By GANNON HANEVOLD
Moapa Valley Progress
While weather may have cut the amount of games the team had on the schedule for the week in half, it was still a week of learning experiences for the Moapa Valley High School Flag Football team. After a long few weeks of holiday rest from in-game action, the Pirates were anxious to get back on the field. But some unfortunate circumstances forced them to wait just a few days longer.
With a rare Southern Nevada downpour coming on Tuesday, the Pirates’ scheduled road trip to Chaparral was delayed until later in the season.
The next game for Moapa Valley would come at home against the talented Del Sol Dragons. The Pirates knew they were taking on one of the most consistently successful teams in the Division 3A. So it was bound to be a difficult matchup.
The prolific Del Sol offense came to play. In the first half alone, the Dragons put 27 points on the scoreboard. It was a hard team of various weapons for the Pirates to stop.
In the second half, Del Sol was able to add another thirteen points to their total and extend their lead.
The offensive attack was thanks in large part to quarterback Stephanie Tewart, who tossed a pair of scores through the air, and rushed for two as well. A touchdown for the Pirates kept the score from standing as a shutout. The final score would be 40-6.
Following the loss, Moapa Valley quarterback Alex Peay said, “We learned what we needed to improve the most on in order to be on the same level as the other teams in our league. We need to work on our blocking and communication on the field.”
While the result this week may have overshadowed a lot of the positives to be taken away, Peay pointed out the development of Pirate runningback Mariah Mendoza as the season has progressed. “Mariah has done an exceptional job at moving the ball down the field when she gets it,” she said.
Another key player for the Pirates has been Maxime Van der Laan, who came as a foreign exchange student and joined the team this season. She explained the strategic side on why the team may have struggled last week, and what they can fix going forward.
“The last couple of weeks we worked on a really complicated defense which may have turned against us in the game,” Van der Laan said. “We’re thinking about going back to our old strategies and just keeping it simple.”
As for the offensive side, Van der Laan said, “We might have to reduce our plays on offense. We have a lot and we might scratch out some of them to make the ones we use perfect.”
Looking forward, both athletes still have confidence their team will be able to orchestrate a turnaround.
There are some extremely talented girls on the team this year,” Peay said. “I think that this season is only going to get better.”
Van der Laan shared the sentiment. “I think the most important thing right now is keeping a positive mindset,” she said. “I really believe that we have a talented team that can come a long way as we keep believing in ourselves.”
The Pirates will have a big test this week against the rival Virgin Valley Bulldogs as they hope for an upset victory that could turn this season on its heels.
