By DAVE BELCHER
Moapa Valley Progress
The Moapa Valley High School football team came prepared for a battle against Chaparral on Friday night. A loss would have put the, thus far undefeated, team in second place in the Sunrise. A win would clinch the league title for the Pirates and the home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
It wasn’t supposed to be an easy win. “Chaparral is bigger than us, faster than us and have more athletes than us,” said Head Coach Brent Lewis after the previous week’s homecoming win against Boulder City. “They might be as good as Desert Pines or better.”
In the end, the only thing impressive about Chaparral that night was their pep band. The Pirates won the game decisively, 40-12, bringing home their seventh straight league championship. Moapa never trailed in the game.
The Pirate defense once again played a solid game allowing just two touchdowns and keeping the Cowboys playmakers in check.
Just how dominant has the Pirates defense been this year? In league play the Pirate defense has allowed just 69 points total in all seven games.
That’s less than 10 points a game. They pitched 3 shutouts on the season and allowed Desert Pines to score 30 against them six weeks ago. At home the Pirates have allowed 33 points in five games; that’s less than a touchdown per game. In the four games on the road they had two shut outs and allowed a total of 42 points; 10 points a game average.
Last Friday night the Pirates defense held Chaparrals offense to just 36 yards rushing forcing the Cowboys to throw the ball. Chaparral completed 16 passes on 46 attempts for 187 yards and a touchdown and three interceptions.
Chap was forced to use two quarterbacks in the game. Starter Jerome Williamson sustained an injury in the second quarter and was replaced by Mark O’Connor who promptly had his first two passes picked off. The second was picked off by Derrick Cope who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown with 10:04 remaining in the game right after a Pirate punt.
MVHS junior Nate Cox started at quarterback where he lead the Pirates down the field on an eleven play, 58 yard, drive ending with Bodily’s first two-yard touchdown with 26 seconds left in the first quarter. Bodily scored his second touchdown with 9:37 remaining in the second quarter. After the missed extra point Moapa lead 13-0.
Chaparral would get on the board next as Richard Nelson scored with 6:50 remaining in the second quarter.
Just before the half Bodily took a handoff at the Pirate 44, broke a couple of tackles and carried the ball to the Cowboy 10 yard line.
Four plays later, from the two, he finished the drive with Moapa’s third touchdown. Cope’s kick was good with 1:06 remaining in the half.
On the following kick-off Nelson misplayed the ball and it slipped through his hands. He gathered it up, moving backward. Then he found a hole in the middle, cut left, sprinted up the line and looked to be taking it back for a touchdown. But MVHS junior, Sterling Simmons came out of nowhere and caught Nelson from behind ending the run at the Pirate 30 yard line.
“That was the play of the game!” Lewis said. “It could have been a huge momentum changer for Chaparral.”
Cowboy quarterback Williamson completed a pass to Trotter to the Pirate 17. He then threw two incompletes under pressure from the Pirate defense. On a 3rd and 10 he dropped back and threw for another incomplete pass. There was a flag, roughing the passer, giving the Cowboys a 1st and goal from the 9 yard line.
On the next play, Williamson was hurt taking him out of the game. Backup O’Connor came in and threw a pass to Moapa’s R.J. Hubert ending Chaparral’s drive, and the half.
That was devastating for the Cowboys. And what made things even worse was what happened next on the kickoff starting the second half. Hubert caught the short kick and ran up the middle. He found a hole and outran everyone 78 yards to the endzone with 11:46 on the clock.
Chaparral never recovered. Pirate senior Justin Gentry caught a 21 yard touchdown from Cox ten minutes later. Then, at the start of the 4th quarter, Derrick Cope intercepted a pass for a 29 yard touchdown and a 40-6 lead.
Chaparral would score a second touchdown with :42 seconds remaining in the game for a final of 40-12.
Moapa Valley finished with 193 yards rushing and 105 passing. The Pirates are undefeated 9-0 overall and 6-0 in league play for the second time in a row for the regular season. This year they will have home field advantage for the entire playoffs.
Moapa Valley will host Spring Valley who lost to Faith Lutheran last Friday night 17-8. Moapa Valley beat Spring Valley 19-6 in their first game of the regular season.
