Trojan football fans have been waiting for a playoff year since 2022, but this year Pahrump residents will get a chance to watch game one at home.
After placing second to last place in the league last year, the team has turned things around this year to place in the top four teams in the league. On Friday, the Trojans will be playing at home at 6 p.m. against No. 5 Mater Academy East Las Vegas.
Pahrump Valley and MAELV have been battling for the No. 4 slot since their first game mid-season. The benefit of placing in No. 4 at the start of the league playoffs as fourth place secures home field advantage.
Pahrump Valley defeated the Boulder City Eagles in their last game of the season, while MAELV lost their last game, thus the Trojans secured home field advantage.
Playoffs
The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s Class 3A Southern Region Football Playoffs will start with the league quarterfinals on Friday evening.
The top two teams in the league will get a bye week and home field advantage in the semifinals game on Nov. 8. No. 1 Sports Leadership and Management and No. 2 Moapa Valley will be waiting to see on Friday night who they will play for a shot at the state playoffs.
In the quarterfinals, Pahrump Valley and MAELV have a competitive game as the two teams are most evenly matched up in the bracket. Earlier this season, the Trojans played the Knights in Las Vegas, where they took a major win for the team.
When the Trojans first played MAELV, the Pahrump team was on a three-game losing streak after playing the top two league teams at the time. But when the Trojans arrived in Las Vegas, the team stepped up to take a win.
At the end of it, the Trojans carried the ball a total of six touchdowns against the Knights. The Trojans quarterback, Kayne Horibe (8), scored half those touchdowns.
Horibe only passed 59 yards in the entire game, while the Knights’ Daylin James (11) had 443 passing yards with only four touchdowns. This season Horibe averaged 202 yards passing.
Currently, James has the edge on Horibe in the total yards passed and completed passes this season according to MaxPreps. James is also ahead with nearly a 60-percent completion rate, while Horibe is slightly behind with a 55-percent completion rate.
Horibe is even ahead of SLAM’s quarterback, Alaijah Young (2) in total yards and ranking, but Young has a 65-percent completion rate and more complete passes than Horibe.
Defensively, the Trojans have Ivan Bosket (44) who has reached the top of the leaderboard in the league for most tackles and two sacks this season.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 Virgin Valley will face off against No. 6 Democracy Prep. The Bulldogs are likely to win as the Blue Knights have only defeated Boulder City this season.
If Virgin Valley wins on Friday night, the Bulldogs will be off to Moapa Valley to play against the Pirates on Nov. 8. And the winner between Pahrump Valley and MAELV will face SLAM in Las Vegas on Nov. 8.
The winners of the semifinals game will advance to the state playoffs that start on Nov. 16 at the No. 1 north or south team’s home field. And the state championship will be played in Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 26.
The last time the Trojans made it to the state championship was in 2018, where their first game was against No. 1 northern school Churchill County. Pahrump Valley lost that game 58-20.
Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@pvtimes.com. Follow @JimmyRomo.News on Instagram.