The PVHS Trojans put up a fierce fight on Thursday, October 10, 2024, but ultimately fell to the Moapa Valley Pirates, 49-35, in a thrilling back-and-forth matchup.
Moapa Valley struck first, scoring with 7:45 left in the first quarter to take an early 7-0 lead. However, the Trojans quickly responded when quarterback Kayne Horibe connected with Ben De Santiago and with a 35-yard run, scored the Trojans’ first touchdown of the night. Aaron Rily’s successful extra point tied the game at 7-7 with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
The Pirates reclaimed the lead following a long kick return, making it 14-7 by the end of the first quarter. But the Trojans showed resilience. Early in the second quarter, Horibe threw a 40-yard pass to Austin Alvarez for another touchdown, and Rily’s extra point tied the game again at 14-14 with 10:41 left in the half.
Moapa Valley quickly responded, scoring with 9:49 remaining in the second quarter to make it 21-14. Refusing to back down, Horibe kept the ball himself on a 5-yard run to the end zone, tying the game once more at 21-21. The teams remained deadlocked at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Trojans take their first lead of the game when Horibe pushed in for a touchdown with 6:18 left in the quarter, and Rily’s extra point made it 28-21. However, Moapa Valley scored late in the third to tie it at 28-28.
In the fourth quarter, Moapa Valley began to pull away. With 8:02 left in the game, they scored to make it 35-28, then extended their lead to 42-28 with just 3:38 to go. A Moapa interception and touchdown with 2:25 remaining widened the gap to 49-28.
Despite the score, the Trojans never gave up. Horibe connected with Alvarez for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 38.2 seconds left in the game, and Rily added the extra point to make the final score 49-35.
Head Coach Thomas Walker praised his team’s efforts, “The team played well. Kayne Horibe threw for 299 yards and ran for 67.” Coach Walker also recognized that the team does have some things to work on as they head into playoffs. “As for this week, we need to button some things up and we should do well. We are facing Meadows, an independent school that used to be in our league. I know the team will be prepared and ready to go.”
Defensive Coach Mike Colucci emphasized the determination shown by the players. “Our guys fought their tails off on Thursday night. We made a handful of mistakes that ended up being the difference. Moapa is one of the top teams in the state, and you have to play pretty flawless football in all three phases in order to have a chance to win those games. We feel like we are headed in the right direction and are confident that we can compete with anyone in the 3A.”
Offensive Coach Toby Henry echoed this sentiment, adding, “I think our guys played very tough on Thursday. Offensively, we proved we can score on any team. We need to keep it going for the next two games. The next two games are very important for the postseason.”
Despite the loss, the Trojans continue to show heart and determination, with key matchups ahead as they work toward a postseason run.
