FIELDER’S CHOICES: Weiss, Pirates should run to 3A title
Sometime during summer workouts, a couple of Moapa Valley players got together and looked at a schedule.
They grabbed a pen and circled two dates — Oct. 30 and Nov. 22 — the two most important dates on the list.
On Oct. 30, the Pirates downed rival Virgin Valley in the final game of the regular season, which left just one more goal to accomplish.
They’ll get the chance to put a gold star next to the second circled date at 6 p.m. Saturday when Moapa Valley faces Truckee (Calif.) for the Class 3A state title. (The Nevada state title in case you’re confused.)
The game is at Arbor View, thankfully.
Even though California teams can win Nevada state titles, the NIAA hasn’t started playing title games in California … yet.
Part 3 of Fielder’s small-school trilogy gives you, my ever-loving fan club (and the people who barely tolerate me), a look at the scouting report for the 3A title game.
Average points per game: 36.0.
Average points allowed: 11.8.
How they got here: Finished first in Northern League, defeated Sparks at home (57-0), defeated Virgin Valley at home (35-7).
Strengths: Quarterback Justin Vosburgh has an incredible knack for turning around and giving the ball to someone who can run with it.
The Wolverines have rushed for more than 2,700 yards in 10 games. (The 11th game was a forfeit win, and surprisingly, nobody rushed for anything in that game.)
Here’s where Vosburgh’s skill comes in, though. He manages to pick the right person almost every time. Truckee has 10 players who have at least 100 rushing yards, and 11 players have run for at least one touchdown. No one has more than 62 carries, though.
Jordan Deiro leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns. Vosburgh also has thrown for seven TDs.
Defensively, the Wolverines have been far better than the Big Ten team that shares their nickname. Truckee has allowed more than 22 points in a game only twice all year.
Weaknesses: Not many, other than the fact that they’re 1-2 against teams from their own state. It’s not easy to judge how difficult Truckee’s league schedule was this year, though.
Keys to victory: A team that runs the ball for more than 270 yards per game should not change its game plan for anybody.
Snap ball, block, have quarterback hand ball to someone running, move forward. It’s a pretty simple process.
Slowing down Moapa’s offense (see: Weiss, Brad) will help.
Average points per game: 35.4.
Average points allowed: 15.7.
How they got here: Finished first in Southern League, defeated Faith Lutheran at home (41-21), defeated Fernley at home (35-7).
Strengths: That Brad Weiss guy mentioned above is pretty good. He’s averaging more than 150 rushing yards and nearly two rushing touchdowns per game.
Max Jenkins is effective at quarterback, despite being a little erratic. Nearly 25 percent of his completed passes end up in the end zone.
Matt Newton has 10 touchdowns in just 27 receptions. The “all he does is catch touchdowns” line doesn’t quite apply, but it’s close.
Moapa is working on a streak of seven straight games with at least 35 points.
Weaknesses: Other than the rivalry game against Virgin Valley on Oct. 30, the Pirates haven’t been tested in a long while. The bottom half of the Southern League didn’t do the Pirates many favors.
Jenkins has tossed 10 interceptions. Turnovers taste good, but they don’t come in handy in title games.
Keys to victory: The one part of Moapa’s game that gets overlooked is its defense.
The Pirates have allowed just 84 points in their last seven games and spent much of last Saturday pushing Fernley backward. Another strong defensive effort would almost certainly give the Pirates the trophy.
Weiss has to run the ball effectively, and he’ll need help from the offensive line. If the big eaters up front play hungry, good things will happen. (How’s that for a fortune cookie saying?)
There are a couple of common opponents (Fernley and Virgin Valley). Moapa beat Fernley twice handily, and Truckee easily put away Virgin Valley last week. A slight advantage, if there is one, to Moapa there.
Moapa is the defending state champion. Again, advantage Moapa.
Neither team has lost a game to a Nevada team this year, and both are playing their best football of the year now. It’s what you’d hope for in a championship game.
I really like Truckee’s balance. There always will be fresh legs in the game.
But I like Weiss a lot more. Aarrgh, the Pirates find more treasure. Moapa Valley, 28-21.