By GANNON HANEVOLD
Moapa Valley Progress
There is a unique sport at Moapa Valley High School that often goes largely unnoticed. But it has quietly gone on competing for 49 years. In 2018, however, it seems like this Pirate team may just put the program onto the radar.
Varsity Quiz matches are comprised of a trivia contest that puts the best minds to the test. A team earns five points for every correct answer, and the first player to buzz in gets the shot at answering the trivia question.
This year, the Pirate team has been dominant throughout the whole season, going undefeated in league matches and earning Moapa Valley’s first playoff berth in known school history.
Last week, the Pirates took on Las Vegas High School in the playoff semifinal. The match was broadcast on the local PBS station. The Wildcats found themselves outmatched by the Pirates. The final score would be 125-100.
The Pirate team’s head coach, Jared Bushman, recounted that, in this particular match, Evan Conger and Grady Call caught fire and “absolutely destroyed” the Las Vegas opponents.
Following this win, the Pirates now move on to the championship match which will be held on Friday. The team will take on either Bishop Gorman or Faith Lutheran.
Bushman said he had heard from others around the league that his team should match up well with either the Gaels or Crusaders.
The question remains: how could a program that’s seeing so much success hide under the covers from the majority of Pirate fans for so long?
“It’s been pretty quiet the way we run the program,” Bushman said. “It’s pretty casual. If we win the championship, I think a lot more people will want to participate.”
The players on the team right now have waited a long time for the opportunity to make the playoffs, Bushman further explained.
“The last four years, we’ve missed the playoffs by one question,” he said. “But this year the kids that were on the team have had the benefit of being around some really smart people.”
Bushman noted that a major difference this season has been the team’s success in quickly
doing math. Specifically, Evan Conger and Sedona Thomas have done math faster than ever.
Confidence going into the championship showdown is just as high as it has been all season as well.
“I feel like we have as good a chance as anybody,” Bushman said. “I believe that our knowledge base is really strong in all content areas. The spectrum is huge and I feel like we have as good of a chance as the other side.”
Just one victory away from a varsity quiz championship, it’s time Moapa Valley gets excited about trivia. Some of the best minds in the high school are coming together and achieving history week by week, and there’s just one goal left for the team: hardware for the trophy case.
