the chemistry we have as a team that is going to take us far. We have been playing together for a long time now and we just know how everything goes. We all show up in the same mindset.”

Speaking on behalf of the defense, Alvarez acknowledged that there are still some minimal weak spots that are being worked out before the season kicks off.

“It’s early on in the season, we have a lot of time to work on it, but early on our defense is looking a lot sharper than it has the past couple of years,” Alvarez said.

The Pahrump Valley High School football team is set to kick off the season on the road against Pinecrest Academy Cadence in a non-conference matchup on Friday, Aug. 22 at 6 p.m.

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