Pahrump youth football teams struggle in openers

It was a rough opening day for Pahrump’s teams in National Youth Sports Nevada tackle football games Saturday at Desert Oasis High School in Las Vegas, with all three teams on the wrong end of shutouts.

First on the field were the 9U Junior Trojans under head coach Derrick Holzer. The Desert Oasis Junior Diamondbacks’ defense was too tough, holding the Junior Trojans to just 13 yards of offense in a 35-0 game.

First-year head coach Jamele Taylor’s 11U Junior Trojans also had a difficult challenge in the Junior Diamondbacks, as they were held to just 3 yards in another 35-0 contest.

The 13U Junior Warriors under head coach Cameron Batongbacal fared a little better than their younger counterparts, compiling 91 yards of offense and staying tied with the Junior Diamondbacks for much of the first half before falling 20-0.

Batongbacal said a combination of starting practice a week late and first-game jitters might have played a role in the Junior Warriors’ struggles, but he was pleased by the team’s effort.

“Almost the entire first half was deadlocked 0-0,” Batongbacal said. “They broke free and scampered for a touchdown on a missed tackle, then they scored two TDs against our substitutes.”

The coach said it might take some time for his team to find its footing.

“We have a lot of new players this year,” Batongbacal said. “Out of our 27 players, only four played on the inaugural 2017 Warriors team. So we’re missing the cohesiveness, but at Tuesday’s practice we came out firing like we never skipped a beat.”

An even better sign for Batongbacal relates to the character of his players.

“Our sportsmanship never faltered,” he said. “Last year, we won our opener vs. Faith and went 6-1 on the regular season. So to see we know how to be gentlemen through the good and bad is heartwarming to me as a coach.

“We have a lot of good players this season.”

Pahrump’s football teams will make another trip to Las Vegas on Saturday, this time to Rancho High School. First up will be the 13U Junior Warriors taking on the North Las Vegas Mustangs at 11:45 a.m. The Mustangs opened with an 18-12 win over Faith Lutheran.

Next, the 11U Junior Trojans will battle with the North Las Vegas Mustangs at 1:30 p.m. This will be the opening game for the Mustangs.

Then, at 3:15 p.m., the 9U Junior Trojans will face the Las Vegas Badgers, a 26-0 winner over the Las Vegas Rams in their opening game.

Contact Sports Editor Tom Rysinski at trysinski@pvtimes.com On Twitter:@pvtimes