Two Pirates Picked To Play In International Bowl

By GANNON HANEVOLD

Moapa Valley Progress

Moapa Valley is well known for developing young talent on the football field, year in and year out. Earlier this month, two lucky and talented athletes from the valley were given an opportunity to compete at a national level, with impressive players from around the country.

The ninth annual International Bowl was hosted in Arlington, Texas, this year. Teams from around the country and around the world travelled to compete in a competition for national bragging rights.
Moapa Valley offensive lineman Kaleb Frankford and tight end Derek Reese; both juniors at Moapa Valley High School; were two of the nationally acclaimed players to make the trip down to the Lone Star State.

The two played on different teams, and in different games. However, both games took place at the heart of football in America, on the field at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

On January 12, Kaleb Frankford played snaps on the offensive line in a game against talented players from Ontario, Canada. Frankford’s team, the Under 17 Stars blew away their opponents from above the border. A 49-6 victory was exciting for the team.While Kaleb acknowledged a few mental errors, he was satisfied overall with his individual performance. Most of all, he was grateful for the opportunity.
“It was just an honor, Kaleb said. “I was ecstatic and really humbled to be a part of it.” Kaleb said.
He explained that the team practiced twice a day and would meet together twice as well. He also noted that the players on the team were friendly with one another.
“The team just got along together well when we showed up,” Kaleb said. “It seemed natural. I met some great people and learned a lot.”

Most of all, Frankford is hoping his experience can translate to the field back home. “I learned a lot of techniques that I didn’t learn here and it’s a lot more competitive in that stage and setting,” he said. “I just hope to come back with those techniques and use them to help us win a state championship.”

Just a few days later, Derek Reese of Moapa Valley flew to Arlington to play in a game of his own. Reese earned a spot on the Under 18 National Team, who had a game scheduled against the national team from Canada.

Derek explained the process of getting picked for the team. There were two tryouts and he was able to make it through both and get chosen for a spot on the national team roster.
“It was awesome to represent the United States and see people from all over the world come to America for it,” Derek said.

While his team couldn’t pull off the win, Derek still said he was able to take away quite a bit from the opportunity.
“I learned that you have to work a lot harder when you are competing with bigger, stronger, faster players,” he said.

Reese, who just finished his third year of competition at the varsity level for the Pirates, hopes to use his talent and education at this game to bring something new to his team back home.

The two talented Pirates were able to experience a rare and unique opportunity in the offseason, and made the most of it. They represented their small town of Moapa Valley and proudly sported the nation’s colors on one of the grandest high school football stages well.