Moapa Valley routs Fernley in 3A football state semifinal

It didn’t take Moapa Valley’s defense long to set the tone on Saturday.

The Pirates stuffed visiting Fernley time and again in the first half on the way to a 35-7 win in the Class 3A state semifinals.

“That’s what we talked about before the game was that our defense would win this game,” Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis said. “That’s exactly what it did.”

The Pirates (9-2) play Truckee in the 3A state title game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Arbor View.

Moapa Valley stopped Fernley for a loss on 14 of 24 first-half plays. The Pirates held the Vaqueros to negative 24 yards of offense in the first half. Fernley didn’t hit positive yardage for the game until the fourth quarter, when the Vaqueros finally broke through against Moapa Valley’s reserves.

“Our defense stepped up probably the best I’ve seen all year,” said senior linebacker Travis Ozaki, who was in on two sacks and had four other tackles for loss. “We shut them down, and we brought intensity.”

Ozaki and Moapa Valley’s defensive linemen spent nearly as much time in the Fernley backfield as Vaqueros quarterback Bryce Baker. The Pirates sacked Baker seven times, six in the first half.

Fernley running back Mike Kendricks finished with 137 yards but had just 9 in the first half. He broke off two long runs against the Moapa Valley reserves in the fourth quarter.

“We figured the key to the game was stopping (Kendricks) so he didn’t get loose and keeping their quarterback in the pocket,” Lewis said. “And we almost played it perfect in the first half.”

Moapa Valley took the wind to start the game, and that decision paid dividends almost immediately, as Fernley’s first punt went for 1 yard.

The Pirates took advantage of the short field to take the lead on a 6-yard touchdown run by Brad Weiss.

Weiss added a 34-yard TD run later in the first quarter, and it was all Moapa Valley from there.

“Our line was doing good, making holes for him,” Ozaki said. “He’s a hard runner, and he finished off hard.”

Weiss finished with 184 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries. He now has 1,688 yards on the season, topping the previous school record of 1,603 set by current assistant coach Shane Hickman in 1995.

“That’s a great accomplishment, not only for him, but for our offensive line,” Lewis said. “They take great pride in running the football.”