The Pahrump Valley High School varsity football team opened its 2026 season in convincing fashion Friday, Aug. 14, using a physical ground game and a dominant defensive performance to defeat the Providence Hall Patriots of Herriman, Utah, 29-6 in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
The season-opening victory gave new Head Coach Toby Henry and the Trojans an encouraging first look at what months of preparation have produced. Pahrump controlled much of the game at the line of scrimmage, repeatedly turning to its running backs to move the chains while the defense kept Providence Hall off the scoreboard until the final seconds.
The evening also provided plenty of the traditions and school spirit that come with the first home football game of a new season.
Before kickoff, PVHS teacher Steve Nygaard was recognized as the evening’s “Teacher of the Game” and presented with a plaque in front of the home crowd.
As game time approached, the PVHS band performed the national anthem while members of the Civil Air Patrol presented the colors. The Trojan student section was packed with students showing their school spirit while participating in the evening’s “white lie” theme, adding plenty of energy from the stands throughout the night.
PVHS cheerleaders and dancers were also a constant presence on the sidelines, helping keep the home crowd involved throughout the game.
Once the football got underway, the Trojans gave their fans plenty more to cheer about.
“It was awesome to see all of our team’s hard work pay off,” Henry said after the game.
The Trojans established their intentions almost immediately. After taking the opening kickoff to around the 30-yard line, Pahrump began feeding senior running back Preston Dockter. Dockter carried several times on the opening possession, picking up tough yards before breaking off consecutive runs for first downs.
Sophomore quarterback Evan Strain also used his legs early, keeping the ball on a pair of plays and moving the chains as Pahrump methodically worked its way down the field.
The opening quarter did not produce points, but it did establish the style of football the Trojans wanted to play. Pahrump continued to attack on the ground while mixing in passes from Strain to keep the Patriots’ defense from settling in.
Senior Iyan Bosket provided another powerful option out of the backfield, at one point requiring multiple Providence Hall defenders to bring him down as he powered his way to a first down.
Strain connected with senior Tristan Schumacher for another first down, and later found Dockter through the air for a sizeable gain that moved Pahrump deep into Providence Hall territory.
The Trojans continued knocking on the door as the first quarter wound down. Dockter, senior Trae Plein and Bosket all carried the ball during the drive, but the quarter ended with the game still scoreless.
Pahrump did not have to wait long in the second quarter to change that.
Just seven seconds into the period, Strain connected with Dockter for a touchdown, completing a drive that had begun in the opening quarter. An ensuing penalty altered the point-after attempt, and the Trojans instead turned to Dockter, who powered in the two-point conversion to give Pahrump an 8-0 lead with 11:53 remaining in the half.
The defense immediately backed up the score.
Plein stopped the Providence Hall kickoff return at the 20-yard line, and senior Gideon Wydick contributed a tackle as the Trojans quickly forced the Patriots into a punting situation. Providence Hall’s punt went out of bounds near midfield, putting the ball back in the hands of the Pahrump offense.
The Trojans again began working their way toward the end zone. Senior Paul Walker hauled in a pass from Strain for a first down, Dockter continued pounding away on the ground and Bosket ran his way into a first-and-goal situation.
A penalty pushed Pahrump backward, but the Trojans responded through the air. Strain completed a pass to Plein to move the ball to around the 8-yard line and then connected with senior Cade Wulfenstein inside the 5.
Facing third-and-goal, Strain kept the ball and came up just short. Pahrump went right back to its quarterback, and at 6:07 Strain powered across the goal line on a sneak for the Trojans’ second touchdown.
Senior Aaron Rily converted the extra point, extending the lead to 15-0.
Providence Hall tried to answer before halftime, but the Pahrump defense continued to close quickly to the football. Junior Logan Whaley stopped the ensuing kickoff return at the 26, Plein made another stop on a Patriots first-down run and Bosket brought down a receiver after a completed pass. The Trojans eventually forced another punt.
Pahrump had an opportunity to add to its lead before the break as Strain completed passes to Dockter and Rily and Dockter picked up another first down on the ground. The drive ended when Bosket had the ball stripped and Providence Hall recovered with less than a minute remaining, but the Patriots were unable to capitalize before halftime.
The Trojans headed into the locker room with a 15-0 advantage, leaving the field to the PVHS cheer and dance teams, who entertained the home crowd with their halftime performances before the teams returned for the second half.
Henry said the heavy emphasis on the ground game was by design.
“The first half we wanted to establish our run game and wear PH down,” Henry said. “We wanted to test the waters and see how tough they were.”
The strategy continued to pay dividends after halftime.
Providence Hall opened the third quarter backed up near its own 15-yard line, and Pahrump’s defense wasted little time applying pressure. Wulfenstein brought down a receiver behind the line of scrimmage, junior John Wydick added a stop and Gideon Wydick met a Patriots runner at the line.
Pahrump soon regained possession and returned to the formula that had worked throughout the first half.
Dockter carried the ball, with Wulfenstein delivering a block to help spring him for another first down. Bosket and Schumacher followed with carries before Strain connected with John Wydick for a first down.
