The Pahrump Valley Trojans came up 1 point short in their 7-6 loss on Friday night against the undefeated Moapa Valley Pirates.
The Trojans came into the game looking to give the Pirates their first regular season loss since the 2019 season.
Moapa Valley did have one loss during their 4-game spring “season” of 2021, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that season was used as a replacement for the fall 2020 season being canceled.
Last season, the Pirates hosted the Trojans on the same weekend as this year and sent Pahrump Valley home with a crushing 42-0 loss.
This season’s matchup was a complete 180 from last year.
This year’s game was far from the offensive power we saw last year. In fact, it was very much a defensive battle.
Pahrump Valley has been riding a superb defense this season.
After four games, they’re allowing just 9.2 points per game. Only Virgin Valley has reached double-digit points against the Trojans defense.
Head coach Thom Walker has given his defensive coordinator a lot of praise for how their defense has been playing this season.
“Mike Colucci has done a tremendous job having our defense ready to go,” Walker said.
Moapa Valley’s only score in Friday’s game was a rushing touchdown in the second quarter by senior running back Ethan Stankosky to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead.
Stankosky finished the game as Moapa’s leading rusher with 70 yards on seven carries.
Pahrump Valley got their lone score of the game on a 31-yard connection between senior quarterback Scott Oscarson and junior Tristan Church to bring the Trojans within one point, 7-6.
Walker and the Trojans decided to go for the 2-point conversion, but they were unsuccessful.
Oscarson finished the game completing seven of his 24 pass attempts for just 75 yards. He threw an interception and the one touchdown. He also had 15 rushing yards on three attempts.
Senior running back Cole Venturo led the Trojans in the ground game. Venturo rushed for 86 yards on 12 carries.
Despite outgaining the Pirates in total yardage, it was penalties that killed the Trojans.
Pahrump Valley was set back numerous times throughout the game, totaling 120 yards in penalties.
“We had our opportunities, but we didn’t capitalize on them,” Walker said. “I have to do a better job preparing the team.”
It seems to me that the team is prepared. But if they could just tighten up on those penalties, they’d be going in the right direction and they’d be getting there fast.
The Trojans will host the Boulder City Eagles in their first league game of the season this Friday, Sept. 30.
The Eagles are coming into the game with a 3-1 record after beating Virgin Valley 8-6 on Friday night. Senior running back Hunter Moore has been the workhorse for Boulder City this season.
In their four games, he has rushed the ball 69 times for 356 yards and six touchdowns. Against Virgin Valley, he had 32 rushing attempts for 126 yards.
Pahrump Valley’s last win against Boulder City came in the first round of the 2018 playoffs.
Kickoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Contact sports writer/editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow @the_dannysmyth on Twitter.