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Southern Nevada schools excited to finally play football season

Updated February 26, 2021 - 7:07 pm

The saying for rivals Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley is they would play each other in a parking lot.

Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis and Virgin Valley coach Matt Woods hope it doesn’t come to that, but they’re excited the teams will meet on the football field this spring.

The six-week spring high school season will begin March 5 after having been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The 17 Southern Nevada schools that will compete have four to six games scheduled, with some playing the same opponent twice.

Bishop Gorman and Faith Lutheran are the only two Class 5A schools that will play, with Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley joining SLAM! Nevada, Pahrump Valley and two first-year programs in Pinecrest Academy Cadence and Mater East in 3A.

The 2A schools are Calvary Chapel, Lake Mead, Lincoln County, The Meadows and White Pine. Beaver Dam, Pahranagat Valley, Green Valley Christian and Tonopah will play in 1A.

Pahranagat Valley coach Brett Hansen said it’s been weird coaching football practices during the spring. He added that scheduling wasn’t easy with few choices for 1A opponents, but was happy to do it after months of inactivity.

“I help coach the basketball team, so normally this would be the last week of playoff basketball,” Hansen said. “I’d be getting ready to wind down with most of the kids going on to play baseball or run track, but it’s nice to be back. It’s surreal scheduling games for March and April instead of September and October.”

Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley are the only Clark County School District schools that will be allowed to play. Moapa Valley has been in a hybrid-learning model since the beginning of the school year, and Virgin Valley’s plan to return to the classroom — and sports — was approved this week. The Bulldogs will begin practice Monday.

“We’re definitely behind the 8-ball,” Woods said. “But it’s not about that. It’s about getting the kids on the field and getting the seniors some playing time. Our numbers won’t be the same because we’ve lost kids to other states because of the pandemic, but it’s about giving the kids something.”

Moapa Valley will begin its season March 12 against Faith Lutheran, and Virgin Valley opens March 19 against the Crusaders. Moapa Valley will end its season against Gorman on April 9.

Lewis acknowledged it will be a challenge facing a Gorman team that is the gold standard for Nevada and one of the nation’s elite programs. But he sees it as an opportunity to play the best and at a first-rate facility.

It also will be nostalgic for Lewis, who led Moapa Valley to a come-from-behind 42-36 overtime win over Desert Pines for the state championship in 2014 at Gorman. But it’s the April 2 Hammer Game between Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley that they are most excited about.

“It’s a big incentive for both valleys to be able to play each other,” Lewis said. “Our valley has fought and scratched for everything it did to get to a hybrid model, and the kids deserve it.”

Both schools’ fields are being converted to turf and aren’t ready. Lewis said Moapa Valley’s could be ready for the Hammer Game, but if not, the teams will figure out a place to play.

Even if it’s in a parking lot.

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.

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