The Trojans then went back to Bosket, and the senior finished the drive by carrying the ball into the end zone with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Rily’s extra point was good, pushing the Pahrump advantage to 22-0.
The defense refused to let up.
Senior Christien Ramiscal was repeatedly around the football on Providence Hall’s ensuing possession, recording multiple stops. Bosket, junior Kobe Farmer and Wulfenstein also made tackles as the Patriots tried to move downfield.
Senior William “Billy” Sparks helped put Providence Hall into a third-and-long situation, and an incomplete pass on the next play turned the ball back over to Pahrump on downs.
By the end of the third quarter, the Trojans still held their 22-0 advantage and had controlled the game on both sides of the football.
The fourth quarter brought more of the same physical approach. Dockter and Bosket continued carrying the ball, while Strain converted another quarterback sneak to keep a drive alive.
Although that possession eventually ended on downs, the Pahrump defense quickly provided another opportunity.
After Providence Hall was pushed backward by a false start, the Patriots attempted to work their way out of trouble. Senior Kelsen Cross-Smith helped make a stop on a completed pass before Walker delivered one of the defensive highlights of the night, getting into the backfield and sacking the Providence Hall quarterback to force fourth-and-15.
The ensuing Patriots punt was blocked and went out of bounds, giving Pahrump excellent field position.
Strain connected with senior Lucas Gavenda through the air before the Trojans returned to their workhorse.
Dockter took the ball and finished the drive with a touchdown run with 5:15 remaining. Rily knocked through his third extra point of the night, giving the Trojans a commanding 29-0 advantage.
Providence Hall continued fighting through the final minutes, but the Trojans kept making stops. Wulfenstein was particularly active late, while Farmer, Cross-Smith and Sparks were among those contributing as the Patriots attempted one final drive.
A pair of penalties helped Providence Hall move deep into Pahrump territory in the closing seconds, and the Patriots finally broke through on a quarterback run with 11.8 seconds remaining. The late touchdown accounted for the final points in Pahrump’s 29-6 victory.
While the Trojans’ four touchdowns told part of the story, the manner in which Pahrump produced them was equally significant.
The Trojans accumulated 365 yards of offense, with 220 coming on the ground and 145 through the air. Pahrump ran the ball 37 times, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
Dockter led the ground attack with 118 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, averaging 5.9 yards per attempt. He was also the Trojans’ leading receiver, catching three passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Altogether, Dockter accounted for 165 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.
Bosket added 70 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, averaging 10 yards each time he touched the ball on the ground. Schumacher contributed 18 rushing yards on four carries, while Strain added 14 yards and the quarterback-sneak touchdown.
Henry credited both the backs and the players creating room for them.
“Our game plan was to run the ball,” Henry said. “Our guys did that well. Our line played extremely well and played very physical. We wanted PH to tackle our physical runners for four quarters to wear them down. PH ran out of gas at the end of the game.”
Strain also delivered an efficient performance in his first official game of the season at quarterback. The sophomore completed 11 of 18 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception. Rily completed his lone pass attempt for 23 yards, giving Pahrump a combined 12-of-19 passing performance.
The passing game spread the ball around. In addition to Dockter’s three catches, Rily and Walker each caught two passes. Gavenda, John Wydick, Wulfenstein, Plein and Schumacher also recorded receptions, giving the Trojans eight different players with at least one catch.
Defensively, Pahrump received contributions throughout the lineup.
Wulfenstein finished with a team-high nine total tackles, including three solo tackles, six assists and a tackle for loss. Ramiscal, Gideon Wydick and Sparks each finished with five total tackles, while Plein recorded four. Bosket and Gavenda each had three tackles, with Bosket also recording a tackle for loss.
Walker added three tackles, a tackle for loss and the Trojans’ lone recorded sack. Dockter and Sparks were also credited with tackles for loss as Pahrump finished with five tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
“Our defense played outstanding,” Henry said. “We didn’t give up much. I was proud of how they flew around the field and played very sound.”
Rily contributed in several phases of the game. In addition to his work as a receiver and passer, he went a perfect 3-for-3 on extra-point attempts and handled all five Pahrump kickoffs.
The Trojans’ ability to remain physical throughout the night was another encouraging sign for Henry in the season opener. After weeks of preseason preparation and a controlled scrimmage against Mojave the week before, Friday’s matchup offered the first opportunity to see how the team would respond over the course of a complete game with the outcome counting.
Henry came away pleased with what he saw, particularly from a defense that was just seconds away from recording a shutout.
“I was proud that we pretty much shut them out and how physical we played,” Henry said. “I always worry about what kind of game shape we are gonna be in at the beginning of the season, and we were in a lot better shape than PH.”
There are still areas Henry wants his team to sharpen as the season progresses, but the Trojans’ opening performance provided a strong foundation. Pahrump established the run, received an efficient performance from its young quarterback, spread the ball among multiple receivers and played aggressive defense for four quarters.
“We just need to clean a couple things up and get better every week,” Henry said.
From the pregame recognition and packed student section to the performances from the band, cheerleaders and dancers, the home opener brought together many parts of the PVHS community. On the field, the Trojans provided the finishing touch, turning months of work into a physical, complete performance and a 29-6 victory to begin the year 1-0.
