The Pahrump Valley High School junior varsity football team answered an early deficit with five touchdowns and a series of defensive stops, defeating the Moapa Valley Pirates 32-15 at home on Friday, Oct. 9.
Carlos Flores scored three rushing touchdowns, while Landon Holzer and Connor Witherell added touchdown receptions. The Trojans built a 26-7 halftime lead, extended their advantage in the third quarter and kept the Pirates off the scoreboard in the fourth to secure the victory.
Trailing 7-0 early, Pahrump’s defense helped create an opportunity to respond. Kelan Sheppard knocked down a pass, Jamarcus Vega recorded a sack and Andrew Chastain stopped a screen pass short of the first-down marker, helping the Trojans take possession on downs.
Flores then delivered Pahrump’s first touchdown with a 63-yard run. After breaking a tackle in the middle of the field, he accelerated up the left sideline and reached the end zone with approximately 35 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, cutting the deficit to 7-6.
The Trojans continued to build momentum in the second quarter. Following another defensive stop and a punt return by Flores, a deep pass to Holzer moved Pahrump to the Pirates’ 11-yard line. Flores finished the possession with a touchdown run up the middle, putting the Trojans ahead 12-7 after an unsuccessful two-point attempt.
Pahrump quickly regained possession on the ensuing kickoff when a hit jarred the ball loose and Marciano McDonald recovered the fumble. The Trojans took advantage of the opportunity, extending their possession when an offside penalty against Moapa Valley produced a first down. Evan Strain added a scramble to the left before Flores scored his third rushing touchdown. Holzer caught the two-point conversion pass, stretching the lead to 20-7.
Another takeaway gave Pahrump’s offense the ball again. Lucas Silva forced a fumble, and Nathan Elliott recovered it near midfield with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
The ensuing drive included productive carries by Vega and a short pass to Sheppard. Pahrump capped the possession with a long touchdown pass to Holzer in the right corner of the end zone. The two-point attempt was unsuccessful, leaving the Trojans ahead 26-7 with 1:34 remaining in the second quarter.
Moapa Valley moved into scoring range before halftime, but Pahrump held its lead through the closing plays and entered the break with a 19-point advantage.
The Trojans continued to make plays on both sides of the ball in the third quarter. Flores helped stop a mishandled exchange on the kickoff return, and Erick Aguilar Zuniga later tackled a runner for no gain as Pahrump worked to contain the Pirates’ opening possession.
With Stetson Brown at quarterback, Pahrump produced another substantial gain on a halfback pass to Holzer. The play covered approximately 50 yards and moved the Trojans to Moapa Valley’s 40-yard line. Although the possession ended with a fumble, Flores intercepted a Pirates pass later in the quarter to return the ball to Pahrump.
The Trojans capitalized with a long touchdown pass down the left side to Witherell. A false-start penalty pushed back the conversion attempt, and the subsequent pass fell incomplete, but Pahrump had extended its lead to 32-7 with approximately 2:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Moapa Valley responded with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion before the quarter ended, bringing the score to 32-15.
Pahrump’s defense protected that advantage throughout the fourth quarter. After a Trojans possession ended on downs, the defense forced incomplete passes and broke up a fourth-down attempt to regain the ball with 4:49 remaining.
Aguilar Zuniga added a sack on the Pirates’ final possession, and Sheppard intercepted a pass with 53 seconds left to close out the defensive effort.
Three rushing touchdowns from Flores, scoring catches by Holzer and Witherell, and repeated takeaways gave Pahrump the production it needed to turn an early deficit into a home victory.
