| Desert Hills | 20 |
| MVHS | 0 |
By Dave Belcher
Moapa Valley Progress
When the Pirates traveled to St. George, Utah on Friday night to tangle with the Thunder of Desert Hills the question was going to be: how would the team would come out at the beginning and play? It didn’t take long to find out. The answer was flat.
The emotion of the previous week and the exposure brought to the team by its big win against Show Low in Arizona the previous week appeared to still be on the minds of the athletes. But it took exactly 1 minute and 26 seconds for the Thunder to rain on that parade and to score the first touchdown.
The Pirates then went three and out. Moapa saw a total of six plays in the first quarter.
Desert Hills defense was the strong point. Their defensive line was huge compared to the young Pirate team. This made running very difficult for the Pirates. And it proved to be the difference in stopping the Pirate running attack for most of the night.
By the end of the first quarter the Thunder led 7-0 and would increase their lead by three more early in the 2nd quarter with a 34 yard field goal.
With the wind at their back in the second quarter Desert Hills kicked the ball into the end zone and the Pirates started from the Thunder 20 yard line.
Pirate quarterback Dakota Watters hit Shane Terrill at the forty to give the Pirates a first down. After a couple of runs went nowhere, Watters threw his first pick of the season to Desert Hills’ Needham who ran it back 37 yards for the score. The Thunder was now up 17-0.
On the Pirates next possession Kasen Hughes caught a pass then fumbled it at the Pirate 22 yard line.
Desert Hills threw a flat pass for a couple yards then Needham ran a sweep for ten more.
Hughes then redeemed his fumble when he stepped in front of a pass and picked it off, stopping the Thunder threat. The half ended 17-0 Thunder.
Moapa came out in the second half with six plays before they punted to the 27.
Needham took the handoff on the first play and ran to the six yard line.
Next play the Thunder ran it up the middle then fumbled on the two yard line where the Pirates recovered stopping another threat.
Desert Hills final score came after a Moapa sack and fumble gave the Thunder the ball at the Moapa 12 yard line.
On the next play Rutledge scored on a twelve yard run to give the Thunder their final touchdown and the final score of 24-0.
Two touchdowns of the game came from the Desert Hills defense as their offense still struggled throughout the evening. Needham rushed for 120 yards on 12 carries. Harris threw for 71 yards on 5-9 passing and an interception. Desert Hills had 228 total yards on the night.
Moapa had McConnell rushing for 48 yards and the Pirates rushed for a total of 38 yards. Watters threw for 94 yards on 10-18 and an interception on the night. Total offence was 132 yards.
Moapa will play their first home game of the season on Friday night when they take on the Cowboys of Chaparral from Las Vegas. The Cowboys bring to town a one game winning streak from last season. It is their only win in two years. It was against Sunrise Mountain.
