Courtesy photo
The Moapa Valley football team is pictured after beating rival Virgin Valley in the Hammer Game on Oct. 20, 2023.
Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 | 10:56 p.m.
The Moapa Valley football team trailed rival Virgin Valley 21-10 with seven minutes to play tonight in the annual Hammer Game.
“They had us dead to rights, but somehow we rose from the dead,” Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis said of the Pirates thrilling 38-27 come-from-behind win.
It started with a 70-yard touchdown run from Shandon Matheson and the ensuing 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to three points.
After Moapa Valley forced Virgin Valley to punt on the next series, defensive lineman Tony Carrillo got so much penetration into the Virgin Valley backfield while attempting to disrupt the kick that the Virgin Valley punter inadvertently booted the ball into the backside of his own player.
Moapa Valley’s Parker Leavitt jumped on the loose ball in the end zone to give his team the lead for good.
Moapa Valley added on a pair of touchdowns for good measure, using another rushing score from Matheson and a Tanner Hammons 23-yard touchdown reception from Talon Schraft.
Moapa Valley’s 28 unanswered points in about five minutes certainly added another chapter to the longtime rivalry. Between his time as a Moapa Valley player and more than two decades on staff, Lewis has been part of many games in the rivalry.
The ending of this Hammer Game, he said, ranks right up there as one of the most memorable games he’s been part of in the series.
Moapa Valley earns the No. 2 seed in the Class 3A playoffs and receives a bye next week. In two weeks, they’ll play the winner of Mater East at Boulder City.
“We had struggled all year coming from behind,” Lewis said. “The kids really grew up in that regard tonight. We could have easily folded our tents with seven minutes to go.”
Chase Otteson had two long touchdown receptions for Virgin Valley, and quarterback Gunner Cortez added a rushing score.
