PHOTOS: PVHS Football hosts Spaghetti Dinner and Dessert auction
Everyone’s favorite spaghetti dinner and dessert auction was a massive hit last Saturday night in the Pahrump Valley High School cafeteria.
Hosted annually by the PVHS Football program, alongside the help of the Miss Pahrump Pageant court and the PVHS Trojanette Dance Team, the wildly exciting event raised $19,620 for the program’s future endeavors.
“They do a phenomenal job of serving the people. We couldn’t do it without the pageant court and dance team. It’s awesome having them out there,” PVHS football head coach Thom Walker said. “It was a really good turnout. We’ve had years where there’s been more for sure but for being a non-election school year, it was great.”
Event organizer Racheal Walker did an outstanding job coordinating the dinner and meticulously documenting every auction item purchased throughout the evening. Her preparation began months in advance, reflecting the community’s strong tradition of rallying around local youth to support the program.
“My wife does a tremendous job in getting this whole thing organized and put together,” Thom Walker said. “She spends all summer hustling to get this done.”
Local restaurant owner Leo Blundo from Carmelo’s Bistro-Pizza-Fine Pastas generously stepped up again in supplying the spaghetti dinner that fed nearly the 300 community members in attendance.
The dinner began with a heartfelt dedication and moment of silence led by Coach Walker in memory of former Class of 2021 PVHS football player Rance Bill, who tragically passed away in an auto accident last Thursday outside Mesquite.
Following the speech, Walker thanked the community for its unwavering support and handed the mic off to senior QB Kayne Horibe, who fired up the crowd with a couple of quick words.
In traditional fashion, the football program lined up first to dig into the delicious spaghetti dinner before quickly being back up for seconds after the adults were served.
Longtime Pahrump auctioneer legend Ski Censke, who is never shy to help raise funds for a good cause, was electrically entertaining between his witty inside jokes and lightning-fast auction speed.
“A program like this can charge up to thousands of dollars,” Thom Walker said. “And for them to do that for free is tremendous.”
Starting the bidding with no hesitation, community members showed no restraint in trying to up-bid a tray of chocolate chip cookies for well over $500.
Similar to the honey-baked ham scene in the film “Christmas with the Kranks” where Jamie Lee Curtis stops at nothing to achieve earning the last ham, bidders made sure to not go home empty-handed.
Jan Maher helped to supply some of the coolest cakes I’ve laid eyes on, including a PVHS football Monopoly-themed cake with Coach Walker in jail, and a deep-dish inspired pizza cake.
Among the highest-selling items were the smoked brisket prepared by Coach Mike Colucci which sold for over $1,000 and the top-selling cake was a pizza-themed creation, fetching more than $600.
Avena and Sons Electric LLC were among the largest donors of the event with Jim and Terry Wulfenstein, David Boruchowitz and Brian Strain of State Farm Insurance coming in close behind.
Funds raised from the event go directly to new team equipment like tip-ups, smart tackling dummies, arm pads and new on-field headsets for better in-game communications.
“I think it was very successful, considering finances are tight,” Thom Walker said. “But just to have that support, I would say is very successful for sure.”
Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.
