Pahrump Valley football falls 47-7 to Galena

One bad night does not make a bad football team.

But if Pahrump Valley coach Toby Henry wanted an early-season opponent capable of showing his Trojans exactly where they need to get better, Galena certainly filled the bill Friday night.

Just a week after Pahrump Valley directed a 29-6 win over Providence Hall, dominating from start to finish with a physical running game and a defense that controlled nearly everything the Patriots tried to do, Galena turned the tables.

The Grizzlies controlled the line of scrimmage, held the Trojans to just 23 rushing yards and handed Pahrump Valley its first loss of the season, 47-7, at Pahrump Valley High School.

That 23-yard total may tell the story as well as anything.

Pahrump rushed for 220 yards against Providence Hall. Against Galena, those running lanes largely disappeared.

Galena scored twice before the first quarter was half over. Pahrump answered when sophomore quarterback Evan Strain connected with Aaron Rily for the Trojans’ lone touchdown and, for a moment, looked like they might make a game of it.

But the Grizzlies led 33-7 by halftime and never gave Pahrump much opportunity to make the game competitive after the break.

The mismatch showed up on special teams, too. In fact, it may have been the best illustration of the differences between the two teams.

Pahrump Valley’s extra point after its lone touchdown barely made its way through the uprights. Galena junior Dray Noble was operating on an entirely different scale.

Noble sent five of his eight kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and averaged 57 yards per kick. His extra points routinely had plenty of distance to spare. At least one looked as though it would have been good from 40 yards as it sailed past the uprights and all the way into the parking lot.

It was a difficult night

It was also exactly the kind of night Henry said could be useful when he deliberately put tougher opponents on Pahrump Valley’s non-league schedule.

In a preseason interview, Henry said, “Sometimes you need to get knocked down a peg. You don’t want to get cocky.” And he pointed to last season, when Pahrump opened with 54-0 and 56-14 wins before losing 28-24 to Spring Valley after surrendering 21 points in the fourth quarter.

He added that an early loss can expose weaknesses before the Trojans reach the Class 3A Southern League games that will ultimately determine their season.

Last year, Spring Valley provided that reminder. Friday night, Galena delivered one that was considerably harder to miss. Now the question is what Pahrump does with that information.

“We are thinking of Durango now,” Henry said after the game. “We will use this film to get better.”

Different game at the line

The contrast from the Providence Hall game became apparent quickly.

Against the Patriots, Pahrump Valley was the team delivering the punishment. The Trojans repeatedly sent their physical runners into the defense and eventually wore Providence Hall down.

Henry knew before Friday that doing the same thing against Galena would be considerably more difficult.

“They have a good defensive line that we have to be ready for,” Henry said before the game.

And, boy, were they good.

Galena consistently won battles up front and prevented Pahrump from getting comfortable offensively.

Preston Dockter, one of the driving forces in the Trojans’ ground game, was held to 17 yards on seven carries as Pahrump managed just 23 rushing yards as a team.

Strain found more success through the air, completing 17 of 33 passes for 166 yards. Rily was his leading target, catching four passes for 72 yards and the touchdown.

But the pressure also contributed to the other statistic Henry will want corrected. While the sophomore has shown considerable poise, he also threw four interceptions.

Henry had specifically identified taking care of the football as something the Trojans needed to improve after the Providence Hall game.

“We need to take care of the ball better on offense,” he said before Friday’s game.

Against Galena, that problem became considerably more costly as the Grizzlies dictated the terms of the game.

They went ahead with 9:35 remaining in the first quarter, the first time Pahrump Valley had trailed this season. By the 6:37 mark, the advantage had grown to 14-0.

Pahrump answered, but Galena kept coming.

By halftime, the Grizzlies had turned the early advantage into a 33-7 lead.

Before the game, Henry said Pahrump needed to do two things particularly well.

“We will have to run the ball well and take advantage of their aggressive defense,” he said.

But last week, neither came easily as Galena’s aggressiveness disrupted Pahrump’s running game rather than creating enough openings for the Trojans to exploit, a possibility that Henry had noted when watching film.

“They run a lot of different formations on offense and blitz a lot on defense,” he said.

Friday, the Trojans got to see it at full speed.

A useful measuring stick

None of this erases what Pahrump Valley accomplished against Providence Hall.

The opener showed what this offense can look like when Pahrump wins up front, with Strain looking composed in his first varsity start and Dockter, Iyan Bosket and the rest of the running game able to play to their strengths.

Together, the first two games provide a better picture of where the team is right now.

Pahrump Valley has shown it can impose its preferred style when it wins the battle up front. Galena showed what can happen when it cannot.

The Grizzlies finished with 417 yards of offense, including 315 through the air.

Quarterback Colton Smith completed 17 of 23 passes for 315 yards and five touchdowns. Senior receiver Lane Billau caught eight passes for 103 yards and three scores, while Simon Greene added 75 rushing yards and 100 yards receiving.

Those are numbers Pahrump team members and coaches will see repeatedly when they go through the film.

They also matter because Henry has made no secret of the standard he has set for this season. The Trojans want to contend for the 3A Southern title and get past programs such as Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley, teams that stood squarely between Pahrump and where it wanted to go last season.

Last year, Virgin Valley beat the Trojans 46-26 during the regular season. Moapa Valley beat them 42-7 in their first meeting, then ended Pahrump’s season with a 35-27 victory in the Class 3A Southern semifinal.

Friday’s loss does not answer whether Pahrump can reach Henry’s stated goal, but does provide a considerably harsher measuring stick than the opener.

Now comes the response

The combination of 23 rushing yards and four interceptions provides plenty for Pahrump to examine this week.

That is the value — and the danger — of the schedule Henry chose.

He wanted non-league games capable of revealing problems before league play. Friday gave the Trojans plenty to study on film.

Henry said beforehand that playing an unfamiliar opponent from Northern Nevada did not change the Trojans’ approach.

“No, we prepare for every game the same way,” he said. “We respect every opponent we see.”

That same approach will apply as the Trojans turn their attention toward Durango, with perhaps a little extra pride on the line for Henry. (Before coming to Pahrump, Henry served as the head football coach at Durango High School in Las Vegas between 2018 and 2022.)

Henry did not try to dress Friday’s rout up as a moral victory. His answer was considerably simpler.

Watch the film. Get better. Move on.

“Our kids will respond,” he said.

Contact sports reporter Bill Evans at wevans@pvtimes.com