Trojans raise record $28k for football program
The Pahrump Valley High School cafeteria was the place to be on Saturday as the football team held their annual pasta dinner and bake sale fundraiser.
The cafeteria was wall-to-wall, packed with players, coaches, families and friends to support the football program.
Pahrump Valley head coach Thom Walker and the Trojans’ captain Tannor Hanks expressed their gratitude for all in attendance multiple times and the team’s appreciation for the event was felt throughout the night.
“It was amazing,” Walker said of the night. “The community support was overwhelming. It was truly remarkable.”
More than 50 baked goods were donated to the bake sale, including cookies, cakes, doughnuts and pies.
The program raised a total of $28,692 to go toward the much-needed equipment, including the much-sought-after helmets that are currently in very short supply.
Across the nation, schools and leagues are feeling the shortage of supply as the seasons near. Some teams won’t be able to play their full roster because there won’t be enough helmets for all of the kids on the teams.
The previous record raised by the football program was just over $17,000. This goes to show just how much support the school, the students and the athletes have from the town of Pahrump.
The football teams helped out their own cause. The junior varsity team got the ball rolling in the JV-Varsity showdown by being the highest bidders on a multi-tiered cake. The players pooled their money together for a max bid of $650.
Shortly after the JV successfully bid on their cake, it was time for the varsity team to outshine them.
The varsity team successfully bid on their cake for the amount of $1,100 to “win” the showdown. There was a lot of excitement between the two teams throughout the bidding on every item.
Varsity players were running all over the cafeteria showing items off to entice people to raise their bids, and many times they were successful.
The largest single bid was from U.S. Ecology, which purchased a homemade cake covered in vanilla frosting, topped with strawberries for $4,400. The company will receive tickets in the media booth for Pahrump Valley’s homecoming football game and snacks will be provided by the snack bar throughout the game.
The Wulfenstein family had the second-highest priced item and donated the highest total amount after purchasing a second item.
Their first item was eight homemade cinnamon rolls that went for $4,000, followed by a second item they purchased for $700, giving them a total donation amount of $4,700.
“I’ve been a Pahrumpian since I was 12 years old, I moved here in ‘85,” Walker said. “Pahrump’s a lot of things, but when we need each other we absolutely come together and do what’s necessary to get the job done. There’s no better example of that than Saturday night. It was, like I said, truly remarkable and amazing.”
Now that their big night is over, it’s back to work for their next big night – opening night.
The Trojans hit the field this week for their practices in preparation for their first game of the season on Friday, Aug. 26 when they host the Warriors of Western. That game will kick off at 7 p.m.
Contact sports writer/editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow @the_dannysmyth on Twitter.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
