Truckee too much for Moapa Valley

Nick Christensen

Monday, Nov. 22, 2004 | 9:29 a.m.

Through the postseason, Moapa Valley football coach Brent Lewis lamented that his team hadn't been tested in four quarters since the beginning of the season.

Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium, the Pirates were on the other end of the dominance.

A crowd of 2,250 -- about 2,000 of which was from Moapa Valley (population 6,000) -- watched Truckee (Calif.) finish its undefeated 3A season with a 28-0 rout of Moapa. Truckee's one loss was a 34-21 opening week defeat at Hug, which went on to win the 4A Sierra League title.

"We just got outplayed and outcoached," Lewis said. "That was as good of a team as we'd played. They took away our running game, and totally surprised us at how much more physical they were than us."

Despite having one of the most potent pass offenses of Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association schools, it was the Wolverines' running game, anchored by Nick Cabral and Micah Carbajal, that carried the team, totaling 215 rushing yards on 37 carries. The Pirates, by contrast, had just 35 rushing yards.

"We make it hard to just key in on one guy," Truckee coach Bob Shaffer said. "We try to spread things around, and allow everybody to get a lot of touches."

Quarterback Paul Tierney, the NIAA's most efficient passer during the regular season, ended up 12-for-24 for 144 yards. Receiver Jamie Maehler caught eight of those catches for 109 yards.

The Wolverines shut out all three of their postseason opponents.

"At the beginning of the year, it was our offense that carried us," Shaffer said. "At Hug, the defense wasn't quite what we wanted it. We had a bye week the second week, we had a talk with the kids, and made defense a priority. It was like somebody turned the light on."

Also Saturday, Pershing County beat Battle Mountain at Winnemucca 24-6 for the 2A championship, Pershing County's first state title since 1978, and Wells defeated Pahranagat Valley 18-6 at Sam Boyd Stadium as the Leopards won the 1A title, their second state title.