Traveling squads go home with losses

Nick Christensen

Monday, Nov. 15, 2004 | 9:10 a.m.

OVERTON -- The road was cruel to football teams from smaller schools as three of the four traveling 2A and 3A teams were shut out in Saturday's state semifinals.

Despite breaking the state record with 2,976 rushing yards this season, Spring Creek's James Edwards was unable to help his team avoid a shutout as Moapa Valley defeated the Spartans 31-0 before a capacity crowd in Overton that spilled over to nearby streets.

Moapa Valley advanced to Saturday's 3A state final. They'll play Truckee for the title at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Spring Creek was stifled offensively, with Edwards getting just 102 rushing yards in the game and not much else going for the Spartans.

"We knew they'd give the Edwards kid the ball 40 times. It was just a matter of stops," Pirates coach Brent Lewis said.

Moapa Valley was led by Zach Davis' 103 total yards, including 88 receiving yards. Davis also kicked a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Truckee advanced to the state championship game by beating Virgin Valley 42-0 at Truckee, Calif.

"We just faced a team that was bigger, faster, and stronger," Virgin Valley coach Kirk Hafen said.

The Bulldogs ended the year with a 8-4 record.

In the 2A semifinals, The Meadows was shut out at Lovelock as Pershing County advanced to the state final with a 44-0 victory. Battle Mountain pulled the lone road upset as it won at Needles, Calif. 20-19.

As of Sunday night, the site for Saturday's 2A championship game had not been decided.

Sophomore forward Ricky Abrego had two goals against Bonanza, and another against Centennial to lead the Skyhawks.

"Man, he really played a pair of great games right there," Silverado coach John Cwik said.

It was the third consecutive year that Centennial had lost in the state championship game.

"I was sitting with my coaches, and here's the thing we have to remember, if we hadn't been in the final for two years, we'd be ecstatic," coach Rick Kazee said. "We wouldn't be talking about how we lost the final game, we'd be talking about how we even got there."

Galena, which hosted the tournament at their campus near Reno, advanced after beating previously unbeaten Silverado in three games on Friday. Douglas, from nearby Minden, advanced after beating Palo Verde in four games.