By DAVE BELCHER
The Progress
The Moapa Valley High School Football team hosted Somerset Losee on Friday night, Oct. 14 and destroyed the Lions 50-8.
An early program, Losee is only in its first year of 3A football. To lead the team, the school hired Dan Branson who was coach at Arbor View for many years. They run the double wing offense. Losee has sophomores and juniors this year with a lot of talent.
Losee came into this game with 3 wins and 5 losses. They were 1-1 in league play.
The Pirates scored their first touchdown when Ethan Stankoski ran 3 yards with 7:50 to play in the first quarter. Cash Keller started his perfect night with the extra point giving the Pirates a 7-0 lead early.
The Pirates’ second touchdown came after a Losee fumble. Stankoski ran 31 yards to the Losee 3 yard line. Landon Wrzesinski finished with a 3 yard run. Keller kicked his second extra point for a 14-0 lead with 4:48 to play in the first quarter.
Degan Jones scored the third Moapa Valley touchdown with a pick six. Jones intercepted a Lion’s pass and returned it 80 yards into the endzone. Keller kicked his third extra point for a 21-0 Pirate lead with 9:13 to play in the first half.
It was Jayden Bunker’s turn for a big play. He stepped in front of a Losee pass at the Lion 37 yard line. Then QB Shandon Matheson, on the first play from scrimmage, threw to Jones who ran it into the endzone for a 27-0 lead. Keller kicked his fourth extra point of the game for a 28-0 lead with 7:48 to play in the first half.
On the next Pirate possession, QB Cyrus Katich found Jones for a 34 yard touchdown pass who ran with 3:17 to play in the half. Keller kicked his fifth extra point for a 35-0 lead. That started the running clock and ended the first half.
Losee scored their only touchdown midway through the third quarter. After driving down the field against the Pirate reserves, their drive ended with a 9 yard run. The 2-point conversion cut the Pirates lead to 35-8.
Wrzesinski scored his second touchdown of the night ending the Pirates first drive of the second half. His run of 9 yards gave the Pirates a 41-8 lead with 5:06 to play in the third quarter. Keller kicked his sixth extra point for a 42-8 lead.
Losee ended their next possession with a blocked punt by the Pirates.
Moapa Valley took possession at the Losee 7 yard line. Chance Houston scored his first varsity touchdown with a 1 yard run.
The extra point snap was high. Matheson caught the ball and raced around the left side for 2 points. The final score was 50-8.
Losee QB Jamison Bragg threw for 79 yards on 4-11 with a touchdown. The state’s second leading rusher was held to 70 total yards on 16 carries. As a team the Lions ran for 76 yards total for the game.
Losee has now been eliminated from playoff contention. Moapa Valley moves to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in league play, tied with next week’s opponent Virgin Valley.
The Dawgs are 7-1 overall. Their only loss this year came at home against the Boulder City Eagles, 8-6. Virgin Valley is 4-0 in league play after an easy win over Western 42-0 last Friday night.
In their last meeting the Pirates won the state title at Allegiant Stadium 27-14.
This week’s game will be played in Virgin Valley with a start time of 7 pm. The winner will be the top seed from the Southern 3A Desert and will have a bye in next week’s first round of the playoffs. The loser will be the second seed and will host the first round of the state playoffs. That game will be against the third seed of the 3A Southern Mountain league.
The City of Mesquite is hosting a Foodtruck Tailgate Party starting at 3 pm on Friday before the game at Mesquite Welcome Center located at 460 N. Sandhill Blvd. Both Pirate fans and Bulldog fans are invited to attend. There will be food served from four different food trucks, live music and bounce houses for the kids.
