Trojans’ hard-fought battle with Pirates ends in loss

Pahrump Valley’s Kayne Horibe (8) went head-to-head with No. 3 Moapa Valley in a conference game on Thursday evening where they fought to mirror the Pirates’ score. But in the fourth quarter everything changed for the Trojans.

The No. 5 Trojans took their second consecutive conference win this season against Democracy Prep for their Homecoming game on Oct. 5. Pahrump Valley was on a high leading up to their game against the Pirates, a top placing team in the 3A Southern league. The team was synchronized and calculated in their passes as Horibe racked up 17 complete passes and nearly 300 passing yards for a 65 percent completion rate.

Moapa Valley’s quarterback, Talon Schraft, only completed three passes and had a 33 percent completion rate.

Yet the Trojans were just not able to control Moapa Valley’s fate and lost their momentum in the fourth quarter.

“They played their guts out,” said Thom Walker, the Pahrump Valley football coach. “That’s a tough squad over there, you’ve got to almost play perfect to beat them, and we had some mistakes.”

Taking the lead

Moapa Valley has only been defeated by the No. 2 Sports Leadership and Management Bulls by two points at the start of the season. When Boulder City and Mater Academy East Las Vegas played against the Pirates, they were only able to get six points while Moapa Valley was able to score over 40 points.

But Pahrump Valley gave them a fight they were not expecting. The Trojans would go toe-to-toe with the Pirates where they would take turns scoring in a call-and-response fashion.

The Trojans’ Randal Murray (10) was able to receive the ball after Moapa Valley scored, where he took it to the 42-yard line. In just over two minutes the Trojans were able to outmaneuver the Pirates and they made it to roughly the Pirates’ 15-yard line where Horibe, unable to throw the ball, ran it in for a touchdown to tie at 21.

With over seven minutes to go, the Trojans defense stepped up and would quickly stop Moapa’s every play. On a fourth and seven, Moapa made the mistake to play the fourth down as the Trojans stopped Moapa short of the 42-yard line on the Pirates’ side.

This was a huge advantage for the Trojans.

But the Trojans would be tackled immediately as the Pirates defense was extra vigilant. They got Pahrump Valley down to a fourth and three that Horibe would play.

As the teams lined up, a Moapa Valley player moved and got the Trojans a first down.

With Moapa Valley’s defense high, Horibe was not able to make a pass and on a fourth down, the Trojans’ kick was short at the 16-yard line and the game remained tied at 21.

Risky plays

The Trojans were able to score after a risky fourth and 10 play. Horibe threw it to Trojan Benjamin De Santiago (22) for a first down at the 16-yard line. Then the Trojans scored to take the lead 28-21 for the first time.

But the lead would only last for the blink of an eye as Moapa was able to slowly work their way into the Trojans’ side. The defense slowed down and Moapa scored even after Trojan Ryan Hamlin (7) was able to block a pass.

Tied at 28 at the end of the third, the Pirates got in Horibe’s head.

After the Trojans received the ball and brought it to the 28, Horibe, under a lot of pressure, quickly threw but it ended up being intercepted by Morris Wolfley. This changed everything for the Trojans.

Moapa would make it down the field and with 15 yards to go, the Trojans were tricked. The Pirates’ Caden Rawson received the ball but the Trojans went for a fake runner and Moapa ran it in for a 35-28 lead.

The Trojans would end up taking the ball to the 48, where the team decided to play a fourth and eight.

Horibe would be pressured to run the ball as all receivers were blocked but he was short and the ball was turned over to the Pirates.

Moapa, after they received the ball from a turnover, decided to play a fourth and two, a major moment for the Trojans to recover the ball and play the remaining five and a half minutes.

The Trojans near the 50-yard line would end up watching a Moapa Valley carrier run past them all into the end zone for 42-28. Then after another interception the Pirates would score another touchdown for 49-28.

In the end the Trojans would score the final touchdown to bring the final score to 49-35.

Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@pvtimes.com. Follow @JimmyRomo.News on Instagram.