Pahrump football faces Virgin Valley in first league test

For six games, Toby Henry has been preparing his team for this part of the season.

The size. The speed. The disciplined opponents who punish mistakes. Pahrump Valley’s non-league schedule was designed to expose the Trojans to those challenges before the games that determine their league standing.

On Friday in Mesquite, the preparation meets its first league test.

Pahrump Valley opens 3A Southern play at Virgin Valley, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Trojans arrive at 3–3 following a 64–26 win over Valley. The Bulldogs are 0–5, but they have beaten Pahrump in each of the past three seasons.

What they’ve learned

“I think we are more comfortable with any defense or offense a team throws at us,” Henry said. “We have seen big, fast, and disciplined teams. Our non-league was great for us.”

That preparation has included both convincing victories and uncomfortable lessons. Against Durango, the Trojans fell behind 27–0 before scoring 34 second-half points in a 42–34 loss. Against Mary Star of the Sea in California, they encountered a team whose size up front made moving the ball difficult.

After the California loss, Henry pointed to a stalled offense in the second quarter and too many big plays allowed on defense. Those are precisely the kinds of problems the Trojans will need to avoid as league play begins.

The Bulldogs have been working from a similar plan.

After Virgin Valley’s season-opening loss to Hurricane, Utah, coach Matt Woods told the Mesa Valleys Progress, “We schedule bigger teams to get our boys ready for league play.”

That schedule has included Hurricane, SLAM Nevada, Clark, Spring Creek and Basic. The Bulldogs have taken some substantial losses, but they also scored 48 points in a four-point loss to SLAM and most recently fell 38–28 to Basic on Sept. 10. They enter Friday’s game following an idle week.

Henry sees more than a winless record.

“They are a very disciplined team, well coached,” he said. “We have to take care of the ball and not give up any big plays on defense.”

Listen up

Recent history gives the Trojans plenty of reason to listen. Virgin Valley won 56–38 in 2023, 28–7 in 2024 and 46–26 last season. Henry was Pahrump’s offensive coordinator for the latter two meetings before becoming head coach this year.

This year’s Bulldogs are replacing more than 20 players lost to graduation. Junior quarterback Krew Perry directs the offense, with senior receivers Ezequiel Plancarte and Harvey Hurtado among his targets.

Senior running back Drew Dixon is a familiar threat. He rushed for 160 yards against Pahrump in 2024 and 195 in last year’s meeting. Dixon injured his hamstring in this season’s opener but subsequently returned against Clark. His availability for Friday has not been confirmed.

Pahrump’s defensive front enters the matchup after repeatedly pressuring Valley’s quarterback and disrupting the Vikings’ offense. Iyan Bosket was a frequent presence in the backfield, and pressure helped create opportunities for the Trojans’ secondary.

That performance reinforced something Henry had emphasized before the Valley game: the defensive line was becoming a strength.

The challenge Friday will be turning that pressure into consistent stops. Valley still produced long scoring plays, including a kickoff-return touchdown. Even in a comfortable win, there were reminders of how quickly an opponent with speed can change the scoreboard.

Pahrump answered with explosive plays of its own. Angel Ware caught a touchdown pass late in the third quarter, then returned a kickoff for another score before the quarter ended. Preston Dockter supplied the ground game as the Trojans pulled away.

Sophomore Wyatt Cross started at quarterback in that victory. Asked whether Cross would start again Friday and whether Evan Strain was available, Henry did not identify a starter or address Strain’s status.

“We are going with the best player at every position,” he said.

Keeping it going

Whoever takes the snaps will have an offense that demonstrated several ways to move the ball against Valley. The task now is sustaining that production against a league opponent while limiting the turnovers and penalties that can erase a promising possession.

Friday will not settle the league race or provide a final verdict on either coach’s scheduling philosophy. It will offer the first direct evidence of how that preparation translates against a league opponent.

For Pahrump, that means trying to turn lessons learned against bigger, faster teams into a different result against a familiar obstacle.

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