Add Pahrump Valley High School to the list of football teams that have made short work of Western this season.
Kenny Delker scored on runs of 5 and 61 yards, Kody Peugh carried 10 times for 85 yards and a score, and Roman Roberts threw for a touchdown and ran for another Friday night in the Trojans’ 37-0 win over the Warriors in Las Vegas.
The game was marred by an unending series of classless displays by the Warriors, who were mocking the Trojans (3-5, 2-1 Sunset) in pregame warmups, jawing at them play after play and getting an extra shove in whenever they could. Western drew two penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and drew the ire of the officials early, getting a very loud lecture on the need to “shut it up” during the first quarter.
To their credit, the Trojans did not take the bait, even as it was offered repeatedly regardless of score, down or distance.
“That’s not the first time,” Pahrump Valley coach Joe Clayton said of Western’s shenanigans. “We’re used to it. Our boys were very respectful. They knew when to walk away and just play football. I know it’s tough for them sometimes, especially when they get pretty personal. But our boys knew that they had nothing to lose and we did, and that’s basically what we told them.
“It’s an emotional game, and when you’ve got kids who are jawing after every play, and an extra shove here and there, it’s tough, but they did a really good job keeping their cool.”
Statistics don’t mean much against a team as bad as Western (1-7, 0-4 Sunset), but it was a good night for Kody Peugh and Kenny Delker. Often in supporting roles, the two combined for 177 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, including a scintillating 61-yard TD run by Delker that made it 30-0 during the second quarter.
“As soon as I broke out past the last open-field block when Tyler Clayton was blocking for me,” Delker said when asked when he knew he would reach the end zone. “I read off that, and I just knew as soon as I broke free on that last tackle I was gone.”
Peugh had three carries of 10 yards or more on his way to an 85-yard night during a game in which he played only on offense.
“It was just a matter of trying to get kids experience,” Peugh said of not playing defense. “They probably used me a lot more in offense to keep Tony (Margiotta) fresh for the next game.”
“Everybody got playing time,” Clayton said. “What we were focused on is let’s just do everything really, really well. Let’s tackle really well, good technique, basically get a glorified practice out of it.”
That philosophy made sense for the coaches, but players can’t look at games that way, Delker said.
“We’ve got to train and prepare for every team the same no matter what,” said the senior, who has rushed for 358 yards and 7 touchdowns this season. “We’re going to give 100 percent and not give up toward the end.”
They certainly didn’t give up on defense, as the Trojans became the seventh team to shut out the Warriors this season.
“It was just amazing, being able to hold their offense to minimal yardage,” Delker said. “I don’t think they got over 50 yards. It was great for our team.”
Actually, not even close to 50 yards, and very close to gaining no yards at all. The Warriors finished with minus-1 yard of total offense, including 16 rushes for 3 yards and a 3-of-12 passing night for minus-4 yards. But while he is pleased by his defensive effort — especially with new faces on the field — the shutout was not in the forefront of his thinking.
“I wasn’t focused on it,” Clayton said. “I wanted to get out of here healthy. Obviously, we wanted to jump on them early and take the pressure off of it. But we really just wanted to win and get out of here healthy because we know how important next week is. Next week’s home game is huge for us.”
It certainly is. Valley (4-5, 1-2 Sunset) comes to Pahrump on Thursday night for a game of massive importance. Win and it’s easy: Pahrump Valley would go into the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Sunset — by virtue of the win over Del Sol in any tiebreaking scenario — and get a home playoff game. Lose and stay home, as Valley would win the head-to-head in a two-way tiebreaker and Del Sol would win a three-way tiebreaker, leaving Valley and Parhump Valley to go head-to-head, sending the Trojans home.
“It’s very important,” Peugh said of getting a home playoff game. “Whenever we play at home we have so much energy going into the game, and it feels good to have that small-town pride behind you in the bleachers.”
For more coverage, including an explanation of the tiebreaking procedures, see Trojans Football Notebook at pvtimes.com