By LOU MARTIN
The Progress
The Virgin Valley High School Football team will be tested on Friday Sept. 16 when they matchup against the Boulder City Eagles.
The Bulldogs sit undefeated after three games despite having a tough win over a gritty Pahrump Valley team by a score of 14-6. The Eagles meanwhile are 2-1 defeating Valley 60-0 and Western 45-0 before blowing a 22-8 second half lead against 3A Division favorite Moapa Valley losing by a score of 26-22.
The Bulldogs thrashed Eldorado and Chaparral 54-20 and 31-7 respectively before the win over the Trojans.
The Bulldog offense is led by Q.B. Gunnar Cortez who leads Division 3A with 649 yards through the first three games.
Chase Otteson is on the receiving end with 282 yards to lead the division.
The Bulldog running tandem of Isaiah Frieling and Hunter Otteson have racked up 288 and 244 running yards respectively.
On the defensive side, all-around athlete Martin Jordan has dominated most defensive categories with 21 tackles and has provided offensive spark with 112 yards receiving plus a 50+yard punting average. Chase Otteson and Stratton Waite have two interceptions each while sharing the punt return positions.
The Eagles after three matchups are led on the offensive side by Q.B. Jacob Bryant. Senior running backs Hunter Moore and Bruce Woodbury help lead the Eagles 220 yard per game rushing attack.
Kick returner Gage Hopkinson has been on a tear averaging 24+ yards while Woodbury added 43 yards average on three returns.
Middle linebacker and tight end Dylan Sullivan at 220 lbs. leads the Eagles in tackles followed by massive (280 lb.) lineman Dylan Spencer with 5.5 and 5.0 tackles per game. The Eagles also line up Caleb Ramsay Brown (248 lbs.) flanked by Brayden Cook (250 lbs.) who with Sullivan have dominated running backs so far this season.
In a nutshell it will be the Bulldogs passing attack (220 yards to 72 yards per game) led by Cortez against the rushing (231 yards per game) of the Eagles.
The Eagles on paper have the bulk up-front to force the Dawgs into a passing game and good special teams to set up field position. The matchup sets up a defensive masterpiece which will go a long way in determining future playoff positions.
If the Bulldogs prevail it will setup a massive home game against archrival Moapa Valley later on this season to end the regular season.
