Class 3A: Defense, special teams key Truckee win over Moapa Valley

OVERTON — Truckee couldn’t muster much offense against Moapa Valley on Saturday.

Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Wolverines found other ways to score.

Truckee returned an interception for a touchdown and had a punt return for another score in the third quarter en route to a 23-16 road win over Moapa Valley in the Class 3A state football semifinals.

“If you would have told me we were only going to let them score one time on offense, I would have felt really good about that,” Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis said. “But there’s a couple other facets to the game, and defense and special teams won it for them today.”

Truckee (11-1) plays Churchill County (11-0) for the Class 3A title on Saturday, Nov. 17. Churchill County defeated Pahrump Valley 58-20 in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Moapa Valley (10-2) turned the ball over five times, but none was more costly than an interception thrown by Luke Bennett in the third quarter. Sean Kelly came up with the interception, returning it 26 yards for a touchdown and a 13-10 Truckee lead.

The Pirates responded immediately, with Bennett connecting with Derek Reese on an 85-yard scoring pass two plays later, allowing Moapa Valley to retake the lead.

But it didn’t last long, as Truckee quarterback/return specialist Marcus Bellon returned a punt 79 yards for a score to make it 20-16 Truckee with 1:59 to go in the third quarter.

“I would like to have that pick-six play back,” Lewis said. “The quarterback just didn’t throw the ball high enough. He certainly was trying to get it out of bounds or to the guy that was open. I think the game came down to one or two plays, and those were the plays.”

After forcing a Moapa Valley punt, the Wolverines went on a 15-play drive that culminated in a 44-yard field goal by Emmanuel Valenzuela-Jones that made it 23-16 with 4:23 to play.

More importantly, it took more than seven minutes off the clock.

“I thought that for the most part we were in control until they got that long drive in the fourth and kind of wore us down,” Lewis said.

Bennett had a 7-yard TD pass to Josh Cox in the second quarter for Moapa Valley.

“These guys have really worked hard,” Lewis said. “I feel bad for them. Great group of kids, and we’ve got a good group coming back next year. So we’ll fight on and live another day.”